Turkish villagers living beside a lignite mine in Ikizkoy are asking world leaders at COP31 in Antalya to leave the conference and see the damage from coal extraction firsthand. The mine near the Akbelen forest has expanded for decades, and residents say it has destroyed forest and threatens olive groves and farmland. Lignite is the lowest grade of coal, so it releases more carbon dioxide per unit of energy than harder coal. Coal was Turkey's largest electricity source, generating 34% of the country's power, according to the article. Turkey is proposing a voluntary global goal on electrification at COP31, but that goal will not cut emissions unless the electricity itself is low-carbon. Villagers who protested the mine expansion have been fined and arrested, and one activist's daughter was sentenced to two years in prison. The energy minister says Turkey is working on a just transition and sees nuclear power as the most viable alternative, with a target of 10 GW of nuclear capacity by 2040.
