Türkiye and IRENA to Launch Global Initiative to Grow Geothermal 12-Fold

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, the Presidency team of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) plan to jointly launch the "2050 Global Geothermal Development Initiative" in Antalya, proposing to expand global geothermal energy supply for power generation and heating to 12 times the 2025 level by 2050. The initiative is scheduled to be officially introduced at a ministerial roundtable held on the same day, with governments, financial institutions, enterprises and international organizations invited to participate.

According to the initiative text, the 12-fold growth target covers both geothermal power generation and direct heating, and participants will promote geothermal resource development across applications including power supply, district heating, industrial heat, agriculture and cooling. The initiative adopts a voluntary participation mechanism, with each participating country retaining the right to decide its own energy policies, plans and implementation pathways, and formulating specific actions based on resource conditions and energy development foundations.

The initiative proposes multiple action directions for participants, including improving geothermal resource development policies, accelerating project permitting and approval, establishing predictable investment conditions, and coordinating grid and heating network construction. Financial support focuses on reducing investment risks in the geothermal exploration stage, improving financing conditions, expanding public and private capital input, and promoting the formation of a pipeline of bankable geothermal projects.

According to IRENA's 2026 energy transition pathway projections, global geothermal primary energy supply for power generation and heating is expected to need to expand from approximately 2.5 exajoules in 2025 to approximately 31 exajoules in 2050. Over the same period, global installed geothermal power generation capacity under this scenario would grow from approximately 15.6 gigawatts to 193 gigawatts, corresponding to average annual additions of approximately 7 gigawatts. These figures are long-term energy transition scenario targets, not installed capacity of already-approved global construction projects.

The ministerial meeting on November 10 is scheduled to be held from 13:00 to 14:00 local time. Türkiye's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar and IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera will attend and deliver opening remarks. IRENA Director of Country Engagement and Partnerships Gurbuz Gonul will present the initiative and moderate discussions among ministers and senior government representatives on aligning existing national energy policies with global geothermal development goals.

On November 13, the COP31 Presidency team and IRENA also plan to hold a follow-up industry cooperation roundtable through the Global Geothermal Alliance, inviting geothermal developers, technology suppliers, investment institutions, multilateral financial institutions and energy users to participate. Agenda topics include exploration risk sharing, project financing instruments, permitting systems, technology deployment and energy procurement arrangements, with a focus on forming industry cooperation recommendations oriented toward bankable projects.