Environmentalism is an obstacle for developing nations: Prime Minister

ISTANBUL

Developed countries are using environmentalism as a tool to prevent developing countries from progressing, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said.“The environmental issue is a trap, if you start developing and have an advantage over other countries when you make a strategic investment, or move in on their territory, they immediately activate environmentalists,” Yıldırım said at the “Meeting of the City’s Architects” event in Istanbul.Yıldırım added that while the destruction of history, culture and nature should not be tolerated, they should however be allowed to build a nuclear power plant.“To maintain supply levels, we need a variety in energy. We should build three [nuclear power plants], not just one or two,” he stressed.Earlier last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized environmentalists saying that Western countries were trying to obstruct the development of Turkey.“The majority of coal and nuclear power plants, which environmentalists criticize the most, are in Western countries,” he said.On Nov. 7, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak announced that the private sector had invested $5 billion in 2016 to build a total of 158 electricity generating plants in Turkey.