Turkey outlines structure of future emissions trading system

Turkey’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change has outlined the structure of the country’s future Emissions Trading System (TR ETS), SteelOrbis reports.

The ministry has published comprehensive information on the results of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) for 2024, as well as the methodology that will be used for the free allocation of quotas.

According to the ministry’s national MRV report, installations are grouped into three categories based on annual emissions and include more than 800 facilities in total. In this national structure, ferrous metallurgy accounts for 107 installations and total emissions of 33.3 million tons of carbon dioxide, approximately 12% of the country’s verified emissions.

The pilot phase of the TR ETS will run from 2026 to 2027 and will cover installations that emit more than 50,000 tons of carbon annually. It includes electricity generation, cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers and ceramics, chemicals, and oil refining. These sectors are already regulated by the European CBAM.

The full implementation phase is planned between 2028 and 2035 and will involve the introduction of full compliance obligations, annual reporting cycles, and free allocation based on benchmarks.

The Turkish emissions trading system will use a benchmark-based approach to determine the amount of free allowances allocated to each installation, which is determined by combining four parameters, closely mirroring international ETS systems.

The report provides extended technical definitions for controlled installations in Turkey’s steel sector, which are aligned with the corresponding European PRODCOM codes. For electric arc furnaces, the TR ETS distinguishes between carbon and high-alloy steel.

This summer, Turkey approved plans to launch its own carbon market in order to achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2053. On July 2, the country’s parliament passed its first-ever climate law, which, among other things, provides for the creation of a national emissions trading system (ETS).