DETERMINATION OF THE CARBON FOOTPRINT ARISING FROM THERMAL PLANTS USING COAL IN TURKEY

Abstract

Energy is a field that has the highest priority for the development of countries. In order to reach energy, various methods have been applied and used since the 18th century. Increasing energy demand has caused environmental damage in production processes. A great amount of the energy production on Earth is met from power plants that produce energy thermally. Thermal power plants, which also take place in the first place in the energy sector in our country, work with various fossil fuels. These fossil fuels cause climate change with the greenhouse gas emissions they give off to atmosphere and contribute to global warming. The whole of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming constitute the carbon footprint. These gases are released as a result of all human activities. The energy sector ranks first in greenhouse gas emissions. According to experts, if global warming continues like this, the world temperature will increase between 1.8°C -4.0°C, towards the end of the 21st century (IPCC,2006). Various protocols and agreements are being signed to prevent these increases. With the Paris Agreement, to which Turkey is also a party, various negotiations are being carried out to keep the temperature level at 1.5 °C. As a result of the negotiations, certain carbon emission quotas have been put into effect for the participating countries. It is highly important for countries to calculate their carbon emissions so that these quotas are not exceeded. The calculation method was developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). According to this method, carbon footprint calculation can be made with Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 methodologies. With the IPCC Tier 1 methodology that we used in our study; carbon footprint calculations have been made according to the fuel type of coal-fired thermal power plants in our country. As a result of the calculations made, the carbon footprint emissions of coal-fired thermal power plants has been determined. The measures to be taken in order to minimize the harmful effects of coal has been focused on.