Energy summit IAEE MECA 2025 kicks off in Antalya

The International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) kicked off its energy and sustainability conference IAEE MECA (Middle East and Central Asia) 2025 in the southwestern Turkish city of Antalya on Dec. 4-6.

The event brings together global experts on energy, economics, and sustainability. Anadolu serves as its global communications partner.

The summit will address the challenges and opportunities in energy transition, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Special sessions on small modular reactors, e-mobility, critical minerals, and energy transition pathways specific to Central Asia will be discussed.

Gurkan Selcuk Kumbaroglu, chair of the IAEE MECA 2025 organizing committee, told Anadolu that participants from 24 countries are participating in the energy summit. The participants are mainly from the Middle East and Central Asia, but also from Brazil, China, and Europe.

"People from all over the world are participating in our event, which shows the importance given to Türkiye in the field of energy," he said.

Kumbaroglu stated that one of the preliminary workshops at the summit is on financing energy transition.

He noted that the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) was held in Brazil this year, and Türkiye will be holding the next iteration, the COP31, in Antalya. He said the IAEE will participate in COP meetings and that the energy summit is a preparatory event.

"The energy transition field has an annual financing need of around $1.3 trillion — about $300 billion of this is committed by developed countries, but there's still a very serious financing need," he said. "We started the summit with a workshop on this issue, and at the same time, we held another workshop on sustainability and life cycle."

He stated that the summit is bringing together several university departments as well as the public and business sectors.

"Many investors from all around the world and the private sector are here, alongside many senior executives and officials from various firms — they show their desire to invest in Türkiye," he added.