The first part of the Climate Law was passed by the Parliament

Energy Journal – The first part of the long-awaited Climate Law Proposal, which was prepared in line with Türkiye’s 2053 Net Zero Emission target and includes the first 11 articles, was accepted in the TBMM General Assembly.

While the law establishes the institutional and legal infrastructure to control greenhouse gas emissions, it includes many basic regulations such as the Emission Trading System (ETS), emission permit mechanism, provincial-level coordination boards and criminal sanctions.

HEAVY FINES FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES

According to the new regulation, businesses that emit greenhouse gases as a result of their activities are required to obtain an emission permit from the Climate Change Presidency. The Presidency may request data, documents and reports on greenhouse gas emissions from public institutions, the private sector and relevant organizations at certain periods.

These data will be shared at both central and local levels through the National Geographic Information System. The Presidency will also be responsible for preparing climate change strategies and action plans at the national level.

EMISSION PERMIT SYSTEM, PROVINCIAL CLIMATE BOARDS AND ETS INFRASTRUCTURE HAVE BEEN LEGALIZED

With the law, Provincial Climate Change Coordination Boards will be established within the governorships. These boards will play an active role in the preparation and implementation of emission reduction and climate adaptation plans at the local level.

With local policies that will take regional differences into account, separate solutions will be developed in line with the climate risk, carbon footprint and adaptation capacity of each province.

Türkiye is establishing its own national ETS infrastructure in line with the European Union's Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

The law envisages that sectors within the scope of the ETS will initially be given free allocations. However, once the system becomes fully operational, sectors will have to purchase emission rights if they exceed the specified limits.

EMPHASIS ON JUST TRANSITION AND GREEN TRANSFORMATION

Within the framework of the Climate Law, not only technical measures but also the social dimension are taken into consideration. The principles of climate justice, equality, transparency, accountability and just transition are fundamental to the law.

In this context, while developing green economy policies, it is aimed to support low-income groups and vulnerable groups. It is planned to establish social protection mechanisms to reduce employment losses, especially in the coal phase-out process and energy transformation.

PENALTIES HAVE BEEN TOUGHEN

Heavy fines are coming for businesses that do not fulfill their obligations:

Those who do not fulfill their Emission Trading System obligations will be subject to administrative fines of between 500 thousand TL and 5 million TL; those who do not report substances that deplete the ozone layer or use them without permission will be subject to fines of up to 2.5 million TL; and those who do not submit their emission reports on time will be subject to additional fines and data-based sanctions.

It was stated that some penalties may be temporarily reduced during the pilot application period.

The second part of the bill will continue to be discussed in the Turkish Grand National Assembly General Assembly in the coming days. The remaining articles include regulations regarding critical sectors in terms of greenhouse gases, such as the energy sector, mining and transportation.

In the second part, details regarding the scope of the ETS, carbon taxes, green investment incentives and support for domestic technologies will be announced to the public.