As leaders and delegates gather in Antalya, Turkey, for the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference, villagers from front-line communities—most notably from Akbelen in the western province of Muğla have issued a sharp challenge to visiting heads of state: to skip the conference halls and witness firsthand the severe environmental and social destruction caused by local coal mining.
Core demand and local reality:
Local leaders and activists, such as villager Nejla Işık, have urged world leaders not to stay confined to Antalya, but to visit areas like İkizköy where open-pit lignite coal mines and nearby power plants have expanded for decades.
Residents describe living with coal dust “breathing down our necks” and watching local pine forests and ecosystems vanish.
The local resistance against coal expansion has faced heavy friction. Activists have highlighted legal crackdowns, including heavy fines, police interventions involving pepper spray and water cannons, and criminal charges against community members trying to protect their land.
Lignite is the lowest grade of coal, meaning burning it releases higher amounts of carbon dioxide than more energy-dense coal.
An elected official for her community, says the government leaders and UN officials need to head a few hundred kilometres west to Ikizkoy, near the Akbelen forest in Turkey’s southwestern Mugla province, and see for themselves the impact of coal on nature and on people’s lives.
Villagers, who for years have protested against coal mining, have been fined and arrested.
“They should come here, those heads of state. They should come not to Antalya but to Akbelen, to Ikizkoy,” said Isik. Her home in Ikizkoy is only a few hundred metres behind a lignite mine that has crept nearer over decades of expansion.
Turkey’s climate paradox at COP31:
While Turkey has committed to a net-zero emissions target by 2053 and boasts significant growth in renewable energy sources, it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels and has grown into a major producer of coal-fired electricity in Europe.
Environmental campaigners and local groups criticize the government’s climate strategy for lacking a concrete, enforceable timeline or roadmap for phasing out coal, casting a shadow over the summit’s official focus on practical implementation and climate bridges.
Last year, coal was Turkey’s largest electricity source, generating 34% of the country’s power, making Turkey Europe’s biggest coal-fired electricity generator, according to energy think tank Ember.
The mines in the Akbelen area provide coal for plants that generate just over 2% of Turkey’s power, according to the operator’s website.
Villagers and environmental campaigners, who oppose the expansion of lignite mining, say it has destroyed forest and threatens olive groves, farmland and communities.
