The Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change has announced 217 decisions made in the Climate Council convened earlier this year. The decisions, which will be implemented in the coming months and years, will contribute to the fight against the impact of global warming and waste management.
The country hosted its first Climate Council in the central province of Konya in February, in a place that is among the most affected by climate change, especially drought. The council was the largest of its kind, bringing together more than 1,000 people, from academics to businesspeople, university students, farmers, activists and decision-makers.
The decisions to be implemented are grouped under several themes, including climate-friendly cities, climate-friendly agriculture, action plans against drought, environmentally friendly and clean transportation networks, green energy, green economy and climate training. They will complement the country’s net-zero emission goal for 2053 and green development plans. The majority of decisions are related to goals to cut off emissions in transportation, industry and agriculture, and reduction of waste while others cover climate financing, carbon pricing, climate migration and education.
The government hopes for decisions to serve as the basis of a climate law that will be the legal launchpad for action against climate change and reinforcement of its commitments on the matter.
One decision involves the acceleration of separate waste disposal with a focus on recycling and increasing the recycling rate to 60% by 2035 and the rejection of waste not pre-processed from disposal facilities. Another decision focuses on industries’ compliance with low-carbon production and development of membrane, green hydrogen-based and renewable energy technologies. In agriculture, practices of efficient use of water will be made available for all and the reuse rate of treated wastewater will be increased to 15% by 2030.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last year announced the country's 2053 net-zero emissions and green development targets and confirmed it would become a party to the Paris Agreement at the 76th U.N. General Assembly. Accordingly, the country ratified the agreement and the Paris Agreement entered into force on Nov. 10, 2021. It then participated in the U.N. 26th Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, as a party to the pact. Since then, Turkey has worked on charting a new road map and has initiated a strategic planning process to support sustainable development, a green economy and green technologies in line with the goals of the agreement. The ratification of the Paris Agreement was a key step in Turkey’s fight against climate change. It was approved by Parliament on Oct. 6, following President Erdoğan's announcement at the U.N. General Assembly.
As part of a series of changes that followed, the Environment Ministry was renamed the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry on Oct. 29, 2021, and established the Climate Change Department. The Climate Change and Adaptation Coordination Board was also restructured to accelerate its work in areas related to climate change.
A World Bank report released earlier this month says Turkey stands to reap $146 billion (TL 2.52 trillion) in savings over the next 20 years if it takes effective and appropriate action to boost resilience and adaptation against the impact of climate change and to mitigate economy-wide emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The benefits would come largely from reductions in fuel imports and health benefits from reduced air pollution, and contribute to energy security and lower energy expenditures, the report says. It called for deep decarbonization of the power sector, energy efficiency and electrification in buildings and transportation, as well as reduction of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions in industry and agriculture. Regarding the major changes, the report also says Turkey needs "to reverse course as the world’s 17th largest carbon emitter and to achieve its pledge of carbon neutrality by 2053."