The Türkiye Green Taxonomy Regulation

The Türkiye Green Taxonomy Regulation entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette on September 24, 2026. Reporting will become mandatory for financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms on January 1, 2029.

Purpose and Scope of the Türkiye Green Taxonomy

The primary purpose of this regulation is to facilitate the flow of funds (loans, funds, etc.) to projects that genuinely benefit the environment and to prevent companies from unfairly appearing "Environmentally Friendly" without any real substance (greenwashing). Therefore, the regulation defines which economic activities qualify as "environmentally sustainable," meaning "green."

Three Main Objectives:

• Facilitating access to green finance
• Providing investors with a common and transparent language
• Reducing the risk of greenwashing

The Six Environmental Objectives and Three Core Criteria of the Taxonomy

The regulation requires a project to directly serve at least one of the following 6 objectives set by the state to be considered "green":

1. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions: Reducing smoke from factory chimneys or carbon emissions from logistics vehicles.
2. Climate change adaptation: Making the business model resilient against extreme weather events (droughts, floods).
3. Protection of water and marine resources: Treating industrial wastewater to make it harmless to nature.
4. Transition to a circular economy :Reintroducing waste into production as raw materials instead of disposing of it as trash.
5. Pollution prevention: Eliminating chemical or noise pollution at its source.
6. Protection of biodiversity: Avoiding harm to forests, bees, and migratory birds while establishing facilities, and restoring nature.

Three Criteria:
• Substantial contribution: Making a substantial contribution to at least one of the six objectives.
• Do no significant harm: Doing no significant harm to any of the other objectives.
• Minimum social safeguards: Complying with fundamental human rights, labor rights, and social security legislation.

Enabling and Transitional Activities

It is impossible for every sector to reach zero carbon instantly (e.g., iron-steel or aluminum). The regulation introduces the definition of "transitional activity" for these challenging sectors. It keeps the financing doors open for technologies that are not yet fully green but pollute significantly less than the sector average.
For instance, cement production inherently generates intense carbon emissions. However, if a manufacturer establishes a new production line that emits 10% less carbon emissions compared to the traditional cement production process, the regulation recognizes and supports this as a "Transitional Green Activity".

Penalties and Sanctions

As of January 1, 2029, banks, insurance, reinsurance, and pension companies, brokerage firms, as well as investment and portfolio management companies will be obligated to report. Real sector firms operating the activities listed in Annex-1 can report on a voluntary basis. However, even though reporting is voluntary, financial institutions may request taxonomy reports or similar content from firms to fulfill their own obligations.

In case of non-compliance with the regulation, severe administrative fines can be imposed under the Climate Law on institutions that fail to fulfill their information and documentation obligations, knowingly make false statements, or fail to report.