13th IICEC Conference: Energy Security, Clean Energy & The Role of Finance

IICEC Conference Series continues with "Energy Security, Clean Energy & Role of Finance" which was held on 23 June 2022. This time, energy security issue which is at the top of the global agenda and has become much more important with the Russia-Ukraine war, together with clean energy trends had been discussed at the "Energy Security, Clean Energy & Role of Finance" conference and panel held in Istanbul. 

The conference started with the opening remarks of Sabancı University Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı. EBRD Turkey Director Arvid Tuerkner was the guest speaker and  following Mr. Tuerkner, IEA President and IICEC Honorary President Dr. Fatih Birol delivered the Keynote Speech of the conference.

Ms. Güler Sabancı said,“We are all aspiring for a more sustainable future. For that future, we would like to enhance clean energy growth and energy cleanness. So, we need a comprehensive model, innovative business model and clean energy technologies will need to be considered as at the center of our sustainable investments and finances. This is actually the ultimate goal of our growth.”

Arvid Tuerkner, EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) Turkey Director; “Turkey has the potential to be a green hydrogen exporter in the long run. The last decade has seen impressive growth in renewable energy production. Thanks to Turkey's solar and wind energy production potential, we expect to see a further increase in this growth going forward".

President of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Honorary President of IICEC Dr. Fatih Birol, on the other hand, stated that February 24, 2022 is the beginning of the global energy crisis and said, “Currently, we are in the middle of the world's very first global energy crisis, which started with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It does not seem possible for us to get out of this crisis in the short run. We can see a serious increase in oil prices especially in summer and natural gas prices in winter months. Due to this energy crisis, we can say that nuclear has made a comeback today".
 

After the speeches, the panel which was moderated by Sabancı University Faculty Member Dr. Mustafa Oğuz Afacan started. At the panel, TSKB General Manager Murat Bilgiç, Borusan Holding Group CEO Erkan Kafadar, ING Turkey Board Member Semra Kuran and SHELL Europe & Sub-Saharan Africa Corporate Affairs Vice President Rob Sherwin shared their perspectives on the current energy crisis and the role of financing clean energy.