Turkey approved plans to launch a carbon market to help cut its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2053.
Businesses will be required to obtain permits to emit carbon dioxide within three years, according to a climate law passed by parliament late on Wednesday.
Allowances will be auctioned and tradeable on a secondary market operated by Energy Exchange Istanbul, or EXIST. Some may also be granted for free, it said, without elaborating.
Other key details, like the number of allowances and expectations for a carbon price, remain unclear. A pilot market that’s expected to last two years and include the most polluting facilities – those with emissions above 500 kilo-tons of carbon dioxide equivalent – has been repeatedly delayed.
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change has previously said it expects the cement, iron and steel industries to be most affected by the introduction of carbon trading. It also sees the move as reducing the impact of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — a levy on carbon-intensive products imported into the bloc. The EU is Turkey’s biggest trading partner.
Turkey aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 41% by 2030 from 2012 levels, and to reach net zero by 2053.
(Bloomberg, July 3, 2025)
