The English website of the Islamic magazine - Al-Mujtama. A leading source of global Islamic and Arabic news, views and information for more than 50 years.
February 12, 2025
Staff
Turkey's coal exit by 2030 could reduce power sector emission by 82.8%
November 03, 2021Turkey could be coal free by 2030 if fossil fuel companies are made financially responsible for their externalities in line with the 'polluter pays' principle, and if the government ends coal subsidies, according to a new report from a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Tuesday.
A coal exit by 2030 in Turkey could ensure an 82.8% decrease in carbon emissions from the power sector between 2021 and 2035, leaving emissions at 27.6 million tons of CO2 level by 2035, the report, First Step in the Pathway to a Carbon Neutral Turkey: Coal Phase out 2030, said.
This would mark a massive decline in Turkey's power sector emissions, which are estimated this year to be around 160 million tons of CO2.
The report, prepared by Europe Beyond Coal, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Sustainable Economics and Finance Research Association (SEFiA), WWF-Turkey (World Wildlife Fund), Greenpeace Mediterranean, 350.org and Climate Change Policy and Research Association, stipulated that income from a carbon pricing mechanism, combined with savings from canceling coal subsidies, would provide finance to facilitate an equitable, just transition for Turkey's coal industry this decade.
'Currently no coal plant or mine owner in Turkey bears any of the health, pollution, or climate costs created by their operations, and their polluting businesses further benefit through purchase guarantees and capacity mechanisms,' the report underlined.
It asserted that when power plant operators are required to bear the costs of coal's externalities, coal electricity generation will become uneconomic, meaning that market forces alone will lead to a 2029 domestic coal exit.
- Scenarios focus on carbon neutrality target
Under the report's coal phase out scenario, which foresees a coal exit by 2030, carbon emissions from the power sector would decrease by 82.8% between 2021 and 2035, leaving emissions at 27.6 million tons of CO2 by 2035.
In comparison, the business as usual scenario shows that it will be very hard to reach Turkey's 2053 carbon neutral target if coal stays a part of its energy mix.
The NGOs in the report argue that a focus on a coal phase out in favor of building up renewable energy generation to 73.6% would address high electricity prices that make energy security and energy independence especially vital.
“A coal phase out and just transition to renewable energy can be achieved with an increase in annual spending of only 0.5% of Turkey’s gross domestic product until 2029, which equates to €24 billion over the period,” the report read.
However, it recommended that a coal phase out should include a just transition mechanism that creates new local economic opportunities and an inclusive and fair transition for those living in coal regions.
- Support from NGOs
Commenting on the report, Duygu Kutluay, a Europe Beyond Coal campaigner, stated that for too long polluters in Turkey have had free reign to damage the health of the environment and people, and financial support to do so.
“With the government's ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement and Turkey's new 2053 net zero target effectively dooming the coal industry, we finally have some hope for a cleaner, healthier, safer future.
'Twenty European countries have either quit coal or announced plans to do so. Today we demonstrate that Turkey can secure technological advantages, employment, health and financial benefits, and tremendous political good will by also exiting coal,' she said.
Ozlem Katisoz, a Climate and Energy Policy coordinator for Turkey at Climate Action Network Europe, commented that Turkey has taken a much-needed commitment to climate action with it to this year's crucial COP26 climate conference.
'This makes a quick shift from coal to renewable energy necessary, and this study shows that it is technically and financially achievable,' she said, adding that what will be most important is in “planning ahead for the social dimension of this transition, so those living and working in coal regions share in the opportunities this renewable energy revolution will bring.”
Bengisu Ozenc, the director of Sustainable Economy and Finance Research Association (SEFiA), said that Turkey’s efforts to decarbonize its economy would protect its foreign trade under competitive conditions that are changing in line with the global climate targets, and improve its reputation among trade partners./aa
Gunmen kidnap 4 university lecturers, children in Nigeria's capital
November 03, 2021Gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped four lecturers and a number of children from a university in the Nigerian capital Abuja, officials confirmed.
In a statement posted on the University of Abuja's website, spokesman Habib Yakoob said the gunmen invaded the university staff lodging in the early morning and abducted four lecturers and an unspecified number of children.
He stated that university security authorities are working with law enforcement agencies to free the kidnapped teachers and children.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command arrived on campus and beefed up security both inside and outside the institution.
The incident was the country's first major attack on an educational institution in the country's capital. Students have been kidnapped in large numbers in the country's northeast and central regions.
Last month over 90 kidnapped students and staff from the Federal Government College in the northeastern Kebbi state were rescued after 118 days in captivity.
On March 11, gunmen kidnapped at least 38 students from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Afaka in the northern Kaduna state./aa
Gunmen kidnap 4 university lecturers, children in Nigeria's capital
November 03, 2021Gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped four lecturers and a number of children from a university in the Nigerian capital Abuja, officials confirmed.
In a statement posted on the University of Abuja's website, spokesman Habib Yakoob said the gunmen invaded the university staff lodging in the early morning and abducted four lecturers and an unspecified number of children.
He stated that university security authorities are working with law enforcement agencies to free the kidnapped teachers and children.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command arrived on campus and beefed up security both inside and outside the institution.
The incident was the country's first major attack on an educational institution in the country's capital. Students have been kidnapped in large numbers in the country's northeast and central regions.
Last month over 90 kidnapped students and staff from the Federal Government College in the northeastern Kebbi state were rescued after 118 days in captivity.
On March 11, gunmen kidnapped at least 38 students from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Afaka in the northern Kaduna state./agencies
9 out of 10 killings of journalists go unpunished, say UN experts
November 03, 2021The UN experts Tuesday said nine out of 10 killings of journalists continue to go unpunished.
In a joint statement on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the UN expert on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan; the special rapporteur on the extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz; and expert on violence against women, Reem Alsalem, called on countries to investigate violence against journalists and prosecute the perpetrators.
“The safety of journalists remains as precarious as ever, impunity for crimes against them as high and persistent as before,” they said.
“Over the past year, around the world, journalists have been threatened, harassed, attacked physically, abducted, arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, tortured and killed – simply for doing their job.”
Threats to the safety of journalists, far from abating, have taken new forms in the digital age, especially for women journalists.
While both male and female journalists are threatened while doing their work, women, including those from minority groups, are at much higher risk of sexual attacks and online gender-based violence, including online harassment, trolling, doxing, rape, and death threats, they added.
“The failure to investigate and address attacks online has real-life consequences for women journalists, affecting their mental and physical health,” they said.
According to the statement, such failures undermined their confidence and autonomy, stigmatizing them and generating fear, shame, and reputational and professional damage.
Extreme cases
“In extreme cases, online threats can escalate to physical violence and even murder, as the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” who fought corruption in Malta, showed, the experts said.
“Attacks on journalists are an assault on society’s right to be informed, on the right to freedom of expression as well as many other human rights, including the right to life and liberty of the individuals concerned,” the experts said.
“That the needle has not shifted over the past decade is a clear indication that national and international measures for protecting the safety of journalists are failing. Much more needs to be done.”
Last year, according to UNESCO, 62 journalists around the world were killed just for doing their jobs, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an earlier statement.
“Many lost their lives while covering the conflict. But in recent years, the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones has risen,” said Guterres.
“In many countries, simply investigating corruption, trafficking, human rights violations or environmental issues puts journalists’ lives at risk.”/aa
Biden unveils new regulations to reduce US methane emissions
November 03, 2021The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled new regulations on US methane emissions as part of a multilateral target of cutting global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
"The oil and gas industry is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States, responsible for approximately 30% of total methane emissions," the White House said in a statement.
When he took office this January, President Joe Biden ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue regulations under the Clean Air Act to reduce oil and gas industry methane emissions, and the EPA on Monday proposed new regulations that broaden methane emissions reduction for new oil and gas facilities.
US states are now required to develop plans that will reduce methane emissions from existing sources nationwide, including an estimated 300,000 oil and gas well sites.
"Overall, the proposed requirements would reduce by approximately 75% emissions from the sources, equipment, and operations that the proposal covers,” according to the US Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan report. “Those reductions would total 41 million cumulative tons of methane between 2023 and 2035, the equivalent of 920 million metric tons of CO2."
Focusing on the venting and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations and wells, the Interior Department is planning closures on public lands and waters and the plugging of empty wells still releasing methane, the report said.
The Transportation Department is aiming to reduce or eliminate leaks or ruptures of oil and gas pipelines at underground natural gas storage facilities and from liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations, it added.
Methane accounts for around 10% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions in the US, while one ton of methane in the atmosphere has about 80 times the warming impact of a ton of CO2, according to the report.
The Global Methane Pledge announced in September by the EU and the US aims to reduce global methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
"The official launch event the second day of COP-26 will announce that more than 90 governments have now joined the pledge, including 15 of the world’s top 30 methane emitters: the United States, EU, Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq, Vietnam, Canada," the White House said./agencies
Eurozone manufacturing PMI down to 8-month low over supply disruptions
November 03, 2021The Eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dipped to an eight-month low in October, as output and new order growth lose further momentum due to supply chain disruptions.
The PMI fell to 58.3 in October, down from 58.6 in September, signaling the slowest improvement in manufacturing sector conditions since February, the London-based global data provider IHS Markit stated on Tuesday.
Supply-side issues interrupted production schedules and dented order books, the report said and added that the input delivery times lengthened to one of the greatest extents on record, pushing input cost and output price inflation to new highs.
The manufacturing sectors of the Netherlands, Ireland, and Italy posted the fastest growth in the month.
The remaining monitored countries registered slowdowns, the IHS Markit report showed, while Germany and France's PMI slumped to a nine-month low in October.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, said the pandemic induced production constraints at suppliers – a lack of shipping containers and inadequate freight capacity, port congestion, driver shortages, and broader transportation delays – were reported, besides logistical issues.
"These shortages have led to the weakest rise in factory output since the recovery began in July of last year, and also pushed inflationary pressures to new survey highs, raising further questions about just how transitory the recent spike in inflation will be," Williamson said./aa
Twin bombings in Afghan capital kill at least 10
November 03, 2021At least 10 people were killed and 20 others wounded as two explosions hit Afghanistan's biggest military hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, witnesses and officials said.
The Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan hospital is in the affluent Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, where many foreign embassies are located.
The explosions took place at the entrance of the 400-bed hospital and security forces had been sent to the area, said Saeed Khosty, a spokesperson at the interim Interior Ministry.
Taliban's deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi also confirmed the two explosions, but he did not disclose the number of casualties.
A Taliban official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said armed attackers entered the hospital and opened indiscriminate firing after the explosions.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State terror group has carried out a series of attacks on mosques and other targets since the Taliban took power in mid-August./aa
Kuwait resumes issuance of all categories of visas
November 02, 2021The interior ministry and the Public Authority for Manpower announced yesterday the resumption of issuance of all types of visas to foreigners, including dependent, business, tourist and work visas. However, no official statement was issued by the interior ministry until the time of going to press on the actual date when visit visas will be issued.
The two authorities insisted that visas will be issued only to people who have been fully vaccinated with vaccines approved by Kuwait – Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. People must produce a vaccination certificate with a QR code to officials before the visas are issued, decrees from the two authorities said. People who have received other types of vaccines should get a third dose of one of the four approved vaccines and produce the certificate to officials to get a visa.
The residency affairs department at the interior ministry said in its circular that dependent visas will only be issued to applicants’ spouses. Children under 16 will be issued either dependent or tourist visas based on conditions set by the department. Residents applying for dependent visas must draw a minimum monthly salary of KD 500.
The department will issue either dependent or tourist visas to children of Kuwaiti women married to foreigners. The circular allows the issuance of all types of business visas for all activities based on the assessment of officials. Electronic visas will be issued to citizens of 53 countries and legal residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.
Hotels and companies linked to the special automated system in the ministry are also allowed to issue electronic visas. The issuance of all types of visas had been suspended over a year ago due to restrictions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Kuwait, which has not seen a single death from COVID-19 for seven days in a row, has been reopening to pre-pandemic status.
The Public Authority for Manpower also announced yesterday the resumption of issuance of work permits for foreign workers outside the country after the interior ministry resumed issuing visas. Under the law, the manpower authority first issues work permits, and on the basis of such permits, the interior ministry issues entry visas. PAM added work permits will be issued online, either through its website or through the Ashal app.
Latest figures show that over 250,000 expatriates left the country in the 12 months till June 30 this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kuwait Society for Human Rights said in a report on Sunday. The share of foreign residents among the population dropped to 68.2 percent, down from 70 percent before the pandemic. There are fewer than 3.1 million expats in Kuwait now compared to 3.35 million before the pandemic.
A group of US military officers is urging that the Pakistani man sentenced to prison should now be freed, after he detailed the torture he faced from the CIA.
Last week, Majid Khan became the first detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to publicly outline the kind of torture he received at one of the CIA's so-called "black sites", during the war on terror and the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
In a 39-page testimonial, Khan described being tortured, on and off, for three years, starting in 2003 in Karachi. He said the interrogation techniques used on him included waterboarding, being hung naked from a ceiling, and being physically and sexually assaulted.
Khan had been convicted of aiding Al-Qaeda after the US invasion of Afghanistan, following the 9-11 attacks in America. But in his testimonial, Khan said the more he cooperated with investigators, the more he was tortured, which led him to lie about his knowledge of Al-Qaeda.
A letter from seven of the eight military officers who sentenced Khan to 26 years in prison, published in the New York Times on Sunday, condemned the CIA torture and stated that Khan's interrogations went well beyond enhanced interrogation techniques and bordered on torture, "performed by the most abusive regimes in modern history."
The officers added that the abuse was ineffective and called it "an affront to American values and concept of justice."
"This abuse was of no practical value in terms of intelligence, or any other tangible benefit to U.S. interests," read the letter. "Instead, it is a stain on the moral fiber of America; the treatment of Mr. Khan in the hands of U.S. personnel should be a source of shame for the U.S. government."
Khan, who had been living in the US at the time of the 9-11 attacks, told the court he was remorseful about his involvement with Al-Qaeda, and has since renounced the group. He has also provided fresh information to US investigators about others linked to terrorism.
Khan is already scheduled to be released from Guantanamo Bay next year, a development the military officers apparently did not realize when they urged his clemency.
The Khan case comes on the heels of the announcement that another Guantanamo Bay detainee will soon be released, after 14 years of imprisonment.
The 40-year-old Asadullah Haroon Gul, an Afghan accused of aiding Al-Qaeda, was also held in the wake of the Afghanistan invasion in 2001, but he was never actually charged with a crime. Last week, members of a national review of US intelligence decided he no longer posed a security risk./agencies
Turkey discovers 60 million barrels of oil equivalent reserves in 2021
November 02, 2021Turkey discovered an additional 60 million barrels of oil equivalent reserves with 26 new onshore explorations this year, Fatih Donmez, the minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced Monday.
Speaking at the Grand National Assembly, Donmez summarized the achievements that Turkey made with its own vessels on the completion of 15 offshore drillings along with the onshore explorations.
'Onshore, 99 exploration, production and test wells have been opened and nearly 224,000 meters of drilling have been conducted in the last nine months. Along with the Black Sea discovery, nearly 60 million barrels of oil equivalent reserves have been brought into our country thanks to 26 discoveries in our onshore areas in 2021,' he said.
Through this achievement, security in natural gas supplies has been achieved to cover the anticipated 22% consumption rise to 60 billion cubic meters.
Donmez said he does not expect any supplies problems this winter with the country's policy of supply diversification, the growing number and capacity in natural gas and LNG entrance points, and with plans for the underground natural gas storage facilities, which are currently three quarters full, to be at full capacity.
The minister also covered the plans for renewables through the Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) projects, namely 2,000 megawatts (MW) for wind and 2,500 MW for solar capacity.
- 'Mining exports projected to reach $6 billion'
He detailed the progressive rise in Turkey's mining exports from $700 million in 2002 to $4.4 billion by this September.
'We expect our mining exports to reach $6.6 billion by the year-end,' Donmez said, adding that the share of mining sector in gross domestic product is projected to increase to 1.9% from 1.4% in the first half of 2021./aa
