Turkey's top court blocks blanket pollution exemptions for major industrial plants

Turkey's Council of State has suspended a regulation that gave the Ministry of Environment broad discretion to exempt large fossil-fuel-burning industrial facilities from pollution prevention standards. The case centered on Article 20 of the Industrial Emissions Management Regulation, which allowed the ministry to grant exemptions to major combustion plants without defined limits, conditions, or duration.

The Clean Air Rights Association (Temiz Hava Hakkı Derneği) challenged the provision, arguing that facilities responsible for between 36.8% and 84% of Turkey's industrial pollutant emissions, including coal-fired power plants and steel mills, should not receive open-ended exemptions from environmental rules. The Council of State agreed, ruling that granting such unrestricted exemption authority to the ministry, without defined scope or time limits, was unlawful.

Pınar Gayretli, the attorney representing the association, said the ruling is significant because it prevents major polluting facilities from continuing to operate exempt from environmental standards even after transition periods for compliance are set to end between 2028 and 2030. The decision marks a rare judicial check on Turkey's industrial emissions policy as the country faces mounting pressure to align its pollution rules with its climate commitments.

Based on reporting by İklim Haber. Read the original (in Turkish): https://www.iklimhaber.org/danistaydan-onemli-karar-buyuk-sanayi-tesislerine-cevre-muafiyeti-yok/