Limak Cement addresses Turkey's "Green Transformation"

Limak Cement's new business platforms will be “the most important catalyst in the Green Transformation," said Limak’s CEO, Erkam Kocakerim, speaking at the ‘Climate Change Summit: Green Transformation’ held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 14 June 2023. In the first such gathering following the formation of the government, more than 200 top business executives and bankers, some of them from the most carbon-intensive sectors of the economy, gathered to exchange views on the efforts needed to ensure a “green transformation” in Turkey. The event was organised by Capital and Ekonomist magazines in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change and UNDP.

Erkam Kocakerim, CEO Limak Cement, highlights opportunities for the country's green transformation. Mr Kocakerim will

also present at the forthcoming Cemtech Europe 2023 conference and exhibition in Istanbul on 8-11 October 2023

"It would be a great mistake for our country to focus on the risks that energy-intensive focus industries will face in EU exports,” said Mr Kocakerim. “Economy, energy, and climate change are evolving and developing as an inseparable trio. In the new energy economy, there emerges a huge market opportunity for clean technology, and the market for wind, solar, lithium-ion batteries, electrolysers, and fuel cells will reach trillions of dollars before the 2050 carbon neutrality targets, surpassing the market of oil and related industry. In order to gain a strong position in this market, we need to evaluate the next three years very well."   

He also highlighted that tens of thousands of people should be trained for numerous business lines, such as hydrogen production, transportation, storage and utilisation, CCUS, electrolyser, fuel cells, renewable fuels, measurement laboratories, and accreditation. 

Mr Kocakerim also took the opportunity to call for the urgent completion of the Turkish Emissions Trading System and its components, including a renewable energy roadmap updated with renewable hydrogen, CCUS, and renewable fuels. "In order to complete the design and commissioning of the Emission Trading System and the necessary structural elements as soon as possible, we must work without sleeping,” he told the audience. 

Mr Kocakerim will also be speaking at Cemtech Europe 2023, taking place in Istanbul on 8-11 October.