'Energy Management and Climate Change Action Plan Internal Stakeholder Workshop' was held at Behiç Erkin Meeting Hall on Thursday, September 21, with the participation of TCDD Transportation General Manager Ufuk Yalçın.
General Manager Ufuk Yalçın made the opening speech at the workshop, stating that energy is needed for economic growth, technological progress and a large part of our daily lives, and continued his words as follows:
“Carbon emissions and excessive use of fossil fuels are seriously disrupting our world's climate balance.”
“Today, we came together within the scope of the preparation of the "Energy Management and Climate Change Action Plan". Welcome to our workshop. Energy has become one of the most fundamental driving forces of our age. We need energy for economic growth, technological advancement and much of our daily life. However, it is a big reality that the energy we use causes environmental and climate problems. Carbon emissions and excessive use of fossil fuels seriously disrupt the climate balance of our world. Within the scope of the fight against climate change, which was initiated based on this reality, transportation planning in the world has begun to be addressed in the context of smart transportation studies and applications focusing on developments in information and communication technologies and sustainability and energy efficiency.”
“With a holistic environmental approach, new environmentally friendly practices and sustainable technological solutions are used to create a lower carbon footprint in railways.”
Stating that they aim to use energy resources more effectively and efficiently to create less emissions with a holistic environmental approach in railways, which are an important part of transportation systems, Yalçın said: “With the Paris Climate Agreement and the European Green Deal, many countries have set net zero carbon targets between 2030 and 2050.” determined and created road maps. While reaching the zero carbon target, it is of great importance to reduce emissions in the transportation sector, where fossil fuels are used the most. Accordingly, with the development of new applications and technological solutions, the prevalence of applications for the use of sustainable green energy resources in the railway sector is increasing day by day. The investments made in the railway sector in the last 20 years and the efforts to raise the standards of existing lines and make them signaled and electrified are of great importance, and studies in this direction continue rapidly. With a holistic environmental approach, new environmentally friendly applications and sustainable technological solutions are being used more in our sector to create a lower carbon footprint in railways. "In this context, we plan to provide more efficient and economical transportation and reduce carbon emissions by obtaining the energy consumed from renewable energy sources, which is an indispensable necessity in our world," he said.
“It acts as a locomotive in railway transportation in order to contribute to the realization of its strategic goals in the climate change adaptation process and to create new opportunities.”
Yalçın concluded his words as follows:
” In order to contribute to the realization of our country's strategic goals in the adaptation process to climate change and to create new opportunities, an Energy Management and Climate Change Action Plan must be prepared for our organization, which acts as the locomotive in railway transportation. I have full faith that significant gains will be made during the workshop in terms of sharing information, exchanging ideas and creating concrete action plans in the field of energy management and climate change. In this regard, I am happy to see you, my valuable teammates, among us in this workshop where the road map regarding Energy Management and Climate Change of our General Directorate will be created. TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş., which is based on scientific-based research, includes short, medium and long-term actions on the main axis of energy and environmental management, and which we will finalize with you. I hope that the Energy Management and Climate Change Action Plan will be beneficial to our country and our company, and thank you all for your participation.”
Providing information about the Energy Management and Climate Change Action Plan Internal Stakeholder Workshop held to determine a road map for adaptation to climate change, TCDD Teknik AŞ Railway Vehicles and Energy Management Director Sezgin Yazıcı said that while reducing energy costs, which have an important place in costs, on the other hand, Emphasizing the need to determine a road map for the return to renewable energy sources, he said:
“UN issued a red alert for humanity regarding climate change”
“The United Nations Climate Report gives a red alert for humanity. Climate change is seen as the fault of all humanity. As a result of this change, it is predicted that the glaciers will melt completely and the sea height will increase by 2-3 meters. In the context of the Paris Climate Agreement, Turkey has also committed to gradually reduce the increase in emissions. It set a zero emissions target in 2053. The European Union, with its efforts in this direction, is taking measures to ensure zero emissions in transportation systems that cause emissions to increase. In fact, the EU will start collecting emission taxes from 2026. Therefore, emission also stands as an important criterion in competition.”
“The European Union sees the railway transportation system as a life jacket in the fight against climate change”
Yazıcı said, “The European Union sees the railway transportation system as a life jacket in the fight against climate change. Importance is given to railway investments, railway traffic will double. While the green line is being created by railway, the zero emission target is also implemented on the highway. Companies that produce highway vehicles are now producing electric vehicles. In the future, this will be gray hydrogen and green hydrogen. Companies that produce railway vehicles have also entered this transformation process. The airline also sets targets for zero carbon emissions. In parallel with these developments, Turkey is taking the necessary measures in all sectors towards the 2053 target. TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ General Directorate will also work on the road map of the energy management and climate change action plan at the Workshop held today. “I wish you success,” he said.
Action Plan coordinator Ataman Erik also said:
“What do we want to achieve? How will we reach it? What will be our focus areas in terms of purpose, targets, strategies and criteria? In this context, we will carry out our work within the framework of SMART rules and evaluate every 6 months.”
