On 12 February 2021, IKV organised a webinar entitled “The European Green Deal and Turkey”. During the webinar, which was moderated by IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu delivered the opening speech. In his speech, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu emphasised the need to comply with the standards that come along with the European Green Deal which is among the EU's top priorities.

The webinar continued with a panel discussion. The first speaker of the panel, Bilgi University WTO Chair Holder and Director of the Research Center on International Trade and Arbitration Law, Dr. Pınar Artıran pointed out that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism foreseen by the European Green Deal, could contradict with the  “non-discrimination” and “equal treatment” principles of WTO and Article 2 of GATT. Dr. Artıran also stated that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism might give rise to non-tariff barriers. Therefore, she deemed it likely that the mechanism could morph into an Emissions Trading System, which brings all countries together.

The second speaker of the panel, retired Ambassador Mithat Rende stressed the fact that the European Green Deal was a very comprehensive and ambitious strategy and scrutinised whether the EU would be able to carry out the actions envisaged by the European Green Deal. Reminding that Turkey was highly dependent on the EU commercially, Ambassador Rende warned that if Turkey did not comply with the Green Deal, it could face negative repercussions both politically and economically. Finally, Ambassador Rende highlighted the importance of the ratification of the Paris Agreement.

Third speaker of the panel, Founder of ReDis Innovation and Columnist at Dünya Newspaper, Selin Arslanhan, portrayed the European Green Deal as a growth strategy shaping technological and industrial policies. Arslanhan also stated that the Green Deal served as an earnest and grounded framework thanks to the Industry 5.0 Agenda and the New Innovation Strategy of the EU. Moreover, she emphasised that Turkey should prepare its own green industry policy and growth strategy when designing its sectors.

Last speaker of the panel, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas started her speech by reminding that Turkey was an important global actor and at the same time one of the most vulnerable countries in the face of climate change, and therefore stressed the importance of the ratification of the Paris Agreement. IKV Secretary General Nas drew attention to the importance of "climate justice" and stated that the developed countries have the highest historical responsibility in climate change and stated that the relations established with these countries should be developed accordingly. Furthermore, Nas underscored that Turkey could safeguard its competitiveness only if it complied with the standards and regulations that come along with the Green Deal. Finally, she emphasised that the Green Deal could play a critical role in repairing Turkey-EU relations while ensuring sustainability.