Turkiye’s Green Taxonomy regulation covering steel and 15 other sectors comes into force

• Taxonomy aligns Turkiye’s policy with EU sustainability standards
• Regulation covers 16 sectors and 137 economic activities

Turkiye has published its Green Taxonomy Regulation prepared by the Directorate of Climate Change under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, in the Official Gazette establishing the country’s national framework for identifying environmentally sustainable economic activities. The regulation entered into force recently.

Covering 16 sectors and 137 economic activities, including iron and steel and energy and transportation, the regulation aims to support Turkey’s transition to a low-carbon economy, facilitate access to international green financing and align the country’s sustainability framework with EU climate policies. The regulation also establishes common assessment criteria intended to improve market transparency and prevent greenwashing.

Six objectives determine taxonomy alignment

Under the regulation, an economic activity will be considered taxonomy-aligned if it makes a substantial contribution to at least one of six environmental objectives, does no significant harm to the remaining objectives and complies with minimum social safeguards. The six objectives cover climate change mitigation and adaptation, the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

The framework also recognises transitional activities in sectors where technologically and economically feasible low-carbon alternatives are not yet available. Such activities must have the lowest greenhouse gas emission levels in their respective sectors and must not hinder the development or deployment of lower-carbon alternatives. Enabling activities that help other activities contribute substantially to environmental objectives will also be covered.

The Directorate of Climate Change will establish the technical screening criteria used to determine whether economic activities qualify as sustainable. The criteria will take into account factors including lifecycle environmental impacts, carbon footprint standards, scientific evidence, sectoral and market structures, competitive conditions and investment flows.

Production activities using solid fossil fuels will not be classified as environmentally sustainable. The technical screening criteria will be regularly reviewed in line with scientific and technological developments. Updates will be announced by 15 December each year at the latest and will take effect from the following year.

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