• Welcome Guest
  • white bg

» News from TURKAK


Aspects of Accreditation in Turkish MRV of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Turkey has set up a monitoring, reporting and verification system (Turkish MRV) to measure the amount and reduction of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere by fixed installations. This is in line with global efforts that aim to limit the increase of atmospheric temperature by 1.5°C. This system is enforced by legislation, which requires mandatory accreditation of Verification Bodies verifying greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result, TURKAK has developed and implemented an accreditation program which takes into account several aspects of accreditation. Although ISO EN 14065 is being used as a Level 3 standard, there are other accreditation Level 3 standards that should be used in association with the ISO EN 14065 in order to measure the emissions with assurance and accuracy. As such, laboratories taking part in the system are now obligated by legislation to be accredited to and comply with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 standard. Given that, there are more than seven hundred installations in the system from a variety of manufacturers such as cement factories, refineries, electricity generation, and so on; now their laboratories and their associated laboratories to comply with the accreditation standard. The makes up to more than a thousand laboratories in the market.

Furthermore, legislation now requires several new tests (properties of biofuels, carbon content of some raw of semi-raw materials) that were not previously in the capacity to be performed by competent laboratories. As a result, many laboratories have had their accreditation scopes extended to include these new tests.

The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization is currently developing Proficiency Testing schemes for the tests in question to maintain the quality level across the country, meeting a demand for accreditation to be a Provider in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17043 standard.

Moreover, to calculate the amount of activity data (for example, weight – volume of material), inspection activities such as draft survey of ships containing materials or sampling of some fossil fuels or scraps from part of the imported bulks or calculation of volume of storage tanks can take place. For proper implementation of these activities, Verification Bodies and TURKAK are using the requirements of ISO/IEC 17020 standard. Accreditation of inspection bodies’ however, is not yet mandatory.

Lettering CO2 and drawing planet earth from grass and moss. The concept of ecology, air pollution and global warming. Environmental protection

 

How accreditation helps SDG 7 in Turkey

The struggle to find clean and safe fuels and develop technologies to expand the use of renewable energy continues worldwide. Hydrocarbon-based energy is becoming expensive and is moving towards being a less attractive option due to the damage it causes to the environment. Besides the financial impact, measures taken to reduce its use and incentives given for alternatives play an important role in making it more expensive. However, undoubtedly the most important challenge is minimizing or eliminating the damage caused by hydrocarbon-based fuels to the environment.

To this end, the United Nations has set the goal ‘Ensuring Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All’ under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. Various sub targets and indicators have been identified under this goal and these indicators are monitored on an annual basis. According to the 2021 edition of ‘The Energy Progress Report’, the latest available data and selected energy scenarios reveal that at today’s rate of progress, the world is not on track to achieve SDG 7. This is particularly true for the most vulnerable countries and those that were already suffering.
In Turkey, under SDG 7, overall performance evaluation shows that positive progress was achieved towards indicators of population with access to electricity (%) and share of renewable energy in total primary energy supply (%). Projects that reduce energy intensity and increase efficiency have been organized through incentives and support practices followed by the Energy Efficiency Coordination Board within the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

In line with these efforts and the progress, various legislations have been put into effect in the housing sector for the spread of insulation applications, efficient and environmentally friendly energy consumption, and efficient use of lighting and electrical household appliances. Further improvements have been made in the field of energy efficiency such as reducing fuel consumption levels in passenger cars, public transportation and rail transportation infrastructure, increasing the quality of roads and developing signalling systems suitable for needs in the transportation sector.

The Energy Efficiency Law No. 5627 and Regulation on Energy Performance in Buildings were implemented, and the Energy Performance Certificate application was initiated regarding the efficient use of energy in buildings, energy saving, control of greenhouse gas emissions, insulation properties and efficiency of heating/cooling systems. The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan includes items such as improving the financing mechanism and providing support for energy efficiency projects, as well as the establishment of energy management systems.

Accreditation has a special function under all these legal, technical, and financial considerations. The Ministry of Industry and Technology provides incentives to companies for their certification activities related to these purposes. SDG 7.3 sets a target for the improvement in energy efficiency. In accordance with these goals and targets, TÜRKAK has started to provide accreditation services to certification bodies in the field of ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems. TÜRKAK accredits test laboratories in the fields of energy efficiency and performance measurements according to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. TÜRKAK also accredits energy efficiency testing laboratories for energy efficiency certifications. The accredited testing laboratory infrastructure has an important place in product certification processes in the field of energy efficiency. Furthermore, TÜRKAK has direct or indirect contribution to the management and evaluation of energy efficiency in many areas.

Wooden house miniature and solar panel close up, green energy concept