Turkey's New Nationally Determined Contribution: Stagnation or Breakthrough?

Abstract

Climate change will continue to be at the top of countries’ political and social agendas in the coming decades. The steps to be taken in the mitigation and adaptation processes carried out within the scope of combating climate change are presented in countries' nationally determined contributions (NDC). In this study, Turkey's new NDC announced during the COP27 summit is evaluated with regard to the current data. The purpose of the study is to analyze Turkey's new NDC statement, and its potential outcomes based on relevant reports, scientific assessments, projections, and current data. The study mainly highlights the potential benefits of prioritizing the transition to renewable energy and the positive implications of having a concrete timeline for reducing the use of fossil fuels, includ- ing coal, if explicitly included in Turkey's NDC statement. The paper's main objective is to discuss the economic, social, and environmental benefits of a bolder decarbonization roadmap and the need for a schedule to phase out fossil fuels. In the study, an array of recent and detailed reports, scientific studies, and statistics were analyzed and the positive outcomes of Turkey's accelerating the process of exiting fossil fuels were discussed.