The Turkish parliament has approved a carbon pricing mechanism for the shipping sector, allowing Turkey to tax emissions from commercial ships entering and departing its seaports.
The amendment mandates that fees be collected from shipowners based on the CO2 emissions produced by their vessels. The Turkish presidency is expected to issue regulations detailing the types of ships affected, emission fee rates, and procedures for monitoring, reporting, and verifying emissions. This new policy is projected to regulate over 10 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, similar to the emissions of Luxembourg.
This approval is part of Turkey’s broader climate strategy, which includes establishing an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as outlined in its Climate Change Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan (CCMSAP) for 2024 to 2030. The ETS aims to align with the EU’s carbon market.
An Emissions Trading System (ETS) fundamentally serves as a market-based approach that establishes a limit on allowable emissions, where each allowance corresponds to one tonne of CO2 or its equivalent. The EU ETS functions under a cap-and-trade model, requiring companies to buy allowances in accordance with their emissions, which incentivizes a collective decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
With increasing EU container transshipment traffic in Turkish ports, there have been concerns that some carriers might bypass EU carbon taxes by using Turkey as a transshipment hub. In response, Turkey’s shipping ETS will harmonize maritime trade with the EU, mitigating potential loopholes.
The EU ETS covers all CO2 emissions from ships traveling between EU ports and includes a portion of emissions from voyages to and from non-EU ports. Starting in 2026, the ETS will also account for methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
With Turkish ports experiencing a significant rise in container transshipment traffic—growing to 1.2 million TEU from January to May—Turkey aims to enhance its position in global shipping while ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.
