Türkiye has determined its climate targets for 2035 and 2053 and submitted its Second Nationally Determined Contribution (“NDC”) within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) at COP30, the Conference of the Parties, held in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. Taking a brief look at the introduction of Türkiye’s NDC, which sets out the country’s climate targets, the objectives and achievements may be summarized as follows:

1. In the face of the global climate crisis, the Paris Agreement encourages collective action to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5°C.
2. Türkiye has adopted a 2053 net-zero target and submitted an ambitious NDC that foresees a 41% reduction by 2030 compared to the Business-as-Usual (“BAU”) scenario.
3. Türkiye’s Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan identifies 49 strategies and 260 actions across seven sectors, covering preparations for the circular economy and the Emissions Trading System (“ETS”).
4. The Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan aims to enhance national climate resilience by identifying 129 actions across 11 priority areas.
5. The Climate Council oversees the coordination and monitoring system for mitigation and adaptation policies.
6. Türkiye submitted its Long-Term Strategy (“LTS”) at COP29 and announced its 2053 net-zero vision.
7. The Climate Law has established the legal infrastructure for ETS implementation, reporting, and inter-institutional coordination. Please see;

What Does the Draft Climate Law Introduce?

8. The scope, methodology, and compliance arrangements of the ETS are being finalized and, in its initial phase, will cover the energy and industrial sectors. Please see;

Emisyon Ticaret Sistemi Yönetmeliği Taslağına İlk Bakış

9. Türkiye has established a national carbon monitoring system covering more than 800 facilities.
10. Türkiye has developed comprehensive environmental and climate regulations in the fields of energy, agriculture, industry, and urbanization.

The Climate Law has also established the necessary legal framework for the Türkiye Green Taxonomy, which is expected to enter into force by the end of 2026 and to be aligned with the EU Taxonomy. The framework will cover six environmental objectives, including greenhouse gas mitigation, climate adaptation, sustainable use of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution control and prevention, and the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems.

11. The role of local governments in mitigation and adaptation has been strengthened, and regional coordination mechanisms have been expanded.

The Climate Law mandates the preparation of inclusive Local Climate Action Plans in all provinces, ensuring the participation of public institutions, local governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society in a collaborative process. Provincial coordination bodies have been structured to carry out preparation, implementation, and monitoring processes in alignment with the NDC under this participatory framework.

12. Türkiye is expanding its climate policy framework through numerous national strategies and action plans.
13. Additional national strategy documents covering areas such as energy, finance, women, children, disaster management, and similar fields are aligned with the NDC. Some of these include:

• Medium-Term Program (2026–2028)

• Energy Efficiency 2030 Strategy and the Second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (2024–2030)

• Türkiye National Energy Plan

• Türkiye Building Sector Decarbonization Roadmap (2023)

• Green Deal Action Plan (under revision)

• Just Transition Strategy (under revision)

14. This broad policy set supports Türkiye’s low-carbon development architecture in alignment with its LTS.
15. The sectoral transition approach is based on an integrated low-carbon transformation plan covering all major sectors.

Türkiye’s climate policies place a just and inclusive transition at their core, envisaging targeted support particularly for women, children, low-income groups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing difficulties in accessing finance and technology. In this context, measures such as reducing access barriers for SMEs, skills development programs for green jobs, and climate-resilient infrastructure aim to ensure equal and effective participation of all segments of society.

While addressing climate change mitigation and air quality improvement through a holistic approach, the entry into force on 1 December 2025 of the Regulation on the Management of Industrial Emissions, published on 14 January 2025, represents a significant milestone in reducing industrial emissions.

Regulation on the Management of Industrial Emissions- Key Provisions and Compliance Framework

This framework delivers various environmental and public health co-benefits, while also prioritizing preventive actions to ensure the continuity of healthcare services and strengthen preparedness against climate-related risks.

16. Türkiye’s new NDC target reflects an ambitious yet realistic approach that takes into account the country’s capacity and circumstances and has been developed in alignment with the 2053 net-zero strategy and the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake (“GST”). While international finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building support are of critical importance to achieving this target, additional annual investments of at least 1.7% of GDP are required in the energy, buildings, industry, transport, and agriculture–forestry sectors along the pathway to 2053.
17. Türkiye has presented an NDC based on comprehensive coordination and stakeholder engagement for a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.

While Türkiye’s NDC is underlined as presenting an ambitious framework on the pathway to the 2053 net-zero target, the document has also been subject to criticism from certain circles for various reasons. These criticisms will be addressed and evaluated separately in our forthcoming studies.

On the other hand, given that Türkiye has assumed the COP31 Presidency and host country role and that the conference will be held in Antalya; the fact that Australia as one of the world’s largest coal exporters was also among the candidate countries; renders this process significant in terms of assessing the potential contributions of such developments to Türkiye’s climate objectives. Within this framework, the implications of this development for Türkiye’s climate policies will also be examined in our future work.

@Zeynep EMİROĞLU