On 10 December 2021, IKV organised a webinar entitled “European Green Deal & Turkey: Towards a Climate-Neutral Future” as part of the “Future of Europe and Turkey” webinar series carried out in association with the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs. The opening speeches of the webinar, which was moderated by IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit, were delivered by IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı.

In his opening speech, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu emphasized that the European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, will have important effects not only on EU Member States, but also on Turkey as a candidate country.

Delivering the second opening speech, Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Kaymakcı underscored that Turkey being part of Europe, Turkey should actively participate in the Conference on the Future of Europe. Moreover, Ambassador Kaymakcı stated that the European Green Deal was not only a model for green growth and environmental protection model, but also a growth model affecting a wide range of areas such as production, consumption, transportation and education.

Following the opening speeches, the webinar continued with keynote speeches by Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Climate Chief Negotiator Prof. Mehmet Emin Birpınar, Deputy Director General in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) Clara de la Torre and UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Louisa Vinton.

Delivering the first keynote address, European Commission DG CLIMA Deputy Director de la Torre touched upon the outcome of the COP26 in Glasgow and emphasized that substantial progress was made in 2021, however further efforts were needed. Stating that the aim of the EU was to keep the targets of the Paris Agreement alive at all times, de la Torre underlined the EU’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by reducing carbon emissions.

For her part, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Vinton, stated that the climate issue has entered the context of human rights and that global solidarity was needed to ensure a fair transition, with less developed countries needing more support to adapt to the transition period.

Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Climate Chief Negotiator Prof. Birpınar underlined to the need to move from the current development model centred on the use natural resources to a sustainable development model. Deputy Minister Prof. Birpınar concluded his speech by stating that if the expenditures on climate change were extended, the healthcare costs could be reduced because the underlying reasons for almost all health issues are environmental impacts.

In the panel session, distinguished academics and officials discussed the ways in which Turkey and the EU could work together for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The first panellist, Prof. Barış Çallı from Marmara University indicated that the new carbon border adjustment mechanism would not negatively affect the EU’s competitiveness. The second panellist, Deputy Director-General for International Agreements and the EU at the Ministry of Trade Bahar Güçlü stated that Turkey, as a candidate country, would be affected by the European Green Deal and that the fight against climate change would be among the critical areas of cooperation between Turkey and the EU. In addition, Güçlü said that the Green Deal Action Plan, which consists of 81 actions in 9 main sections, was formulated in cooperation with the private sector and the relevant ministries in order to determine the possible effects of the Green Deal on Turkey. The third panellist, Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Atıl Aşıcı from İstanbul Technical University stated that the changes in Europe were obliging the Turkish economy into green transformation and this entailed both certain risks and opportunities. The final panellist, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas indicated that  since 2019 the European Green Deal was determined as a priorty topic by IKV and the foundation was raising awareness on the issue through the webinars and meetings organised in various cities. Assoc. Prof. Nas expressed her view that the alignment process would not gain momentum without a full restoration of Turkey's relations with the EU. Stating that a new strategy was needed in the agriculture sector and that growth should be separated from the use of resources, Assoc. Prof. Nas said that the climate crisis should also be taught in schools for progress in the fight against climate change would only be possible if future generations are aware of the facts about the climate crisis.