Cement Manufacturers Support Paris Agreement Despite Costs

Turkey Cement Manufacturers’ Association (TÜRKÇİMENTO) carried out by the cement industry to discuss the impact of regional dynamics and the country’s economy “Anatolian Meetings” hosted the third was held in Mersin. In the online meeting held in cooperation with Dünya Newspaper, the efforts of the sector towards the Green Consensus and carbon neutralization target were discussed.

TÜRKÇİMENTO, Anatolia Meetings initiated in order to draw the industry to give direction and vision for the future “Turkey Eden Building on the economy” continues with the title. The third of the meetings, in which the regional dynamics of the sector and its effects on the country’s economy were discussed, was hosted by Mersin. TÜRKÇİMENTO Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Tamer Saka, Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Ayhan Kızıltan, ÇİMSA General Manager Umut Zenar, MEDCEM Cement General Manager Murat Kahya attended as speakers. The moderator of the meeting was Suat Özyaprak, President of MENA Communication Agency.

TÜRKÇİMENTO Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Tamer Saka, made the following statement about the sector’s sustainability efforts: “Sustainability is primarily a matter of Turkey should solve the issue of Treaty of Paris. With the US decision to rejoin the agreement, very limited countries remained among those who did not approve the agreement. Turkey should not be among them. Turkey’s need support to reach the 2050 target, we need technology, we need investment. It is not yet clear how industries will receive support in this direction. It is important to clarify these issues for the sustainability of export markets and protection of competitiveness. Holistic approach and planning are important. Municipalities, central government, more than one ministry must be part of the solution. We have to create a model where all these stakeholders meet at a common point.

We have seen in the USA, this issue has an owner at the ministerial level. We also need coordination. The way we will go, the method and expectations should be put on this table. Sustainability as an industry is not a cosmetic issue for us, it is a reason for our existence. Despite the costs it will bring, we support the Paris Agreement. This is an indication of the importance we attach to this issue. We have been thinking about and investing in this issue for a long time. We have taken the 2050 zero emission target on our agenda very seriously, as in every sector. It’s a long and grueling road, but a realistic goal. We have a preparation in this regard as the Carbon Roadmap of the sector. It will be completed in 1-2 months. “

ÇİMSA General Manager Umut Zenar stated that very important studies have been carried out on sustainability and made the following evaluations: “Actually, we cannot explain ourselves as a sector. We have very important works on sustainability. As ÇİMSA, we set a serious target for waste usage. We will nearly double our annual waste usage rates, which is a truly environmentalist approach. We have a waste heat investment in our Mersin factory, the energy we generate from waste heat accounts for 20% of the total consumption of the factory. This figure is also a serious figure, sustainability is of great importance to us. “

Murat Kahya, General Manager of MEDCEM Cement, pointed out that alternative fuel consumption can be reduced especially with municipal waste: “The sector prioritizes sustainability very seriously. There are important investments made in the last 10 years. It is clear that the industry will do to reduce carbon emissions. To ensure energy efficiency and to increase the production of blended cement and the use of alternative fuels. We also have studies on these issues. We produce our own energy at the rate of 22%. However, we have difficulties in turning to alternative fuels. It is very difficult to reach waste for fuel purposes in our country.

For this reason, we have to work on the import of fuel derived from waste from abroad. The import we are talking about is the import of fuel produced from non-hazardous materials. Its usage rate in the EU is 44%. They, too, have gone through various such processes to increase the use of alternative fuels. We also need this support temporarily. Zero waste is a good goal to be done. We also expect support in this regard. Like European countries, we need to reduce the amount of landfill waste. In this way, we can increase the use of alternative fuels, especially with municipal wastes. These issues are of high priority in terms of both sustainability and export competitiveness of our industry. “

Dünya Newspaper Executive Hakan Güldağ made the following assessment about green finance and the recovery process after COVID-19, which are on the agenda of the whole world: “Europe looks at green transformation with the eye that it will definitely happen. It is not okay though. Here, resources will increase at the point of green financing. The world’s largest fund has declared that all its future financing will be linked to the green economy. It will gain importance to produce suitable projects. It has been revealed that the economic recovery after COVID-19 will be based on the green transformation.

We need to leave the countries that seem to have remained in the past century by passing the Paris Climate Agreement through the parliament. Saying that 4.0 is just behind, 5.0 came out. He says 4.0 will continue, the climate issue will focus on the issue of sustainability. We have to focus ourselves on this seriously. Turkey needs a serious transformation. Green technologies are serious technologies. any technology that reduces carbon emissions aligns with the needs of Turkey. If these turn into a focused industrial policy, it will give us an advantage. “