Inception Workshop of the Enabling Project Held in Ankara

Implemented under the coordination of the Directorate of Climate Change (DoCC) as the beneficiary and the Resource, Environment and Climate Association (REC) as the implementing partner, the project titled “Enabling the Republic of Türkiye to Prepare Its First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) and the Joint Ninth National Communication and Second Biennial Transparency Report (NC9/BTR2) to the UNFCCC” supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), held its Inception Workshop on August 29, 2025, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Ankara. The project aims to support Türkiye in fulfilling its national reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, while contributing to the strengthening of institutional and technical capacities for climate transparency. Due to the intensive first-phase schedule in 2024 — which supported the preparation, submission, and review of Türkiye’s first BTR ahead of COP29 held in Baku — the Inception Workshop was postponed to 2025. The event brought together a wide range of stakeholders and high-level participants.

The opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Ayşegül Selışık (Assistant FAO Representative in Türkiye), Prof. Dr. Halil Hasar (President of the Directorate of Climate Change), Yalçın Rafiyev (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chief Negotiator for COP29), and Fatma Varank (Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and Chief Climate Negotiator for Türkiye). The speeches highlighted Türkiye’s commitment to combating climate change, its candidacy for the COP31 Presidency, and its progress in enhancing transparency within national climate policy.

Following the opening, technical sessions were held to provide detailed information on Türkiye’s reporting obligations and the project’s components. Dr. Rifat Ünal Sayman, Chair of REC, presented the full process behind the preparation of Türkiye’s BTR1 submitted on 7 November 2024. He noted that Türkiye was the third country to submit its BTR after Japan and Spain, and was recognized as a “BTR Champion” by the UNFCCC Secretariat and the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan. He emphasized the inclusive and participatory nature of the report’s preparation process, which involved 26 public institutions represented in the Climate Change and Adaptation Coordination Board (IDUKK), as well as strong engagement from academia and civil society. Dr. Sayman also reiterated Türkiye’s commitment under its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce emissions by 41% from the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 2030, elaborating on the underlying policies and measures. He further explained how the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) comprises a complementary structure of reports—BTRs, NCs, and NDCs—that together provide key data for the IPCC’s Global Stocktake (GST) process, and that these components must be addressed holistically.

Ayşin Turpancı from the Directorate of Climate Change elaborated on Türkiye’s obligations under the ETF and its active participation in the related processes. She underlined that following the Technical Expert Review (TER) held in Ankara in March 2025, Türkiye is preparing for its Facilitative Multilateral Consideration of Progress (FMCP), scheduled for 2026. She also presented a diagram explaining the cyclical and interlinked nature of the ETF, NDC, and GST processes, noting that the national coordination mechanism led by the Directorate of Climate Change ensures transparency and consistency in reporting Türkiye’s climate commitments at the international level.

Kaan Başaran (FAO SEC Portfolio Specialist) provided an overview of the institutional structure of GEF, the allocation of financial resources, and project modalities. Mirella Salvatore (FAO Global Transparency Coordinator) followed with a presentation on FAO’s ongoing support for transparency reporting and NDC development. Evetta Zenina (Natural Resources Officer at FAO SEC) presented the technical scope, objectives, and expected outcomes of the project.

In the final session, moderated by Dr. Rifat Ünal Sayman, participants shared their assessments and comments, reflecting on the connections between Türkiye’s alignment with the international climate regime and the importance of institutional coordination. Discussions also covered the anticipated introduction of Türkiye’s first Emissions Trading System (ETS), national and international carbon pricing mechanisms, and the relationship between these instruments and the implementation of the NDC and other reporting obligations. It was emphasized that reports such as the BTR and NC are not merely technical deliverables for compliance but are essential tools for strengthening climate policy and promoting transparency at the national level.

In the next phase of the project, Türkiye’s Second Biennial Transparency Report (BTR2) and Ninth National Communication (NC9) will be prepared and submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat in 2025. This will mark another important step in fulfilling Türkiye’s commitments under the Paris Agreement