Some $450 million in financing will be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industrial firms under the Turkiye Green Industry Project, Industry and Technology Minister Fatih Kacır has said.
The financing will support SMEs renewable energy and green transformation investments and R&D activities focused on circular economy and reducing carbon emissions, Kacır added, noting that the project is being implemented jointly with the World Bank.
“We aim to make the Turkish industry, which accounts for 90 percent of the country’s exports, ready for the European Union carbon border adjustment mechanism. At the same time, this will help Turkiye move closer to the net-zero carbon emission target under the Paris Climate Agreement, which the Turkish parliament ratified in 2021,” said the minister.
More than 40 percent of Turkiye’s exports are destined for EU member states.
The World Bank board approved the $450 million financing for the Turkiye Green Industry Project on June 2.
The operation will direct $250 million to the SMEs Development Organization of Turkiye (KOSGEB), to help SMEs improve their resource performance and reduce carbon emissions, and $175 million to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TÜBITAK),to foster green innovation activities by Turkish enterprises, research institutions and universities, the bank said.
The remaining $25 million will be used to coordinate project activities and lay the institutional foundations for the implementation of the national green industrial transition agenda.
The project will target thousands of industrial firms to reduce carbon emissions by investing in solar energy for their own consumption, developing and implementing green transition plans to reduce carbon emissions and improve their resource efficiency, with a focus on energy, water, and waste management efficiency, said the World Bank.