Robust economic growth, coupled with rapid population growth, industrialisation and urbanisation have put considerable environmental pressure on Turkey. Some progress has been made in municipal waste generation and collection, and in forest cover, but important challenges remain in other areas, such as air pollution and energy consumption. This chapter provides a snapshot of key environmental trends in Turkey since 2005. It highlights the progress made in decoupling economic activity from environmental pressures and sketches out major policy developments.

Turkey has strengthened its regulatory framework for environmental management. However, institutional capacity constraints impede more effective implementation of environmental law and the uptake of good regulatory practices. More needs to be done to enhance environmental democracy. This chapter analyses Turkey’s environmental governance system, including horizontal and vertical institutional co‑ordination, and setting and enforcing environmental requirements. It also addresses public participation in decision-making and access to environmental information, education and justice.

Turkey has made some progress towards green growth, increasingly integrating sustainable development into National Development Plans and promoting high levels of investment in renewable energy. Further effort is needed to address environmental issues that will act as a constraint on economic growth, such as water scarcity and air pollution, and to capture market opportunities in growing environmental goods and services markets. This chapter considers several policy levers that could be used to accelerate green growth transition. These include reforming fossil fuel and vehicle taxation; putting a price on carbon, congestion and water; reducing subsidies for fossil fuel use and environmentally harmful agricultural activities; mobilising private sector investment in environmentally beneficial infrastructure; strengthening policy frameworks supporting eco-innovation; and promoting environmentally friendly foreign direct investment.