The 1972 Paris Summit is considered the beginning of the EU Environmental policy. However, developments such as the British environmental law after the London Fog disaster of 1952, which killed thousands of people, and the complete ban on the use of lead in gasoline in 2006 are also indicative of how painful and protracted the environmental process in Europe has been.

Since 1970, more than 500 pieces of legislation on environment/sustainability have been adopted in the EU. We see that the development of basic concepts until 2000, the transposition of basic concepts into legislation between 2000 and 2015, and the entry into force of legislation with implementation and sanctions from 2019.

The most important of this legislation is the Green Deal, which draws the broad legal framework.

Adopted in 2019, the EU Green Deal envisages 55% carbon emissions by 2030 and net 0 carbon emissions by 2050.  In order to achieve this goal, it has announced that it will adopt a new growth strategy and reshape all its policies around climate change. The Green Deal, which envisages sweeping changes in EU policies in a range of areas from industry and finance to energy, transportation and agriculture, is the EU’s biggest initiative since the establishment of the Single Market.

The EU Taxonomy, which entered into force on June 22, 2020, clearly classifies which economic activities are environmentally sustainable and which are not.

The SFDR Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation, which entered into force on February 15, 2023, stipulates how sustainability information will be communicated to investors.

2023 CSRD The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive sets out sustainability reporting obligations and standards.

2023 ESRS European Sustainability Reporting Standards encourage companies to transparently report their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

25 July 2024 CSDDD Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) goes one step further and introduces legislation to identify the environmental impacts and adverse human rights impacts of companies in their shipment chains and activities within or outside the EU.

Türkiye’s Participation in The Sustainability Process

We observe that Türkiye closely follows international developments on sustainability, but until becoming a party to the Paris Agreement in 2021, it has refrained from entering into international commitments specifically aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Becoming a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2004, to the Kyoto Protocol in 2009 and to the Paris Agreement in 2021, the sustainability agenda became established.

In 2021, the coordination of Green Deal Adaptation efforts was assigned to the Ministry of Trade, and the year 2053 was set as the net zero carbon target in the green deal action plan published through the Ministry of Trade in the same year. Climate Change and Adaptation Coordination Board (IDCC) was established on October 29, 2021.

Climate Change was added to the name of the Ministry of Environment on 29 October 2021 and the Climate Change Directorate was established within the ministry in order to carry out national and international studies on taking measures regarding global climate change and ozone depletion and determining plans, policies and strategies for green development, to carry out the necessary negotiations and to ensure coordination with other institutions and organizations.

Türkiye updated its targets for combating climate change in November 2022 and published its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The NDC includes mitigation policies and measures in 7 sectors and areas (energy, industry, buildings, transportation, waste, agriculture, land use change and forestry).

Both the Twelfth Development Plan (2024-2026), the Medium Term Program (2023-2025) and the Annual Plans of the Presidency have included the title of Green Transformation, and the actions to be taken for transformation, responsible parties and targets have been explained.

Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS) were established by the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority KGK and published in the Official Gazette dated December 29, 2023. IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) were translated verbatim and published as TSRS 1 “General Provisions on Disclosure of Sustainability-Related Financial Information” and TSRS 2 “Climate-related Disclosures”.

In other words, sustainability reporting has entered Turkish legislation, and a timetable has been established.

Next Post: International Organizations Related to Sustainability Reporting and Standards