Antalya, Türkiye, November 11, 2026 — This year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) continues in Antalya, Türkiye, with Koç Holding, the country’s leading investment holding company, serving as a Global Business Partner. As part of the conference’s series of panels on the energy transition, Beko, Koç Group’s flagship consumer durables company and Dawlance’s parent company, convened a session on cooling and energy access in emerging markets. The panel, titled “Cooling a Warming World: Energy Access and Climate Change in Emerging Markets”, took place at the Türkiye Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
The session brought together Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Mr. Can Dinçer, CEO of Beko and Mr. Umar Ahsan Khan, CEO of Dawlance while Mr. Michel Frédeau, Senior Advisor and Global Leader of BCG’s Climate and Environment Impact Area, moderated the discussion.
Drawing on Beko’s experience with Dawlance in Pakistan and Defy in South Africa, Mr. Can Dinçer, CEO of Beko noted that the markets where cooling demand is growing fastest are often those where efficiency standards are still developing, and that high-efficiency products should reach them before regulation requires it.
Dawlance aims to help more families in Pakistan afford appliances that cost less to run. The company combines local R&D and manufacturing with technology transfer from Arçelik to develop and test energy-efficient appliances suited to local conditions, including inverter refrigerators and air conditioners designed to run on low voltage and on solar, UPS and generator power.
“Pakistan’s fan replacement programme lets eligible households pay for efficient fans in instalments through their electricity bills. A similar approach could help families replace older refrigerators and air conditioners and start using less electricity while they pay for the upgrade,” said Mr. Umar Ahsan Khan, CEO of Dawlance.
Dawlance also works with NEECA, PSQCA, UNIDO and Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination to improve appliance affordability, strengthen energy efficiency standards and help consumers understand how much electricity they could save. Reducing electricity use over the lifetime of its appliances also helps lower Dawlance’s Scope 3 emissions. With support from UNIDO and the Ministry’s National Ozone Unit, Dawlance has also converted the insulation foam in its refrigerators and freezers to cyclopentane, which has zero ozone-depleting potential. In September, the Ministry’s Federal Secretary, Mr. Awais Manzur Sumra, toured Dawlance’s Karachi plant to review the transition.
Beko’s COP31 programme will continue in the days ahead as part of Koç Holding’s “From Commitments to Action” programme at the Koç Holding Pavilion in the Green Zone. Beko executives will join international stakeholders to discuss how the green transition is shaping industrial competitiveness, as well as integrated value chains between Türkiye and Europe, the alignment of climate and trade policies, and financing for low-carbon investment.
Koç Holding and Beko remain committed to supporting Pakistan’s economic and industrial progress through continued innovation, strengthened local manufacturing and reliable technologies designed to improve everyday life for Pakistani households. Koç Group’s operations play a pivotal role in strengthening the economic relations between Türkiye and Pakistan, two countries connected by shared values and strategic partnership. Bilateral trade between the two nations reached approximately USD 1.2 billion in 2025. Both Türkiye and Pakistan are fully committed to further enhancing this collaboration, with the ambitious goal of increasing bilateral trade to USD 5 billion.
