Turkish Grand National Assembly decides to accede to the Kyoto Protocol

Accession to the Kyoto Protocol will facilitate Turkey’s participation in the global transition to a low-carbon economy in the post-2012 period.

Turkey acceded to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2004, ten years after its entry into force. Turkey has today acceded to the Kyoto Protocol four years after it came into force in 2005. Through the law now adopted by the Parliament, Turkey will become part of the construction of a new global climate change regime — taking hold of the opportunity it missed in the 1990s. Now in a position to shape the post-2012 debates, Turkey must be ready to take up its responsibilities.

In the view of REC Turkey, the following issues must be considered as priorities for Turkey during both the 2008-2012 and post-2012 periods:

• Facilitation of access to up-to-date and impartial information about climate change, the Kyoto Protocol and the post-2012 period.
• Improvement of the structure and effectiveness of the Coordination Board on Climate Change (CBCC), established in 2001 during Turkey’s accession to the UNFCCC and revised in 2004 in the preparation phase of the first National Communication, in order to meet the current challenges arising from the Kyoto Protocol.
• Appointment of a fully authorised chief negotiator for international negotiations in the field of energy and climate change.
• - Enhancement of official negotiations with all parties to the Kyoto Protocol and of technical cooperation within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
• Voluntary submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat of a demonstrable progress report (covering the period 1990 to 2004), a requirement under the Kyoto Protocol for Annex I countries.
• Solidification of the position of Turkey (a non-Annex B party to the Kyoto Protocol) as an advanced developing country, so as to make it possible for Turkey to consider flexible targets (e.g. an alternative reference year and/or sectoral targets), rather than an absolute GHG emissions reduction target as compared to its 1990 level, as one means to the concrete implementation of Decision 26/CP7 that places Turkey in a different position from that of other Annex I parties. This should also be discussed with other countries, particularly with South Korea and Mexico, the two other OECD countries that do not yet have commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

“The Turkish country office of the REC, an independent, not-for-profit, non-advocacy international organisation, has achieved great success based on collaboration with a variety of stakeholders. I am happy to announce that our activities in the field of climate change and national and international processes will continue to expand,” said the director of REC Turkey, Dr. Sibel Sezer Eralp.

REC Turkey and Climate Change

Between 2005 and 2008, REC Turkey acted as the national focal point for Article 6 of the UNFCCC (on education, training and public awareness), having been designated by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry. As a result of international cooperation, capacity-building and awareness-raising activities were organised for civil society and government institutions, including the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Parliament. These activities also provided important support to facilitate the participation of Turkish civil society in efforts at the national and international levels. Please find attached further information on the mission of REC Turkey as Article 6 national focal point.

For more information, please contact Ms. YeÅŸim ÇaÄŸlayan, REC Turkey information programme manager yesim.caglayan@rec.org.tr or Ms. Gülçin Özsoy, REC Turkey climate change project assistant gulcin.ozsoy@rec.org.tr , Telephone: +90 312 491 95