Climate change in Turkey
[16] Coal, cars and lorries vent more than a third of Turkey's five hundred million tonnes[18]: iii [a] of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
[18]: iv The nation's coal-fired power stations emit the most carbon dioxide, and other significant sources are road vehicles running on petrol or diesel.
After coal[20] and oil the third most polluting fuel is fossil gas; which is burnt in Turkey's gas-fired power stations, homes and workplaces.
Economists say that major reasons for Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions are subsidies for coal-fired power stations,[21]: 18 and the lack of a price on carbon pollution.
The Right to Clean Air Platform argues that there should be a legal limit on fine airborne dust, much of which comes from car and lorry exhaust.
[52] Tectonic uplift has decreased sea level rise between Samsun and Alanya, whereas several large river deltas have subsided.
[61] Climate change has reduced rainfall in some regions and has made it less regular, which has put stress on hydroelectric power plants.
[77] Environment Minister Murat Kurum estimated in 2021 that losses due to disasters, such as floods,[78] caused by climate change would amount to billions of lira (hundreds of millions of dollars).
[79] The World Bank has estimated the cost and benefits of stopping net carbon emissions, but has suggested government do far more detailed planning.
[81]: 10 According to the United Nations Development Programme, decreasing rainfall is exacerbating the wide social and regional disparities within Turkey, and the gap between south-eastern provinces and the rest of the country is widening.
[83] But although severe droughts in Syria, such as those in 2007–2008 in the northeast, are made more likely by climate change in the Middle East,[84] according to academics it is very unlikely that this was a cause of the Syrian civil war.
[91] Damage to agriculture[92] is predicted to greatly increase,[89] for example due to "false spring" germination or blossoming followed by a cold snap.
[53] The increase in early blooming, which is happening due to climate change, can be a problem for crops such as fruit trees.
[107] Climate change may impact health in Turkey, for example due to increased heatwaves,[108][109] especially elderly and chronically ill people and children.
[27][115][19]The United Nations Environment Programme says a faster decarbonisation is needed, and emissions per person per year should be cut by more than half to about 2–2.5 t CO2e by 2030.
[138] As of 2025 there is not much teacher training or school materials, however there is higher education and research at Boğaziçi University's Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies.
Turkey has ratified the Paris Agreement and says that its greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2053, but the government has no plan to phase out coal.
[154] In 2020 and 2021 sixteen non government organizations filed lawsuits requesting the president shutdown 37 large coal-fired power stations and over 600 mines.
[155][156] In addition to climate change arguments the plaintiffs alleged that cancer cases are increased and the COVID-19 pandemic was worsened by their air pollution.
[167] The climate impact of coal power is rarely discussed,[166] and nearly all Turkish media owners have financial interests in fossil fuels.
[168]: 17, 20 The media covers climate change only during extreme weather events, with insufficient expert opinions or civil-society perspectives.
[166] Ufuk Alparslan, Ember’s regional lead, says that readers are enthused by solar power increasing energy independence and reducing import costs, but are not much interested in the climate benefits.
[166] The arts are raising awareness of climate change (although some are sponsored by companies whose environmental policies have been criticised[166]),[170] and education is supported by the EU.
[171][172] Protests against opencast coal mining, such as at Akbelen Forest, have been covered by small media outlets such as Yeşil Gazete and Kaldıraç Magazine.
[173] Future warming of seawater by Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is wrongly thought by some to be relevant to climate change.
[179] A 2020 study found that the level of public support for a potential carbon tax does not depend on whether the proceeds are used for mitigation and adaptation.
Their reason for delay, according to the current presidency at the G20 summit in 2020, was the countries "negligible historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions (less than 1%)".
[186] Armenia says that dam construction in Turkey has combined with climate change to reduce flow in the Araks River basin.
[187] Turkey sent over a thousand representatives to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference and joined various initiatives, such as decarbonizing cement production.
