Fossil Energy Sources Trade: Leading Countries and Turkey’s Situation

The mechanization that began with the Industrial Revolution changed the way work is done and created an environment where energy sources are intensively used. This demand for energy is met by fossil energy sources or renewable energy sources. Fossil kaynaklar, yüksek miktarda karbon içeren ve kömür, petrol ve doğalgaz olmak üzere üç gruba ayrılan kaynaklardır. These resources have a very long natural replenishment period and are also referred to as non-renewable (conventional) energy sources. In the second group, renewable energy sources are classified as geothermal, solar, wind, hydroelectric, hydrogen, biomass, wave, and tidal energy. The self-renewal process of these resources in nature occurs much faster compared to fossil energy sources. However, fossil energy sources are primarily used to meet energy needs. This situation lays the groundwork for the emergence of certain issues. For example, the presence of fossil resources in certain regions of the world creates the problem of inequality in access to energy resources. In this context, the lack of access to the energy resources needed by every country in the world leads to the trade of energy resources. Therefore, countries that are dependent on energy resources to meet their energy needs become energy importers, while countries that export energy resources become energy exporters. In this study, in order to analyze the trade status of fossil energy sources between 2011-2021, the export and import statuses of the top 50 countries were examined, and the countries that are exporters and importers of fossil energy sources were identified. On the other hand, Turkey's position among these countries has also been revealed.