The opening workshop of the Project for Enabling the Republic of Türkiye to Prepare Its First Biennial Transparency Report and the Joint Ninth National Communication and Second Biennial Transparency Report was held in Ankara.

30 August 2025

The opening workshop of the Project for Enabling the Republic of Türkiye to Prepare Its First Biennial Transparency Report and the Joint Ninth National Communication and Second Biennial Transparency Report was held in Ankara.

The workshop, which addressed reports prepared under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, was attended by Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change and Türkiye’s Chief Climate Negotiator Fatma Varank, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and COP29 Chief Negotiator Yalçın Rafiyev, Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar, and representatives of governmental agencies, academia, civil society organizations, and project partners. 

Held in Ankara with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the workshop reviewed preparations for Türkiye’s First Biennial Transparency Report and its updated Nationally Determined Contribution.

The meeting highlighted both Türkiye’s firm stance in combating climate change and the country’s candidacy to host COP31.

“Türkiye is one of the leading actors in its region in the fight against climate change.”

Stressing that the climate crisis represents a global test rather than merely a national challenge, Deputy Minister Fatma Varank underlined that Türkiye plays an active and leading role in international climate action.

Deputy Minister Fatma Varank stressed that the Climate Law targets both the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the expansion of clean-technology investments, saying, “As Türkiye moves toward cleaner and more efficient production across all sectors, we will continue to strengthen our economy through green development initiatives. The Climate Law has once again demonstrated how resolute and dedicated our country is in ensuring a healthy future for our shared home, our planet, and for future generations.”

Highlighting Türkiye’s COP31 candidacy, Varank added, “I would like to reaffirm that we are pursuing the COP31 Presidency as a nation that is transparent and inclusive, listens to and understands everyone, views our shared home—the world—as a whole rather than focusing on a single region, recognizes vulnerabilities, and leaves no one behind, which is a testament to our cultural values. The steps Türkiye is taking have the potential to create a positive ripple effect that extends beyond our own geography to our region and the wider world. In this respect, Türkiye is one of the leading actors in its region in the fight against climate change.” 

“We are grateful to our brotherly country, Türkiye”

Noting that COP29, held last year in Baku, marked a historic breakthrough, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP29 Chief Negotiator Yalçın Rafiyev extended special thanks to Türkiye.

“At COP29, we achieved groundbreaking outcomes in the submission of Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs). Of 120 countries, 105 submitted their BTRs. Azerbaijan also demonstrated leadership by submitting its own BTR ahead of schedule. We are grateful to all Parties—and in particular to our brotherly country, Türkiye, which once again reaffirmed its strong commitment to global climate action and climate transparency by submitting its reports on time,” Rafiyev said in his address. 

“We are preparing our Nationally Determined Contribution using a method to be applied for the first time in the world”

Indicating that climate projections and vulnerability analyses have been integrated into the process, Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar said Türkiye is taking a pioneering step in this field.

“For the first time globally, we have developed our Nationally Determined Contribution by integrating climate projections and vulnerability analyses with a model that establishes the scientific basis of our green development and mitigation targets,” Hasar noted.

“This innovative effort will enable the risks our country faces as a result of climate change to be identified with high accuracy, the necessary adaptation measures to be defined, and our climate policies to rest on a stronger, more transparent, and more reliable scientific footing.”

Drawing attention to Türkiye’s steady progress in climate policy, Hasar added, “By submitting its First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) on 7 November 2024, our country reached a major milestone in this field.Our report comprehensively set out our national priorities, greenhouse gas inventory, and mitigation and adaptation policies, and was welcomed by both the UNFCCC Secretariat and the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan.”