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14 May 2025

The Director of Climate Change, Prof. Halil Hasar, spoke at a special session of the 2nd Uludağ Environment Forum. The Director of Climate Change, Prof. Halil Hasar, spoke at a special session of the 2nd Uludağ Environment Forum.

Led by the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hosted by Bursa Business School, the two-day forum features sessions on topics including “Türkiye’s 2053 Net Zero Vision,” “Green Transition and Competitiveness: Policies and Opportunities,” “Green Growth and New Business Models,” and “Sustainable Finance Solutions.”

Speaking at the special session held during the forum’s opening program, Director Hasar shared views on the policies to be pursued in achieving the 2053 Net Zero Emissions Target.

Before beginning his remarks, Director Hasar addressed the Climate Law expected to be enacted, referring to disinformation circulating on social media and online platforms, and said, “Claims that are are in no way include in the Climate Law have been circulating on social media. The Law contains no articles that restrict individual freedoms. Contrary to rumors that animals will be culled, agriculture will be eliminated, or irrigation will be restricted, the Law will expand agricultural activities and ensure the protection of water resources.”

Emphasizing that the Climate Law represents Türkiye’s future and that the world’s future is being shaped around climate action, Director Hasar said, “Unfortunately, as of last year, our planet has exceeded the 1.5-degree average temperature threshold. This means that unless we take precautions, implement the necessary policies, and the whole world acts collectively in this struggle, we will face even greater crises.”

Pointing out that agriculture and livestock are extremely important for Türkiye and constitute red lines, Director Hasar said, “Agriculture and livestock are vital for food security in societies. There is nothing in the Law that would put food security at risk. The Climate Law will support the transition to clean technologies and enable the channeling of international financial flows into our country.”

Some highlights from Director Hasar’s remarks are as follows: 

“Channeling of international financial flows into Türkiye must be our core priority”

Türkiye is a developing country and is not in a position to make absolute reductions. Türkiye has an economy and industrial base that seeks rapid and ambitious growth. Our population is increasing, and we need to create new areas of employment. We must closely follow technological developments. We need to benefit from international financial flows. Channeling of international financial flows into Türkiye must be our core priority. If we adopt clean production technologies in manufacturing and processes and bring them to market, we will strengthen our position by acting early over the next 25 years.

“We will achieve the 2053 Net Zero Emissions Target through the green transition”

Our President set the 2053 Net Zero Emissions Target in 2021. We will achieve this target through the green transition. The green transition does not simply mean meeting our energy needs from solar  or installing twice our consumption in solar or wind capacity. The emissions released remain the same. What matters is transformation within production processes. This places a major responsibility on process operators and manufacturers. R&D centers need to work on technologies that deliver the same products with lower energy use. In this context, we are preparing our Nationally Determined Contribution. Failing to prepare and submit your NDC to the United Nations Secretariat means effectively saying, “We are not part of this fight.” This would prevent access to any financial flows and international financial actors.

“All our institutions must act jointly in the fight against climate change”

“All our institutions must act jointly in the fight against climate change. We have developed mitigation plans and strategic documents. This is a process. We are grappling simultaneously with forest fires and with drought. Under these circumstances, we must also establish our adaptation strategies. Under these circumstances, we must also establish our adaptation strategies. From now on, investments must be project-based. You must demonstrate that the project you undertake is environmentally sound. You must demonstrate that the project you undertake is environmentally sound. If you plan to make or expand an investment, you will need financing. We have developed a metric to demonstrate whether that investment is environmentally sustainable. This will enable investments to move forward. The two-day forum brought together representatives of the business community, governmental agencies, and academia.