What is the project about?

The immediate objective of the project is to assist the Government of Turkey in the preparation and submission of its 7th National Communication and 3rd Biennial Report for the fulfilment of its obligations under the Convention as Annex I Party.

What has been the situation?

Although Turkey’s engagement on climate change issues extends back to the early 1990s, since its ratification of the UNFCCC in 2004, as part of its international commitments under the Convention, it has ensured regular reporting of climate change related trends and developments in the form of national GHG inventories, National Communications and Biennial Reports. The first National GHG Emission Inventory was submitted to the UNFCCC in 2006. The GHG Emission Inventory is being prepared annually and the latest National GHG Inventory covering from 1990 to 2014 was submitted in April 2016.

Turkey submitted its First National Communication on Climate Change to the UNFCCC in 2007. The Fifth National Communication on Climate Change, combining second, third, fourth and fifth communications, was submitted in December 2013 and the Sixth National Communication on Climate Change, where the works carried out after the Fifth and the issues not included in the previous Communications have been covered, was submitted in April 2016. Following the provisions of Decision 2/CP.17 and 9/CP.18, Turkey also submitted its Joint First and Second Biennial Report to the UNFCCC in March 2016. In accordance with Decisions 1/CP.19 and 1/CP.20, as of September 2015, Turkey submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) towards achieving the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC which is set out in its Article 2 and clarifying information.

What is our mission?

The immediate objective of the project is to assist the Government of Turkey in the preparation and submission of its 7th National Communication and 3rd Biennial Report to the UNFCCC for the fulfilment of its obligations under the Convention as Annex I Party.

How are we doing this?

The objective of the project is expected to be achieved via following outcomes:

• National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory system is strengthened and national GHG inventory is updated for years 1990 to 2015/2016 in line with National Communication and Biennial Report requirements;
• National circumstances are reviewed and updated, institutional arrangements relevant to the preparation of the national communications and biennial reports on a continuous basis are activated and described;
• Finance, technology transfer and capacity building needs, constraint and gaps are identified and recommendations for addressing the needs are provided;
• Information on research and systematic observation is reviewed and updated;
• Information relevant to the Article 6 activities on education, training and public awareness is reflected;
• Using best practices and latest available data, assessment of sectors and interventions contributing to GHG emission reduction (mitigation) at national level is conducted and described;
• Climate change vulnerability assessment, including recommended adaptation measures for priority sectors is reviewed and updated;
• Support is provided for strengthening domestic measurement, reporting and verification system;
• A web data base including climate change studies carried out by national universities is developed;
• 7th National Communication and 3rd Biennial Report are compiled, approved by the Government and submitted to the UNFCCC in line with UNFCCC reporting guidelines;
• Appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation Framework is in place for quality assurance.

How will Turkey Benefit?

The preparation of the 7th National Communication and 3rd Biennial Report will further strengthen national capacities for technical reporting in line with National Communication and Biennial Report guidelines; “Climate Change Database”, where all climate change related resources and initiatives will be available, will be developed. The preparation of the 7th National Communication and 3rd Biennial Report will increase capacities of state institutions in several topics such as improving MRV system, improving the quality of national data providers, create platform to increase cooperation between state and non-state actors, make research on several topics which provide support Turkey in delivering the National Reports and improving national climate change policies.

What has been achieved until today?

• Opening ceremony and inception workshop were organized.
• Technical Working Groups were established.
• Inception Report was prepared.
• Consultation meetings with all relevant stakeholders were completed.
• Technical and logistical support was provided at the 23rd and 24th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP)
• Turkey’s 3rd Biennial Report was been prepared and submitted to UNFCCC. (1 January 2018)
• Turkey’s 7th National Communication was been prepared and submitted to UNFCCC.(26 December 2018)
• Turkey’s 3rd Biennial Report was been revised and  re-submitted to UNFCCC. (26 December 2018)
• Turkey’s 7th National Communication was been revised and  re-submitted to UNFCCC.(26 August 2019)
• Support was provided to  process of IDR7 and TRR3 Report;
  • IDR7 
  • TRR3  
• Recommendation Reports were prepared.