Climate change in Turkey

Climate change is affecting Turkey in many ways. The country is experiencing hotter temperatures, with heatwaves and droughts becoming more common. In 2025, temperatures in some places reached over 50 °C (122 °F), which is very hot for humans and animals alike. Because Turkey has different landscapes, from mountains to coastlines, the effects of climate change vary across the country. This change also threatens the water supply to some cities, making it important for people to understand and prepare.

Turkey contributes to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions, which are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The country’s yearly emissions make up over 1% of the world’s total. Turkey gets its energy from both fossil fuels and coal, which adds to these emissions. However, each person in Turkey releases about the same amount of emissions as the global average.

To help fight climate change, Turkey has a special group called the Directorate of Climate Change. They work on plans to adapt to climate change, especially for water resources and farming. However, there are still many challenges, like making buildings more energy efficient and deciding when to stop using coal. Turkey will also host an important meeting in 2026 about climate change, where leaders from around the world will discuss how to protect our planet.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Coal, cars, and lorries produce more than a third of Turkey’s greenhouse gases, which total about six hundred million tonnes. These gases, mostly carbon dioxide, are part of the reason for climate change in Turkey. A quarter of these gases come from making electricity.

The energy sector, including transport, released 420 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2024. Turkey’s coal power plants are the biggest source of carbon dioxide, and road vehicles using petrol or diesel also add a lot. After coal and oil, the next biggest fuel is fossil gas, used in Turkey’s gas power plants, homes, and workplaces. Methane from livestock, especially cows, also adds to these gases.

Experts say Turkey’s high greenhouse gas levels are partly because of support for coal power plants and not charging for pollution. Without this support, coal plants might close. Cities with low-emission zones could help reduce both local pollution and carbon dioxide.

Turkey’s share of global greenhouse gases is just over 1%. Each person in Turkey adds about six and a half tonnes of these gases each year, close to the world average. The government is supporting reforestation, making electric cars, and using low-carbon energy, aiming for net zero emissions by 2053. However, the plan does not include stopping coal use, and there is no clear way to reach the goal. Turkey’s plan to reduce emissions by 2035 has been criticized for being higher than current levels. In 2024, the environment minister said that by 2053, half of Turkey’s energy would come from renewable sources and 30% from nuclear power, but did not explain how the rest would be cleaned up.

Impacts on the natural environment

Human-caused climate change in Turkey started in the 1970s. The weather in Turkey is becoming more extreme, with heavier rainfalls in some places and more droughts and heatwaves in others. For example, there were big wildfires in the south in 2021 and floods in the north.

Climate change is also affecting water supplies. Some areas are getting less rain, which makes it harder to keep rivers and lakes full. This is putting pressure on power plants that use water to make electricity. Turkey already has less water available per person than many other countries, and this problem is expected to get worse. Warmer temperatures can also make lakes drier and saltier.

Glaciers in Turkey, like those on Mount Ararat, are melting quickly and may disappear by the end of the century. Forests in the south may struggle to survive in hotter, drier conditions. Wildfires are becoming more common, and soil is washing away more easily. Warmer ocean temperatures are also changing life in the sea, such as in the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Some animals, like brown bears, may change their habits because of the warmer weather.

Impacts on people

Climate change is affecting people in Turkey in many ways. It is causing economic losses, especially from disasters like floods. The government and companies need to plan better to protect businesses from costs related to climate change.

Agriculture, such as growing wheat, may suffer because of less rain and hotter temperatures, especially in dry areas. This can hurt the whole economy. There are also worries about less water for power from rivers, and warming seas may change fish populations. Some tourist places might become too hot in summer, and mountains where people go to ski may not work as well.

Health can be affected by more heatwaves, which are especially hard on older people, children, and those who are already sick. Wildfires and floods have also caused problems for people’s health and homes. Buildings may need more energy to stay cool because of the rising temperatures.

Mitigation

Turkey is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to meet international goals, but faces challenges. A long-term climate strategy was published in 2024, but it does not include plans to stop using coal. Experts say Turkey needs to reduce its emissions faster and cut per-person emissions in half by 2030.

Turkey aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2053. The government has published a climate strategy, but it does not focus on coal reduction. Some experts doubt the 2035 emission target will align with the 2053 net zero goal.

Switching from coal to gas and increasing solar and wind power could help reduce emissions. Improving energy efficiency in buildings is also important, as many buildings in Turkey are old and use more energy. Plans are being made to support electric vehicles and reduce emissions from transportation.

International cooperation and investment in renewable energy are needed to help Turkey meet its climate goals. The country is also working on policies to support a fair transition to clean energy, ensuring that workers and communities are not left behind.

Adaptation

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change leads efforts to address climate change in Turkey. The Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028) includes plans for adapting to climate change. Turkey has created a national strategy and action plan for 2024 to 2030, but as of 2026, it has not yet sent a National Adaptation Plan to the UNFCCC.

In 2023, the Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli announced updates to irrigation methods and changes in crop choices to save water. Ideas like water-conserving landscaping in city green spaces have been proposed, and Istanbul has its own climate change action plan. A study from 2023 recommended that local climate plans should work better with local spatial plans. The World Bank is supporting flood control projects.

Society and culture

Education and research

Climate change education is an option for students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in Turkey. As of 2025, there isn't much training for teachers or school materials available, but there is higher education and research at Boğaziçi University's Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies. In 2025, results will be measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment. İklim Masası (Climate Desk) is a news platform where experts write for the public and serve as a reference for journalists.

Activism

Climate Network Türkiye is a coalition of civil society organisations. Muslim environmentalists and academics often quote the Quran to support their environmental efforts. In 2015, Islamic leaders in Istanbul urged the world's Muslims to help fight climate change. In 2020, Turkey's first lady, Emine Erdoğan, spoke about the importance of careful steps to protect future generations. In 2019, some Turkish schoolchildren joined the School Strike for Climate.

Petition and lawsuits

In 2019, environmental activist Greta Thunberg and 15 other children filed a petition protesting lack of action on the climate crisis by several countries, including Turkey. The petition challenged these countries under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. If successful, the countries would be asked to respond, though any suggestions wouldn't be legally binding. In 2020, Turkey and 32 other countries faced a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights by a group of Portuguese children.

Media and arts

In the 1990s, Açık Radyo (Open Radio) broadcast some of the first media coverage of climate change. The station continues today, and İklim Haber (Climate News) also covers climate change issues in Turkish and English. Turkish media often only covers climate change during extreme weather events and usually lacks expert opinions or views from civil society. Some think tanks, like Ember, are respected by both industry and environmentalists. The arts are helping raise awareness about climate change, though some are sponsored by companies with criticized environmental policies. Education on climate change is supported by the EU. Protests against opencast coal mining, such as at Akbelen Forest, have been covered by small media outlets.

Public perception

Many people in Turkey believe that extreme weather has increased and that human activities are causing the current climate crisis. Some construction companies have been accused of advertising their buildings as environmentally friendly without proper certifications. In a 2019 poll of six Belt and Road Initiative countries, including Turkey, solar power was the most popular energy source, and coal the least popular. Twenty-four Turkish cities committed to the Paris Agreement targets that year, and the United Nations Development Programme partnered with the Turkish Basketball Federation in 2020 to raise public awareness about fighting climate change. In 2023, a draft law was proposed to include public information and add climate change to education in Turkey. In 2024, a climate portal was created where Turkish citizens can log in. Like most global public opinion, most Turks support action on climate change.

International cooperation

Turkey was the fifth-largest recipient of multilateral climate funds between 2013 and 2016, receiving $231 million through channels such as the Clean Technology Fund and the Global Environment Facility. In 2021, Turkey ratified the Paris Agreement, with all parliamentary members voting to ratify it. Before this, Turkey was one of the last few countries, alongside Iran, to not have ratified the agreement. It was the last of the G20 countries to ratify. Turkey will host the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Turkey sent over a thousand representatives to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference and joined various initiatives, such as decarbonizing cement production. However, it was criticized for not voting to phase-out fossil fuels.