In a statement ahead of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Climate Network noted that Türkiye cannot effectively tackle the climate crisis without reducing its emissions and protecting its natural areas.
At COP30, to be held in Belém, Brazil, between 10 and 21 November, countries will discuss issues including new climate targets (NDCs) for 2035, the energy transition, just transition, halting deforestation, and the protection of seas and biodiversity.
The Climate Network’s statement is as follows:
Türkiye’s 2035 Climate Target, announced in September, projects that greenhouse gas emissions will increase by 16% in 2035 compared to 2023. In other words, Türkiye plans to increase emissions rather than reduce them.
Yet, as a country located in the Mediterranean Basin, Türkiye is experiencing the impacts of climate change more severely each day; forest fires, heatwaves, floods, drought, and losses in agricultural production are steadily increasing. For this reason, we need an effective climate target, one that will make us more resilient to the climate crisis, more than ever.
To combat the climate crisis, Türkiye must begin reducing its emissions immediately. First and foremost, coal use in electricity generation must be ended. Misleading solutions, such as nuclear energy, gas, hydrogen produced by nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage, must be avoided.
Clean and renewable energy projects must be implemented in line with nature conservation principles, through transparent and participatory processes that respect communities’ right to life and contribute to local economies.
Incentives that aim to keep the fossil fuel sector afloat, including the recently announced price-guaranteed purchase agreements for domestic coal-fired power plant companies, must be urgently discontinued; these incentives both waste public resources and endanger people and the environment.
Instead of such incentives, public resources should be directed toward establishing a “Just Transition Mechanism” that protects workers and local communities in the sectors and regions where the transition will occur and addresses energy poverty.
At the same time, we must work with nature, our most important ally in combating the climate crisis. In this direction, the protection of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and biodiversity must be ensured, including forests, seas, and wetlands; legislative arrangements that open natural areas to mining and energy production, such as Omnibus Law No. 7554, must be repealed.
Only if these steps are taken can Türkiye truly fight the climate crisis. If we want to host COP31 next year and have a meaningful voice in climate negotiations relative to countries with significant responsibility for climate change, we need a strong climate policy.
Quotes
Tanyeli Behiç Sabuncu, Climate and Energy Program Director, WWF-Türkiye:
We cannot consider combating the climate crisis and protecting nature as separate issues. Forests, seas, soil, and living beings, through their sink functions, prevent more than half of human-caused CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere. Indeed, one of the key agenda items of COP30 will be halting deforestation. In Türkiye, although forested areas may appear to be increasing according to some measurements, the amount of CO₂ these areas can absorb has declined by nearly half over the past eight years. The reason for this is the fragmentation of natural forests, the weakening of their ecological quality, and the narrowing of habitats due to pressures such as fires, excessive logging, and non-purpose uses (mining, energy generation, etc.). A first step to reduce these pressures would be to repeal Omnibus Law No. 7554, which facilitates the opening of mines in natural areas, and Article 16 (Additional) of the Forest Law, which paves the way for allocating forests for non-forestry purposes.
Özlem Katısöz, Türkiye Climate and Energy Policies Coordinator, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe:
Today, the world is taking shape in two separate blocs: on one side, countries working to halt climate change and build a decarbonised, fossil-fuel–free future; on the other, those led by climate deniers such as Trump, seeking to obstruct efforts by countries and sectors to decarbonise their economies. Fossil fuel-exporting countries are leveraging this polarisation to preserve markets where they can continue selling their fuels. Türkiye’s place in this picture is clear: to be part of the bloc that is building a clean, fossil fuel-free future. In doing so, Türkiye can both steer its economy toward decarbonised sectors, freeing itself from the health and import costs caused by fossil fuels, and secure a meaningful seat at the table where climate policies are being shaped in the new global order.
Özlem Altıparmak, Director, Law, Nature and Society Foundation:
For Türkiye’s climate policies to be effective, decision-making processes must be open to public participation, transparent, and accountable. This participation must be defined not merely as consultation and a “procedure that confers legitimacy” on projects, but as a rights-based process grounded in the co-production of decisions. It is vital that renewable energy investments are designed to avoid conflicts with the principle of nature conservation. Rather than an instrumentalising “green development” approach, we need an “energy transition with nature” approach grounded in ecosystem continuity. For Türkiye to assume a genuine leadership role in global climate negotiations and to host COP31 in the period ahead, a strong climate policy is essential, one that protects natural areas, ends fossil-fuel incentives, and ensures effective public participation in decision-making.
Emel Türker Alpay, Climate and Energy Campaign Lead, Greenpeace Türkiye:
Following the phase-out-from-fossil-fuels statement we first heard from Minister of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change Murat Kurum at COP29, we have not seen any steps toward delivering on it. Türkiye’s new nationally determined contribution aims to increase greenhouse gas emissions. Statements have been made regarding new incentives for fossil fuels, and the additional unit project at the Afşin-Elbistan A Coal Power Plant has not been abandoned. We expect COP30 to be a turning point in Türkiye’s decarbonization process, and that the requirements of the phase-out statement will be fulfilled. Türkiye, candidate to host COP31, must announce its plan to phase out fossil fuels, especially coal; end fossil fuel incentives; and immediately cancel the additional unit project at Afşin-Elbistan, which the expert report stated has “no public interest.” A strong climate policy can deliver economic, social, and ecological benefits while positioning Türkiye as a frontrunner.