Fırat İçen
Testing Accreditation Department
Turkish Accreditation Agency (TURKAK)

Climate change is one of the most serious problems in the world today. The burning of fossil fuels and other human activities have led to an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions causing the Earth’s temperature to rise and leading to a range of negative impacts on the environment and human society. Because of this, economies around the world have come together and implemented policies to reduce GHG emissions.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the first intergovernmental environmental agreement on climate change, entered into force in 1994. Since then, Conferences of the Parties have been held annually and a system based on the contributions of all economies was envisaged with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015.

The Paris Agreement aims to keep the global average temperature rise below 2°C compared to the pre-industrial period, and additionally limit this increase to 1.5°C if possible. Participating economies are expected to submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), which include their activities to fulfill the main objective of the agreement, and update them once every five years.

Along with these developments, with the European Green Deal approved in 2020, Europe declared its goal of being the first carbon neutral continent by 2050. As a step towards achieving this goal, the European Union (EU) is implementing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a carbon cost on certain imported goods based on their carbon footprint. The CBAM will enter into force in a transitional phase on 01 October 2023, with the transition period ending on 01 January 2026.

Developments in Türkiye

Türkiye, like many other economies, has implemented policies to reduce its GHG emissions. Türkiye became a party to the Paris Agreement in 2021 and within the scope of NDC, Türkiye’s target is to reduce the increase in its GHG emissions by 21% until 2030 and to reach zero emissions by 2053. Regarding CBAM, during the transition period, the relevant sectors will have to submit declarations regarding the calculation of direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for products that are being exported to the EU, and these sectors account for 32% of Türkiye’s total exports to the EU.

To support these policies, it is crucial to have accurate and reliable information on GHG emissions. This is where monitoring, reporting and verification of GHG emissions stands out. In Türkiye, there are related regulations implemented by the relevant legal authority (Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change). According to these regulations, stationary plants are required to monitor greenhouse gases they release into the atmosphere, report their amounts annually and have these reports verified. The relevant legal authority also wants verifiers of GHG emission statements of stationary plants to be accredited, as seen in the relevant regulations.

Other Developments in the World and Türkiye

In October 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) established the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) program, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions from international aviation activities. In Türkiye, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) published Application Instruction of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which also includes monitoring, reporting and verification of CO₂ emissions. Within the scope of this instruction, CO₂ emissions need to be monitored and reported and these reports also need to be verified by accredited verifiers. Accordingly, TURKAK began providing accreditation services for verification bodies operating in the verification of GHG emissions in the aviation field in 2021.    

In 2023, TURKAK also began providing accreditation services for verification bodies operating in the verification of GHG emissions in the voluntary field (organizational level) within the scope of EN ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. EN ISO 14064-1 details the principles and requirements for designing, developing, managing and reporting greenhouse gases inventories at the organizational level.