Switzerland sees scope to deepen renewable energy and clean-technology cooperation with Türkiye by combining the country's experience in deploying solar and wind projects with Swiss expertise in innovation, engineering and finance, Swiss Ambassador to Türkiye Guillaume Scheurer said.
As Türkiye prepares to host the COP31 climate summit in Antalya in November, Scheurer told Anadolu that Switzerland has closely followed the COP process since its inception and remains actively engaged in international climate negotiations.
Scheurer said Switzerland, which is significantly affected by climate change, attaches great importance to the COP31 negotiations, an approach reflected in the high-level delegation it plans to send to the conference.
Albert Rösti, federal councillor and head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, will attend COP31 in Antalya, while Environment Ambassador Felix Wertli will lead Switzerland's negotiating team, he said.
The Swiss delegation will include strong representation from the private sector and civil society, participating throughout the high-level segment and negotiations, Scheurer said, adding that Switzerland hopes to see concrete outcomes from the conference.
Scheurer said Switzerland was closely following Türkiye's policies and efforts to expand renewable energy and address climate change.
He said Türkiye had demonstrated strong political will to develop greener energy, while Switzerland brought extensive experience and a private sector that was "very much at the forefront" of innovation and new technologies.
"I think COP31 could be the place where we could match those interests, where we could have complementary approaches between the governments, but also between the private sectors, both Turkish and Swiss," he said.
- Significant potential to deepen bilateral cooperation
Scheurer said Switzerland is closely following Türkiye's progress in wind and solar energy and sees strong capabilities among Turkish companies in renewable energy technologies.
"That could also be a win-win situation where Switzerland could benefit from your experience, in particular in the solar industry, but also in the wind industry," he said.
Scheurer also pointed to energy storage, grid modernization and smart energy systems as areas where Switzerland could contribute to Türkiye's energy transition.
"I see significant potential to take our existing cooperation further – particularly by transforming the dialogue into concrete long-term partnerships and projects," he said.
Switzerland's expertise in clean technology, engineering, finance and innovation could complement Türkiye's strengths, while partnerships among companies, investors and research institutions could help develop and scale new solutions, according to Scheurer.
He also described COP31 as an important platform for discussions on climate financing and potential partnerships between the two countries.
"Switzerland could help facilitate the connection between investors and Turkish projects," he said, adding that such an approach could provide a more lasting contribution to Türkiye's renewable energy transition rather than one-off financial support.
- More initiatives between Swiss and Turkish researchers, businesses
Scheurer said he would like to see greater cooperation between Swiss and Turkish researchers and businesses, pointing to the complementary strengths of the two countries.
Switzerland has world-leading research institutions and a strong clean technology sector, while Türkiye has a growing technology and energy sector backed by practical know-how, he said.
Combining these strengths could lead to technology cooperation, joint pilot projects and research partnerships, according to Scheurer.
Scheurer said COP31 could create opportunities to turn shared interests between the two countries into concrete partnerships, noting that Switzerland will bring a large civil society delegation to Antalya.
He also highlighted Türkiye's potential contribution to Switzerland's energy transition, particularly through its expanding manufacturing capacity in solar, wind and electrical equipment as well as batteries.
"Türkiye's growing manufacturing capacity for building solar, wind and electrical equipment, as well as batteries could help Swiss companies to diversify their supply chains for their clean tech products," Scheurer said.
"With the global supply chain disruptions in the past years, this has become even more important to Switzerland," he added.
Scheurer also pointed to Türkiye's experience in deploying renewable energy projects at scale.
"Türkiye has successfully deployed renewable energy, like solar and wind energy plants, at a large scale. This experience and the lessons learned could also benefit Switzerland in its effort to scale up renewable energy production," he concluded.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
