Paris Climate Agreement comes into effect in Turkey

ANKARA

The Paris Climate Agreement to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees at the end of the century has entered into force in Turkey on Nov. 10.

The Agreement creates the legal environment that will ensure regulation in policies and laws in line with the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Within this framework, Turkey will update its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the means by which each country every five years shows efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Under the legally binding agreement, Turkey, which had previously committed to reducing its emissions from a 21% increase by 2030, plans to update its NDCs containing emission reduction targets for energy, waste, transportation, buildings and agricultural sectors as a first step and submit it to the U.N. Secretariat.

It is expected that a roadmap will be created for the country’s target of achieving net zero emissions by 2053.

Turkey's process in accepting Paris Agreement

In September this year, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkey would become a party to the Paris Agreement at his speech at the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly. On Oct. 6, the Turkish Grand National Assembly approved the Paris Agreement.

Following the publication on the ratification of the agreement in Turkey's Official Gazette on Oct. 7, the agreement was reported to the U.N. Secretariat on Oct. 11.

As of Nov. 10, the 30th day after the approval notification to the U.N. Secretariat, the agreement comes into effect, confirming Turkey as the 192nd country to be a party to the agreement.

Commenting on Turkey's ratification of the Paris Agreement, Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said exclusively that she was cautiously optimistic about Turkey's participation at a political level.

She said Turkey, with its big economy, is an important country in the international arena, and its contribution to the fight against climate change is very important in all areas covered by the Paris Agreement.

International Energy Agency (IEA) head Fatih Birol said that Turkey's ratification would lead the country towards taking stronger and faster steps on clean energy.

"We, as the International Energy Agency, support Turkey's steps to put the Paris Agreement into effect," he said.

Kadri Simson, the European Union Commissioner for Energy, stated that every country that commits to the Paris agreement and fulfills its commitments benefits in terms of job opportunities and economic growth.

The Paris Agreement was signed at COP21 in Paris in December 2015 and entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016.
The agreement targets a reduction in global emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.

Although 197 countries are signatories to the agreement, 192 countries ratified it, including Turkey.

Among those that so far have not ratified the agreement are Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen.