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04 March 2025

Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar spoke to Habertürk about Türkiye’s first Climate Law.

Prepared after an extensive and meticulous drafting process, the Climate Law was submitted to the Office of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT) in recent weeks.
After being reviewed and approved by the GNAT Environment Commission, the draft law is now expected to be debated in the General Assembly and enacted in the coming days.

Providing details on the legislation, Prof. Hasar noted that the law includes safeguards designed to protect the lives of future generations, emphasizing that it goes beyond individual restrictions and is grounded in a people-centered, life-first approach. Recalling that the world is facing a climate crisis, Hasar said: “The world is confronting a climate crisis. And we feel it across every sector. In our country and in many parts of the world, we are facing increasing drought.”

Stressing the need for Türkiye to become more resilient to climate change, Hasar continued: “Our country must strengthen its resilience against all the adverse impacts that climate change may bring. All public institutions and organizations, the private sector, NGOs, and universities need to be fully prepared across all fields. It would be wrong to view the climate crisis solely as an environmental issue. We must pursue our development through green growth. As we accelerate green growth, we must also drive down emissions. Rather than relying on conventional technologies, we aim for higher levels of production through cleaner, more productive, and more efficient technologies. The emissions trading system gives our industrial sector a defined period in which to reduce emissions effectively. Facilities that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere will pay for them. And as they move toward cleaner production, the amount they pay will decrease—or they will pay nothing at all.”