Turkey needs a permanent and strong public policy for nuclear energy, according to the head of the International Energy Agency on Monday.
Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of International Energy Agency, who took office in his new role on Sept. 1, told Anadolu Agency in an interview that during the election environment in Turkey, different points of view and opposition towards nuclear power may be evident, however, he stressed that there should be a strong public policy for nuclear power in Turkey, since nuclear energy is a must for the country.
'Being a hub country, Turkey should endlessly work on international energy projects including nuclear projects, despite any opposition,' he said.
He added that Japan, which is still recovering from the after-effects of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, along with France despite having a government change, are working hard to protect nuclear laws. Both countries have decided to re-open some dormant nuclear power plants to meet energy needs.
When asked to evaluate the impact of the recent elections in Turkey on energy relations with other countries, Birol commented that whatever model of government is established, relations between Iraq and Turkey would improve further.
Commenting on hydrocarbon exploration in the Mediterranean Sea off the Egyptian coast and Israel, Birol said Turkey still remains the feasible option to transfer gas from Israel to western countries although there are other options available.
On Sept. 9, Italian oil company ENI announced that the company discovered a giant natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the Egyptian coast. Birol emphasized that Turkey has the perfect geopolitical position to potentially transfer gas from this new discovery and should not be ignored.
However, he added that countries should work on solving political issues in the middle east and Mediterranean region to use Turkey's natural gas pipelines effectively.
- No change on oil prices in near future
Birol stated that despite global political changes and Iran's sanctions lift, oil prices will remain at a similar level at 40 to 50 dollars per barrel.
In addition to Iran's new position, he said that the devaluation of the Chinese yuan will lower market expectations and will reduce oil demand in the global market.
- Climate change
Birol highlighted that 80 percent of carbon emissions are as a result of the type of energy resources being used. He underlined the key to solve the climate change issue is in reducing these carbon emissions.
'The Climate Change Convention in Paris in 2015 will be a discussion place to reach such a decision,' he said, and added that energy efficiency, renewable energy and low carbon technologies as well as nuclear power require more investments globally.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
gulsen.cagatay@aa.com.tr