A comprehensive conference titled "EU Green Deal and Its Impacts on Türkiye's Climate Policy" was organised by IKV in Ankara on 20 November 2023 with the support of FNF and in cooperation with TEPAV and IPM. Delivering the opening speeches of the meeting, the Founding Director of TEPAV Prof. Güven Sak and IPM Director Prof. Fuat Keyman emphasised the importance of Türkiye's compliance with the European Green Deal.

Following the opening speeches, during the special address session of the meeting, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department at the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Assoc. Prof. Abdulkadir Bektaş shared information on how Türkiye will implement the Emission Trading System (ETS). Stating that there are 28 active ETS applications in the world and the amount of revenue has decreased from 100 billion dollars to 60 billion dollars, Assoc. Prof. Bektaş said that there are varying funding practices from country to country regarding ETS revenues. Indicating that Türkiye should establish an ETS to reach the zero-emission target in 2053, Assoc. Prof. Bektaş highlighted that the Enhanced Transparency Framework will be launched in 2024 and the most significant benefit of this is that not only developed but also developing countries will report. Expressing that Türkiye plans to provide free allocations for the first two years of the transition period within the scope of the ETS, Assoc. Prof. Bektaş noted that 49% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) will be covered and the main objective of Türkiye is to ensure certainty in the reduction. Pointing out that the draft Climate Law includes various flexible practices within the scope of ETS, Assoc. Prof. Bektaş added that the biggest expectation of citizens from the state is national green financing.

The first session of the meeting titled "The European Green Deal and Recent Developments: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Its Impacts" was moderated by Director of the TEPAV Centre for Multilateral Trade Studies Ambassador (retired) Bozkurt Aran. The first speaker of the session, Sustainability and Climate Policy Consultant Dr. Akın Ayberk Çilekoğlu stated that looking at the CBAM from the EU perspective, there are some very supportive arguments, the first of which is that climate change is a global problem and affects everyone, the second is carbon leakage, and finally, EU companies are gradually losing their competitiveness in global markets. Expressing that it is necessary to look at the 40% reduction of CHG in the EU with the ETS and the fact that the EU has become a net carbon importer in this area to see how successful the EU has been in the ETS, Dr. Çilekoğlu stated that the prominent issues in green transformation are financing and technical support. Indicating that developed countries have been able to reduce their carbon emissions despite the economic growth in the last 20-30 years and that this is explained by technological development and the change in the composition of the production of products and services in the economy, Dr. Çilekoğlu said that the most important issue at the COP Summit to be held in the coming days will be methane emissions.

The second speaker of the session, Director of İstanbul Bilgi University the Research Centre for the Environment, Energy and Sustainability Assist Prof. Ahmet Aydemir shared information about sustainability from past to present and what awaits us in the future in his presentation. Stating that biological and ecological changes in the world are human induced for the first time in this age, in other words, we are in the Anthropocene age, Aydemir said that the UN has determined the 2020-2030 period as the “Decade of Action”. Pointing out that the wealth of the 26 richest people is equal to the wealth of approximately 4 billion people and this is one of the most important indicators of income inequality, half of the 60% of the world's population in the labour force is in the informal sector, 8% of those working are below the poverty threshold, more than 250 million students do not have access to education, one in three women (35%) experience physical violence, gender equality is still 200 years away, Aydemir noted that biodiversity has decreased at a record speed, 1 million species have rapidly become extinct, and 20% of the soil has become unusable in the last 20 years. Stating that the European Green Deal, which covers the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy, is not only an ecological issue but also a social and economic matter, Assist. Prof. Aydemir explained that the European Commission will also adopt new legislation on greenwashing in the coming period.

The last speaker of the session, ITU Management Engineering Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Atıl Aşıcı shared the results of the report funded by EBRD and analysing the impacts of CBAM on Türkiye. Stating that when Türkiye's trade with the EU is considered, it is seen that iron-steel and aluminium sectors come to the fore in the transition period and that the Scope-1 emissions will be priced as of 2026, Assoc. Prof. Aşıcı expressed that they worked on a total of 6 scenarios in their studies, including what the results will be if Türkiye establishes a national ETS. Indicating that the best result is achieved when a national ETS system is implemented, Assoc. Prof. Aşıcı said that the income could be used for green transformation.

After IKV Deputy Secretary General M. Gökhan Kilit, who moderated the second session of the conference titled "The European Green Deal Process in terms of Türkiye's Climate Policy", introduced the panellists and he gave the floor to Director of SEFIA Bengisu Özenç to make the first presentation. Özenç emphasised that the process has accelerated in Türkiye with the European Green Deal and that the 2053 net zero target is extremely crucial for a country that has not debated this issue in the background until today. Stating that green transformation will bring side benefits reaching 8% of GDP, Özenç pointed out that if Türkiye achieves the 2030 target in its National Contribution Statement, it will be a country that produces one-third of the emissions of the EU.

The other speaker of the session, Kadir Has University Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Emel Akçalı stated that they are trying to create the concept of environmental geopolitics, and in this framework, they have started a study on Israel, Egypt, GCASC, Greece, and Türkiye in 2020. Expressing that the EU's policies in the field of environment are made in a top-down manner, that is, reductionist, and that the Green Deal process is also like this, Assoc. Prof. Akçalı stated that they are examining how local belonging and fair transformation processes can be in Türkiye. Indicating that domestic production should be started, and technology should be increased in this field, Assoc. Prof. Akçalı drew attention to the problematic relationship of villagers with nature.

The last speaker of the session, Faculty Member of TOBB ETÜ Prof. Pınar İpek, said that when the energy dimension of the European Green Deal is considered, the EU, which reconsidered its energy security after Russia invaded Ukraine, immediately brought REPowerEU to the agenda, and that the "RE" written in capital letters here means Renewable Energy, and at the same time means that the EU reconsiders its power. The EU, which has shown that it has not given up on renewable energy investments by adding 41 GW to solar and 16 GW to wind since the occupation, will generate 39% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2022. However, noting that the critical position of natural gas in the electricity market continues, Prof. İpek pointed out that as of November 2022, natural gas imports from Russia were around 25% and despite the ongoing war, Türkiye had to increase the amount of LNG imported from Russia. Stating that Türkiye's dependence on natural gas is higher than the EU and that natural gas consumption increased especially in the period when hydropower in electricity generation decreased, Prof. İpek stated that Türkiye is planning to build new thermal power plants, but that it would be healthier to invest in technology and renewable energy in terms of transition to circular economy and green economy.

In the last session of the conference titled "Türkiye-EU Relations: The European Green Deal and the Process of Updating the Customs Union", Director of the Centre for EU Studies at TEPAV Nilgün Arısan Eralp stated that Türkiye-EU relations were going through a difficult period and that accession negotiations were de facto suspended, and then gave the floor to Deputy Director General for International Agreements and EU Affairs at the Ministry of Trade Bahar Güçlü. After briefly focusing on the customs union and its benefits for Türkiye, Güçlü stated that while there were technical standards for products before, sustainability standards have now been introduced with the Green Deal. Stating that new conformity assessment processes have been assigned for the implementation of these new standards, Güçlü pointed out that new legislation has emerged in many areas from agriculture to transport.

The second speaker of the session, Faculty Member at TOBB ETU Prof. Sanem Baykal, started her speech by stating that Türkiye's relation with the EU is not a model that can be based on a transactional relationship without values. Pointing out that the Green Deal and the social pillar are the issues that the EU has been trying to underline in redefining itself since 2019, Prof. Baykal said that in this environment where the accession negotiations with the EU seem unlikely to progress in the short and medium term, considering the political, economic and social benefits it will bring to Türkiye, the democratic conditionality or sustainability conditionality to the updating of the customs union should be considered as a dynamic goal, rather than an obstacle or a compulsion.

The third speaker of the session, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas stated that in the panel discussion dimension of the European Green Deal process, failure to comply with it will lead to loss of competitiveness and decrease in trade gains, while in the rewarding dimension, compliance will bring new investments and resources. Stating that the EU is trying to move forward through compromise by establishing various alliances both in foreign policy and domestically to achieve the green deal targets, Assoc. Prof. Nas emphasised that Türkiye should accelerate its harmonisation efforts. Providing information about the EU financial resources that candidate countries can benefit from to reduce the cost of green transformation, Assoc. Prof. Nas underlined that Türkiye's implementation of a more consistent green transformation policy within its own country will also reflect positively on its foreign relations and that it will be able to better underline its discourses such as "The world is bigger than 5".

The last speaker of the session, IPM Director Prof. Fuat Keyman pointed out that the reference for the EU to become both a regional and a global actor would be the Green Deal, that this has developed significantly, and that Türkiye has not been able to read this situation correctly. Prof. Keyman stated that in a study conducted in 30 countries on democracy, the rate of those between the ages of 15-30 who believe in the seriousness of the climate crisis has exceeded 80%, but the belief that it can be solved through democratic means is 47% and stated that it is necessary to measure the relationship of the cities in Anatolia with the Green Deal. Pointing out the importance of updating the Customs Union and harmonising with the European Green Deal for Türkiye's development and achieving quality economic growth, Prof. Keyman suggested that the Climate Law should be adopted as soon as possible, the 2053 net zero target should be finalised and all state strategies should be planned accordingly, and a national climate fund should be established.