Energy & Environment

Though very widely believed to be inadequate in the target it sets, the Paris Agreement is commonly thought actually to set a binding target of reducing global CO₂e emissions so as to limit global warming to 2℃. Proper legal interpretation of the Agreement shows it to set no such target. It rather gives the newly industrialising countries such as China and India a permission to emit as much as they see fit. These countries have been principally responsible for the huge growth in emissions since 1990 and they will be responsible for their continued huge growth until 2030. The Paris Agreement therefore makes the policy of mitigation of global warming impossible. However, this policy has been impossible over the whole of the now more than a quarter century of international climate change policy.

Mobile phones are universally popular due to their convenience. Mobile phones solve problems and offer new channels of communication by using a device small enough to fit into one hand. On the other hand, mobile phones may be harmful to the environment and health, and waste disposal problems may be associated with their use. This study discusses the risks associated with mobile phone use and addresses the options to rectify those issues in the longer term.

This study investigates the sustainable development of hydropower in Turkey, focusing on development of Çoruh River. Çoruh Basin, which has magnificent dams, is one of the five largest basins in Turkey and represents 5.2% of the national gross hydropower potential (433 GWh/year). When all currently planned projects in Çoruh Basin are completed, the hydropower potential will reach 13,315 GWh/year, corresponding to 58.8% of the gross potential in Çoruh River and 5.12% of the annual electric energy production of Turkey in 2015.

Hydropower has a critical role in supplying the energy demand and sustaining the economic and industrial growth in Turkey. Over the past decade, several policy changes have been made to improve the contribution of hydropower in overall national energy production. Turkey is utilizing less than half of the hydropower potential and planning to employ almost full of its potential within the next 10 years. For this plan to be realized there is a need to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the past and recent regulations. Implications from such an analysis are believed to be necessary for a better national energy strategy. This work fills this gap and presents analysis of data representing utilized and unutilized hydropower potential obtained from the official sources. The analysis coupled with the recent policy changes was discussed within the context of sustainable hydropower structure. The unutilized hydropower potential plays a crucial role in national energy security. It is also evident that hydropower alone will not be meeting the rapidly increasing demand. So far, however, researchers have shown an increased interest in unutilized hydropower potential; there has been no detailed analysis about identifying characteristics of this potential and developing strategies in terms of required technological investments. The efforts toward realizing the long-term national energy security goals need to consider establishing research development and manufacturing capabilities of domestic hydropower equipment which will fit the need to reduce foreign dependence on hydropower energy technology.

Like most other things, fracking has its good and bad points. In the former regard, it is a technological breakthrough that can increase the supplies of energy of the entire economy. In the latter, it has been linked with an increased incidence of earthquakes and water pollution, surely negatives. As well, there is some evidence fracking would not exist, at least not to the present extent, were it not for government subsidies, which, we argue, misallocate resources.