Sweeping proposed law on energy use draws strong opposition: 'The ... government is preparing laws not for the public good'

The Turkish government is attempting to enact a climate bill that would address net-zero goals in the country, but the proposal has drawn ire from critics.

Turkey's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, originally submitted a climate change bill to the country's parliament in February. The law proposes the creation of a carbon market board and an emissions trading system, or ETS. The legislation aimed to better align Turkey with achieving net-zero emissions by 2053.

However, the AKP has been criticized for its construction of the Climate Law. The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party in Turkey offered up a pointed rejection of the bill. "The AKP government is preparing laws not for the public good, but for the sake of capital groups it considers friends," the party wrote in a statement.

"This time, they are coming before us with a law they call a climate law, but which they negotiated not with those who draw attention to the inevitable consequences of the climate crisis, but with industrialists who are the perpetrators of activities that deepen the crisis. Because the aim is not to approach the climate crisis issue seriously, but to surrender the issue to market conditions."

The cornerstone of the bill includes strengthening local administration roles, incorporating climate considerations into infrastructure projects, and promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The climate law would impose fines ranging from 500,000 to 5 million Turkish lira (roughly $13,000 to $26,000) on entities that fail to submit their verified greenhouse gas emission reports to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.

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But the bill's opponents argue that opposition lawmakers were not included in its drafting process. Following a lengthy and heated debate, the climate legislation will once again be discussed before being reintroduced.

Murat Emir, the deputy chairman of Turkey's Republican Peoples' Party — or CHP — explained the current state of the bill. "The Climate Law, which is being discussed in the TBMM General Assembly, is being referred to the commission for reconsideration as a result of the effective resistance of the opposition parties and civil society organizations," Emir said.

"We hope that this time the AKP group will listen to the criticism and prioritize scientific data, and our country will have the climate law it deserves."

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