Türkiye

The country’s commitment to its 2053 Net-Zero Emissions Target is now anchored in the Climate Law No. 7552,enacted in 2025. This law proves a clear legal mandate for the national target and establishes key implementation tools, including the legal foundation for a national Emissions Trading System (ETS) to introduce carbon pricing and align with the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a framework for the Green Taxonomy, and sector-specific strategies aligned with the 2053 target and the Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028). the National Green Deal Action Plan (2021–2023), originally designed to align with the EU Green Deal, has evolved into a broader Green Transformation Strategy (2024 update), integrating fiscal, industrial and trade policy.

As of 2025, a new Türkiye Sustainability Reporting Standard has been introduced, mandating sustainability disclosures for certain companies.Turkey now requires disclosure obligations for listed firms under Capital Markets Board rules via the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Capital Markets Board’s Corporate Governance Principles / Communiqué sets forth a "comply or explain" framework for listed companies, recommending voluntary standards for gender representation on boards and promoting stakeholder engagement. Nevertheless, these measures remain largely voluntary. There is no comprehensive national strategy mandating inclusive corporate governance across all sectors.

Turkey's commitment to the SDGs is integrated into its national development planning, most notably through the 11th National Development Plan. The private sector's engagement is largely voluntary. The Investment Office of Turkey has developed a scoring mechanism to evaluate the contributions of potential foreign direct investments to the SDGs. This does not apply to the domestic corporate sector.

Turkey has strengthened certain aspects of participatory policymaking and stakeholder consultation. The Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028) reaffirms the government’s commitment to participatory governance, explicitly calling for enhanced engagement of civil society, academia and the private sector in policy formulation and monitoring. The Regulation on Legislative Preparation (2023) requires ministries to conduct public consultations on draft laws and regulations through online platforms such as Mevzuat.gov.tr and Your Ideas Platform under the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, which allow citizens and NGOs to submit feedback on proposed legislation. However, these mechanisms are inconsistently applied, and impact assessments are not always required. While participatory practices have become more regular, they still fall short of vital elements.

The Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028) mandates the expansion of progress measurement beyond traditional GDP, emphasizing "inclusive and sustainable growth," well-being, and environmental sustainability through pillars like "Qualified human capital" and "Sustainable environment." The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) is actively undertaking technical work on components like selected Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators and preliminary Natural Capital Accounting. Development of metrics is under discussion and in early preparation.

In 2025, Turkey introduced a Communiqué on the Green Asset Ratio, which mandates banks to calculate and report the share of their assets aligned with environmental sustainability criteria. The Banking Regulation & Supervision Agency has integrated a Sustainable Banking Strategic Action Plan (2022–2025) which requires environmental risk assessments, data collection, and encouraging disclosures. Banking regulation also already requires banks to perform stress tests, though these remain largely financially motivated rather than including environmental or social risk factors. The Regulation on Turkey's Green Taxonomy is currently being drafted and is expected to become mandatory for sustainability reporting entities by 2027.

The Turkey Sustainable Finance Framework (2021) regulates sustainable financing instruments like green, social and sustainability bonds, loans, and sukuks, ensuring transparency and alignment with SDGs. This framework sets eligibility criteria for projects in renewable energy, clean transportation, pollution prevention, etc.

Turkey's 2021 Sustainable Finance Framework has provided standards for various sustainable financing instruments, including green, social, and sustainability bonds (first green sovereign bond in 2023), and fiscal policy now includes new procurement rules.

Notably, the Green Asset Ratio reporting obligations for banks (starting on June 2025), mandated by the Banking Regulation Agency, is a crucial development because it is mandatory and it will be an ongoing reporting requirement (it requires financial institutions to track and classify their environmentally sustainable economic activities, Although this is not a "stress test" in the traditional sense, it establishes a regular framework that mandates the integration of environmental considerations into financial assessments.

As part of the 2024–2030 Energy Efficiency Strategy and the 2nd National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, Turkey has committed to investing US $20.2 billion in energy efficiency and has begun rolling out public procurement based on "life-cycle cost" criteria from 2024

However, Turkey does not have yet a comprehensive green budgeting framework.

Turkey's green trade agenda is directly tied to its relationship with the European Union, its largest trading partner. This strategic focus was solidified in July 2025 with the adoption of the country's first-ever Climate Law, which establishes the legal basis for a national ETS, with draft implementing rules published 22 July 2025 and a pilot ETS expected in 2026. It has also advanced a draft Green Taxonomy regulation (2024) aligned with its Green Deal Action Plan. However, we find limited evidence that these priorities are embedded in Türkiye’s trade agreements or investment partnerships. There is no evidence that Turkey has integrated similar green chapters or climate-related clauses into its other bilateral or multilateral trade agreements beyond the EU.

The Climate Law No. 7552, 2025, provides the legal basis for a national Emissions Trading System, establishing key institutions like the Carbon Market Board and mandating a shift toward net-zero emissions by 2053. So an ETS is formally under development. A draft implementing regulation has been published and the pilot phase of the ETS is expected to launch in 2026, with full implementation planned for the emissions years starting 2028. A non-binding carbon budget accounting framework is technically in place by mandating sector-specific reduction efforts in line with the NDC.

Turkey has shifted from a fragmented, sector-by-sector approach to a more cohesive green strategy, backed by its 2024–2030 Climate Change Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan and the Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028). These frameworks include clear sectoral decarbonization roadmaps—covering energy, buildings, transport, industry, agriculture, and waste—and are implemented via institutional mechanisms like the National Climate Council.

Türkiye has a National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan (2021–2027) and a legally binding Zero Waste Law (2022) requiring nationwide waste-sorting, recycling, and EPR systems. The Green Deal Action Plan (2021) also embeds circular economy measures linked to EU alignment, while EPR rules cover plastics, packaging, and other waste streams. These policies are backed by public procurement reforms and capacity-building initiatives. However, Türkiye has no CMUR target, no integrated cross-sector roadmap, and no repair-rights framework.

Turkey's green mobility policy is centered on a "Net Zero Emission Target: Transport Roadmap." This strategy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all transport modes, with a strong emphasis on electrification and modal shift. Over $296 billion invested in transport infrastructure over the past two decades, with a focus on rail systems and EV infrastructure.

The government is supporting the transition to electric vehicles through both a domestic manufacturing initiative and fiscal incentives. The local EV brand Togg, a national industrial project, has received substantial government backing. The tax rates for electric cars remain significantly lower than for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Furthermore, the government has a goal to expand infrastructure to all 81 provinces.

Turkey is making investments in electrified public and freight transport. The country has a firm commitment to expanding its high-speed rail network, with new lines currently under construction. In major urban centers, particularly Istanbul, the metro and tram systems are undergoing expansion. In 2025 alone, several new metro lines and extensions were opened, reinforcing the policy of prioritizing rail over private car use for urban mobility. The new Climate Law, enacted in July 2025, provides the legal basis for these strategic investments and for pricing carbon emissions across sectors, including transport.

Turkey's National Energy Plan (NEP) 2053 (2023), provides a long-term roadmap for Turkey's energy transition towards net-zero emissions by 2053. This plan sets ambitious targets, aiming for a total installed power capacity of 189.7 GW by 2053, with renewable energy sources expected to comprise 70% of electricity generation by 2053. The Energy Efficiency 2030 Strategy aims to invest $20.2 billion in energy efficiency measures by 2030, targeting a 16% reduction in primary energy consumption, which is expected to result in 100 million tons of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas reduction and create new job opportunities in the green energy sector.

Studies highlight significant potential for green job creation, especially in the renewable energy sector, with projections of hundreds of thousands of new jobs by 2030. Nevertheless, Turkey still lacks a national or sectoral green jobs strategy. The Long-Term Climate Strategy (2024) explicitly includes "just transition" as a key sectoral strategy, which signifies formal governmental recognition of the need to manage the social implications of decarbonization and the shift to green jobs. And recently, a "Just Transition Working Group", which includes trade union representatives, has been established, indicating a move towards more structured social dialogue on this topic. Still, there are criticisms from some actors, particularly trade unions, regarding the overall coherence of the industrial strategy for a just transition and the adequacy of social dialogue.

The 2025 Climate Law establishes the legal basis for the Turkish Emissions Trading System and provides a funding mechanism for social equity in the green transition. The law earmarks up to 10% of future allowance auction revenues for "just transition measures". Additionally, the government has launched a project in 2025 to commission studies on a just transition strategy, which will inform the broader implementation of the Green Deal Action Plan. The operational details of these funds, and the full extent of social and economic equity measures, are yet to be clarified.

Turkey has begun to put in place financial and technical support for “greening” MSMEs via targeted programmes. KOSGEB (the SMEs Development Organization) runs a Green Industry Support Program which provides financial assistance, subsidies, or grants to SMEs to adopt green technologies, more efficient resource use, circular practices, etc. Akbank, a major Turkish bank, offers an “SME Eco Transformation Package” that provides loans and financial products explicitly designed to support SMEs in reducing carbon footprints, with services such as carbon footprint measurement, consultancy, energy efficiency, waste management, clean transportation loans, etc. Under the Türkiye Green Industry Project, with World Bank support, funding is directed to KOSGEB to assist SMEs in resource performance improvement and green transformation. However, legal recognition of social enterprises remains weak and supports are mainly focused on industrial / export / large SMEs rather than micro or truly social enterprises.

Since 2021, Turkey has maintained traditional social protection measures with no explicit link to the green transition, even though the 2024 Long-Term Climate Strategy emphasizes the importance of green job training and inclusive labor market adaptations. There are no formal programs or national strategies in place.

There is a new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) covering 2018-2028 and providing strategic objectives, institutional mandates and priority actions. For marine conservation, Turkey is expanding its network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), declaring new areas in the Aegean and Mediterranean (e.g., Gökçeada and Finike) in 2025. The nation's total coverage of coastal and marine protected areas, however, remains low at around 6.22%, with many MPAs lacking declared management plans. The publication of a Sustainable Blue Economy Action Plan (Blue Plan) in 2025, coordinated by the Marine Spatial Planning Coordination Board, is significant as it sets multiple objectives, including biodiversity conservation, and aims to integrate land-sea interactions and connect conservation to the blue economy. Turkey also commits to combat marine pollution via Marine Litter Strategic Action Plans and waste recycling goals.

Turkey has taken initial steps toward natural capital accounting with participation in the WAVES initiative and targeted valuation studies, notably in water and forestry. Some pilot accounts and methodological case studies exist. However, it lacks a comprehensive national strategy or fully operational accounts across ecosystem types, and does not have an independent advisory body with mandate to integrate NCA into budgets, planning and infrastructure decisions. The current efforts remain fragmented and are largely driven by a handful of pilot projects and international partnerships.

Türkiye integrates elements of sustainability into agriculture and food policy through its 12th Development Plan (2024–2028), Zero Waste Law (2022), and National Circular Economy Strategy (2021–2027). It promotes organic and climate-smart agriculture, and public health programmes encourage healthy diets, but there are no binding national targets for diet transformation, no CMUR or ecological footprint benchmarks, and no significant reform of harmful input subsidies.

The National Strategy Document on Prevention, Reduction and Monitoring of Food Loss and Waste (2020) and its action plan remain a key policy, with ongoing efforts to draft new policies in 2025. This strategy aims to create awareness and promote behavior change, though it lacks specific quantitative targets for overall waste reduction. The Twelfth Development Plan (2024-2028) also includes goals for promoting healthy diets and ensuring food security.

Turkey has made progress toward establishing a nature-positive fiscal framework, primarily through the 2025 Climate Law, which introduces a national Emissions Trading System (ETS) and a Turkish Green Taxonomy to guide sustainable finance. The ETS, beginning pilot operation in 2026, applies the polluter pays principle, with revenues ring-fenced for green transformation and up to 10 % earmarked for just-transition support. The law also strengthens corporate sustainability reporting (TSRS) and expands financial instruments for climate and green investment. In parallel, environmental fines, notably for marine pollution, have been significantly increased. However, fossil fuel subsidies ($1.5 billion in 2023) remain largely intact, and there is no comprehensive reform of environmental taxes.

The Medium-Term Program (2024–2026) and the Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028) explicitly prioritise a green and digital transformation of the economy, including support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular economy and sustainable mobility. Complementary initiatives such as the Turkish Green Deal Action Plan (2023) and the National Energy Plan (2023–2035) reinforce these ambitions, while targeted investments, like the USD 70 million Climate Investment Funds programme for renewable energy and grid modernisation, signal a shift toward greener stimulus tools. However, most fiscal measures still channel support to carbon-intensive sectors, and green conditionality in economic stabilisation packages remains weak.