Turkish villagers ask COP31 leaders to see coal mine damage near Akbelen forest

Villagers living next to a lignite mine in Turkey's Mugla province are urging world leaders attending COP31 in Antalya to visit the site and see the damage from decades of coal extraction. The article quotes local official Nejla Isik, who says the mine has crept within a few hundred meters of homes, destroyed forest, and threatened olive groves and farmland. Protesters there have faced fines, detentions, and prison sentences, including Isik's daughter, who was convicted for resisting public officials after a protest against land expropriation. The story also looks at Turkey's energy mix, noting coal supplied 34 percent of the country's electricity last year, the largest share among sources and the highest in Europe. Turkey is proposing a voluntary COP31 goal on electrification, but as the article points out, that only cuts emissions if the electricity itself is low-carbon. The energy minister says a just transition is difficult because the mines employ thousands, and he is pushing nuclear power as the main alternative, with a target of 10 gigawatts by 2040.