Turkey’s new climate bill ‘a contract with the capital,’ warns climate group

The Climate Justice Coalition has issued a statement regarding the "Climate Law," which has been in development for nearly three years. 

The coalition emphasizes that the law's objective is an attempt to legitimize the "implicit" right to pollute granted to capital through the carbon market.

"The green new order put forward by the European Union and the United States aims to continue economic growth by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the development of new technological areas without compromising capital accumulation, is nothing more than a smokescreen on a global scale,” said the group. “Net zero goals also serve to obstruct radical social change by reducing the fight against ecological destruction to greenhouse gas reduction."

“An oxymoron”

The coalition criticizes the concept of "green development" as “oxymoron” and points out various environmental and economic concerns in Turkey, such as reliance on coal, excessive mining, deforestation, and the dominance of energy-intensive industries like cement and steel. They also address transportation policies and the impact on agriculture and small-scale farmers.

Regarding the Climate Law, the coalition suggests, "When last year's Climate Law, which was prepared but not announced to the public and received feedback from narrow capital groups and is expected to be passed by the Parliament soon, is read in the light of these evaluations, it can be defined as a 'contract with capital to create a carbon market.'"

The coalition expresses doubts about the effectiveness of the Emission Trading System introduced in the law and suggests it has not been successful in limiting emissions. They argue that the law's real intention is to align Turkey with the Border Carbon Adjustment, which will come into force in the European Union in early 2026.

"The primary intention in the law is to ensure Turkey, which has become a reservoir of raw materials for developed industrial states with its low labor costs and abundant minerals, aligns with the Border Carbon Adjustment set to be launched in the European Union at the beginning of 2026,” it asserted.

The statement concludes, "As a result, the Climate Law is an attempt to secure the dirty profits obtained by exploiting nature and labor through carbon trade and legitimize the right to pollute implicitly granted to capital through the carbon market."

The coalition expresses concerns about the law's impact on environmental norms and regulations. (AÖ/VK)