Rector Hacımüftüoğlu Evaluated Health and Energy Efficiency at the Antalya COP31 Conference

Atatürk University Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu spoke at a program held in the Ministry of Health Pavilion within the scope of COP31 held in Antalya, evaluating energy consumption in the health sector, green transition, and domestic pharmaceutical raw material projects.

The session titled "Green Energy in Health Facilities: Applicability of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Solutions" was organized by the Ministry of Health within the framework of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP31 held in Antalya. Speaking at this session, Atatürk University Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu pointed out that the climate crisis is a health crisis, emphasizing the share of the health sector in greenhouse gas emissions and the importance of energy efficiency.

Stating that pharmaceutical raw material production requires high energy, Hacımüftüoğlu announced that in order to reduce Turkey's foreign dependency in this field, they are working with 88 scientists at the Institute of Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, and Biotechnology for the domestic production of 100 strategic pharmaceutical raw materials. He reported that the raw material production of three critical drugs has been completed in about a year, the Şekerpınar Pharmaceutical Raw Material Production Center will be transformed into a green production infrastructure, and a new center will be established on the Erzurum campus with the support of EVYAP.

Providing information on the university's sustainability efforts, Hacımüftüoğlu noted that the 2-megawatt solar power plant established on campus under a project by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change will meet 13.5 percent of the annual electricity consumption and prevent approximately 2,300 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. He stated that through efforts such as zero waste and rainwater harvesting, they rose to 157th place in the UI GreenMetric 2026 ranking and ranked third in the world in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ranking in the Affordable and Clean Energy category.