Turkey passes first 'far from ideal' climate change bill as heatwave ravages country
Turkey has passed its first "far from ideal" climate law even as the country is racked by a heatwave that has caused widespread wildfires.
The new law introduces the first legally binding framework to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement in Turkey.
The legislation establishes a national Emissions Trading System (ETS), mandating participation for certain businesses and placing a ceiling on carbon emissions in covered sectors.
It will also give new powers to the Climate Change Directorate to enforce environmental regulations.
“With this law, the most critical threshold of our 2053 Net Zero Emission and Green Development targets, we will provide a freer research and development environment without being influenced by any country in developing new technologies,” Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said on Thursday after the law passed.
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Climate activists welcomed the passage of the bill, but warned that it fell far short of what was needed.
The environmental law charity ClientEarth said the law lacked targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offered no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels.
They said it also failed to include civil society in climate-related decision-making, or establish an independent expert advisory body to oversee implementation.
ClientEarth lawyer Gizem Koc said the law was "far from ideal but still significant."
"The law has symbolic value - it sends a message to other segments of the govenment and also the courts that climate change is a very important issue for the government," she told Middle East Eye.
"Ministries may no longer tell us that Turkey's commitments under the Paris Agreements are not binding."
However, Ahmet Asena, a spokesperson for the Green Left Party (YSP), was more sceptical and said the law largely focused on creating a "CO2 market" rather than dealing with the climate crisis.
"As you know dealing with climate issues needs real investment and our government did not create enough funds in the budget," he told MEE.
"Thus the law might be effective but only for CO2 trade."
Complying with EU
The impetus for the new law has come in part from new legislation set to come into force in 2026 that will impose a carbon tax on products entering the European Union.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will apply tariffs to carbon-intensive products including aluminium, cement, electricity, fertilisers, hydrogen and iron and steel.
Products subject to the CBAM account for approximately 10.5 percent of Turkey’s total exports to the EU, and moving to comply with the new policy in part explains why Turkey has moved ahead with the new law.
"Harmonisation of legislation with the EU has had an impact," said Koc.
Turkey ratified the Paris Agreement in 2021, and originally signed the treaty back in 2016, but arguments over the economic impact of climate change legislation has kept the parliament from adopting a law enforcing it.
In 2021, as it ratified the agreement, Turkey also signed a deal to receive $3.2bn in loans from Germany and France for its domestic clean energy transition.
However, domestic climate activists say the Turkish government has prioritised growth at the expense of the country's ecological systems.
They also warn that climate denial rhetoric has because increasingly popular among politicians and media personalities in Turkey.
In February far-right New Welfare Party (YRP) MP Mehmet Asila claimed the then-draft bill was the product of "satanists, Zionists, globalists and imperialists".
The parliament is also currently set to new legislation which would fast-track mining projects in a range of natural environments including olive groves, forests and pastures.
ClientEarth warned that the legislation would "seriously undermine" the gains of the new climate law by circumventing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes and facilitating “urgent expropriations” for the benefit of mining projects.
Mining projects in Turkey have long been targeted by local activists who have warn they risk displacing communities, destroying wildlife and damaging Turkey's green spaces.
Koc said the new climate law could, potentially, be used by campaigners to challenge some of these projects.
"It opens up important spaces for civil society if they decide to use it creatively," she said.
Wildfires wrack Turkey
The passage of the bill comes as intense heat and draughts have sparked wildfires across Turkey that have burned for days.
Fifty thousand people had to be evacuated by Monday in the southern provinces of Izmir and Hatay, after hundreds of fire broke out on Friday.
Two fires continued to rage Thursday in Izmir, driven by winds of over 85 kilometres per hour, while a new fire broke out near the southern city of Antalya, threatening the popular seaside resort of Lara.
Turkish Minister of Agriculture Ibrahim Yumakli warned on Tuesday evening that "extreme heat conditions" were expected throughtout the week accompanied by strong winds on the Aegean coast in the west of the country and the Mediterranean region.
June 2025 has been the hottest on record in Europe and scientists have warned that without action extreme temperatures and natural disasters will continue to be commonplace in summer.
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