Draft Laws in the Turkish Parliament Face Criticism from the Public

Over the past month, two draft laws prompted widespread debate. The first draft law proposes penalties against "any conduct that violates public morals, decency and chastity, and offends the shared sense of shame and modesty in society." The second is the drafted Climate Law aiming to reach net-zero by 2053 by establishing a national Emissions Trading System (ETS) and implementing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The 20-article bill, of which the first four articles were approved, was sent back to the committee for reconsideration.

Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, HÜDAPAR

The first draft law proposed by HÜDAPAR (a far-right, islamist-conservative party) party-leader Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu and co-signed by three deputies is justified as a response to what it describes as increasing moral decay and threats to family structure in Türkiye— including same-sex relationships and LGBTQ+ related expressions. While it is still being discussed in committee, the proposal seeks to limit LGBTQ+ expression and threatens the freedom of expression. If implemented, the law will sanction these actions under "indecent acts.” It introduces the term "biological sex" to the Turkish Penal Code and doubles the punishments if the "indecent act" is committed by two individuals of the same "biological sex." Promoting, encouraging and disseminating such actions is also subject to imprisonment. With this draft law, hiding one's biological sex in order to marry is also considered a crime punishable by imprisonment. It also includes regulations on RTÜK (Radio Television Supreme Council), in order for it to ban broadcasts that promote or disseminate same-sex relations. This draft law has sparked wide controversy because it affects the entire population, as it not only threatens LGBTQ+ rights, but also anyone who expresses themselves in a marginal way and can be interpreted as going against “national values and public decency.”

In February, the AKP drafted the law that is going to be Türkiye's first Climate Law. As part of the Paris Climate Agreement, Türkiye is committed to a revised goal of emission reduction of 41 percent by 2030. The law sets the zero-emission goal to 2053. It introduces a carbon market and emission permits. The coordination of climate efforts is to be assured by the Climate Change Presidency with mandatory local climate action plans implemented. It integrates the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which is a carbon tariff on third-party imported goods based on the carbon emission during production. In this aim, an ETS system is going to be established to be regulated by the Carbon Market Board (Karbon Piyasası Kurulu). The law proposes establishing a classification system called the Turkish Green Taxonomy, which sets principles and criteria for economic activities contributing to environmental goals and climate change mitigation.

Similar laws exist in comparably emitting countries like Germany, France, and also in the US with the Inflation Reduction Act. While Germany’s Federal Climate Protection Act sets binding annual emissions limits per sector and mandates adjustment mechanisms if goals are missed, France’s Climate and Resilience Law spans nearly every aspect of daily life—including bans on domestic flights and fossil fuel ads. The US Inflation Reduction Act allocates $369 billion for climate action through public investment and tax incentives.

Critics of the law draw attention to the fact that while it introduces terms like carbon neutrality and carbon market, it falls short of any established roadmaps on how to reach the net-zero goal in 2053. The specifics of the ETS are also not defined. The Director of the Sustainable Economy and Finance Research Association (SEFİA) Bengisu Özenç, in her interview with DW Türkçe voiced concerns on the fact that the law is an economic precaution rather than an environmental one, as it serves to minimize the carbon tariffs paid to the EU by keeping the revenue within the national ETS. Whether this law can then contribute to concrete emission reduction is a question left to be answered. She also highlights the need for transparency in the ETS, as it won’t be regulated by an independent agency.

The first four articles have already been approved by the General Assembly. The first four articles outline the scope and purpose of the law in line with the 2053 net-zero goal, define key terms such as “net-zero emissions,” “green jobs,” and “emissions trading system (ETS),” lay out guiding principles such as climate justice, sustainable development, public participation, and equitable transition, and establish the Climate Change Presidency’s responsibilities, including data collection and inter-institutional reporting. AKP Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Leyla Şahin Usta stated that a new commission will be formed to address the recent agricultural frost and evaluate public misconceptions regarding the Climate Law. She said the bill was postponed to allow for further debate and bipartisan input, but stressed that “given today’s severe frost, it’s clear that we do need a climate law.”

These two draft laws and the reactions they’ve sparked reflect the current political debates in Türkiye. One targets identity and expression, disguising itself as a measure to protect public morals. The other gestures toward environmental responsibility, but leaves critical questions unanswered about how it will be implemented. Public response has already pushed the Climate Law back into committee and has shown strong opposition to the homophobic bill framed as “protecting morals.”

Edited by: Derya Selin Yener and Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu