Gender Dimensions of Energy Poverty in Türkiye: Green Transformation and the Geopolitical Conversion

Öz

As a multifaceted structural issue in Türkiye, energy poverty is becoming more acute as it gets more connected to currency crises, climate change, and swings in international energy prices. Around 75% of Turkey's main energy supplies are imported; When political and economic vulnerabilities are coupled with this external dependency, a picture emerges that primarily affects those areas, mainly rural women, who disproportionately suffer from energy poverty at its most basic level. The goal of this research is to create policy recommendations for energy poverty in Türkiye from a gender perspective, using updated data and circumstances from 2025. It also intends to conduct a thorough analysis. The paper methodically explores inequities in household energy access, rural women's reliance on biomass, housing heating poverty, and the gender difference in access to clean energy technologies. The continuous impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war on energy security, Türkiye's alignment process with the EU Green Deal, the contribution of a high-inflation environment to exacerbated energy poverty, and the investment gap that falls short of the country's solar potential are all assessed in this context. The study proposes a multi-pronged policy framework tailored to Turkey while highlighting the gender-blind nature of current policy instruments and their flaws. This structure covers green skills programmes, gender-sensitive energy tariffs, energy entrepreneurship for rural women, and financial inclusion tools focusing on household energy usage. The conclusion uses scenario analyses for the 2035 and 2050 horizons based on economic and geopolitical factors.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Energy Poverty
• Green Transformation
• Energy Security
• Climate Policy

Destekleyen Kurum

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Etik Beyan

It is declared that scientific and ethical principles have been followed while carrying out and writing this study and that all the sources used have been properly cited.

Türkiye'de Enerji Yoksulluğunun Toplumsal Cinsiyet Boyutları: Yeşil Dönüşüm ve Jeopolitik Dönüşüm

Öz

Türkiye'de çok yönlü yapısal bir sorun olan enerji yoksulluğu, döviz krizleri, iklim değişikliği ve uluslararası enerji fiyatlarındaki dalgalanmalarla daha da iç içe geçtikçe giderek daha da şiddetlenmektedir. Türkiye'nin birincil enerji arzının yaklaşık %75'i ithal edilmektedir; bu dışa bağımlılığa siyasi ve ekonomik kırılganlıklar da eklendiğinde, ortaya enerji yoksulluğundan en temel düzeyde orantısız şekilde etkilenen kesimleri, özellikle de kırsal kesimdeki kadınları ön plana çıkaran bir tablo çıkmaktadır. Bu araştırmanın amacı, 2025 yılına ait güncel veri ve koşulları kullanarak, Türkiye'de enerji yoksulluğuna toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifinden kapsamlı bir analiz yapmak ve bu doğrultuda politika önerileri geliştirmektir. Makale sistematik olarak hane halkının enerjiye erişimindeki eşitsizlikleri, kırsal kesimdeki kadınların biyokütleye olan bağımlılığını, konutlarda ısınma yoksulluğunu ve temiz enerji teknolojilerine erişimdeki cinsiyet farkını incelemektedir. Bu bağlamda, Rusya-Ukrayna savaşının enerji güvenliği üzerindeki devam eden etkileri, Türkiye'nin AB Yeşil Mutabakatı'na uyum süreci, yüksek enflasyon ortamının enerji yoksulluğunu şiddetlendirici katkısı ve ülkenin güneş enerjisi potansiyelinin gerisinde kalan yatırım açığı da değerlendirilmektedir. Çalışma, mevcut politika araçlarının toplumsal cinsiyet körü niteliğine ve eksikliklerine dikkat çekerken, Türkiye'ye özgü çok boyutlu bir politika çerçevesi önermektedir. Bu çerçeve; yeşil beceri programlarını, toplumsal cinsiyete duyarlı enerji tarifelerini, kırsal kesimdeki kadınlara yönelik enerji girişimciliğini ve hane halkının enerji kullanımını merkeze alan finansal içerme araçlarını kapsamaktadır. Sonuç bölümünde ise ekonomik ve jeopolitik faktörlere dayalı olarak 2035 ve 2050 ufuklarına yönelik senaryo analizlerine yer verilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Enerji yoksulluğu
• Yeşil dönüşüm
• Enerji güvenliği
• İklim politikası

Destekleyen Kurum

Bu çalışma kamusal, ticari ya da kar amacı gütmeyen sektördeki herhangi bir kurumdan destek almamıştır.

Etik Beyan

Bu çalışmanın hazırlanma sürecinde bilimsel ve etik ilkelere uyulduğu ve yararlanılan tüm çalışmaların kaynakçada belirtildiği beyan olunur.

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