Since 1 January 2026 the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) runs in its definitive regime, and the first CBAM declarations and certificate surrenders for 2026 imports fall due on 30 September 2027. On the Turkish side, the Emissions Trading System Regulation was published on 27 August 2026 and the pilot period covers 2026 and 2027 emissions. If you export cement, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity or hydrogen to the EU, or build carbon-credit or ESG-data products, these rules already affect you (as of October 2026).
The trend in one paragraph
Climate fintech means tools that turn emissions into numbers someone can price, trade, finance or report: carbon accounting software, carbon-credit marketplaces (sometimes tokenised), ESG data and ratings, and green lending. In 2026 these numbers stopped being voluntary marketing: an EU importer pays for the embedded emissions of Turkish goods, a Turkish installation reports into a state registry, and a green claim in an ad needs documents behind it.
CBAM: what a Turkish exporter actually has to deliver
Legally, CBAM is the EU importer’s obligation: under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, goods may be imported into the EU only by an authorised CBAM declarant. Commercially, the burden travels back to the exporter: the importer needs your emissions data and will price the certificate cost into the deal.
| Issue | Rule (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Sectors | Cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen |
| De minimis | Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 (the “Omnibus I” simplification) exempts an importer whose CBAM goods do not cumulatively exceed 50 tonnes net mass in a calendar year (Article 2a, Annex VII). The exemption does not apply to imports of electricity or hydrogen (Article 2a(4)). |
| Authorisation | Importers above 50 tonnes (and importers of electricity or hydrogen) must hold authorised CBAM declarant status; those who applied by 31 March 2026 may keep importing until a decision is taken (Article 17(7a)) |
| Price | Based on EU ETS auction prices: a quarterly average in 2026 (Q1 EUR 75.36, Q2 EUR 75.28, Q3 EUR 82.32 per certificate), a weekly average from 2027; purchases on the common central platform from February 2027 |
| Deadline | First declaration and surrender for 2026 imports by 30 September 2027; from 2027, the certificates held on the declarant’s account at the end of each quarter must correspond to at least 50% of embedded emissions imported so far that year (Article 22(2)) |
What matters most for an exporter is data. An importer can declare the Commission’s default values or actual values; for actual values, the producer in the third country must provide verified emissions data. Accredited verifiers have had access to the CBAM Registry since 1 September 2026. Without verified actual data, your customer falls back on default values that say nothing about your plant’s performance.
Article 9 of the CBAM Regulation, as replaced by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, lets a declarant that uses actual emissions claim a reduction in the certificates due for a carbon price paid in a third country, but only if that price “has been effectively paid”; Article 9(4) also allows a reduction by reference to yearly default carbon prices, where the third country’s rules set a carbon price.
Türkiye’s own ETS: Climate Law No. 7552 and the 2026 Regulation
The Climate Law No. 7552 (Official Gazette 9 July 2025, No. 32951) entered into force on publication. Under Article 9, the Climate Change Presidency establishes the ETS, EPİAŞ (the energy exchange operator) runs the ETS market, and covered installations need an emission permit and must surrender allowances matching their verified emissions. A Carbon Market Board, which includes the heads of SPK and EPDK, approves allocation and the permitted share of offsets (Article 10).
The ETS Regulation (Official Gazette 27 August 2026, No. 33353) adds the mechanics:
- Scope: category B and C installations, with annual emissions above 50,000 tCO2e (Articles 4 and 5).
- Reporting: verified emissions report by 30 April each year, with verifiers appointed through MEDAS (Articles 29 and 30).
- Surrender: by the last business day of November of the compliance year (Article 16(1)).
- First monitoring methodology plans: within two months of the Regulation’s entry into force, extendable by the Presidency up to six months (Provisional Article 3).
The Carbon Market Board’s first decision (KPK/2026/1, announced 3 September 2026) set the pilot: it covers 2026 and 2027 emissions of installations in electricity generation, cement, iron and steel, aluminium and fertilisers. In the 2026 system year covered installations only report; the price mechanism starts from the 2027 system year, with 100% free allocation on a benchmark basis during the pilot.
Article 14 of the Law sets fines of TL 500,000 to 5,000,000 for a missing verified report (doubled for ETS installations), a per-allowance fine of twice the higher of the recent primary and secondary market prices for unsurrendered allowances, and permit cancellation where an installation surrenders less than 80% of its obligation on time for three consecutive years. During the pilot, fines are reduced by 80% (Provisional Article 1).
Our reading: the sector overlap with CBAM is almost complete, and with no allowance price in 2026, a Turkish carbon price deductible under CBAM Article 9 for 2026 imports looks unlikely. How a Turkish price counts from 2027 is decided on the EU side. Separately, Article 8 of the Climate Law provides that a Turkish border carbon mechanism (SKDM) for imports “may be established”, with the rules to be set by the Ministry of Trade.
Carbon credits and tokenisation: clear rules, open questions
Article 11 of the Climate Law provides that part of an ETS obligation may be permitted to be met with carbon credits, and Article 25 of the ETS Regulation limits this to credits from projects in Türkiye, up to a ratio the Carbon Market Board sets. Owners of domestic projects producing credits for voluntary markets must register them in the national carbon credit registry; the TL 120,000 fine for not registering applies only once the registry exists and the Presidency announces the deadline. A draft Carbon Crediting and Offsetting Regulation, consulted on in August 2025, would call national credits “Turkuaz Kredi” with issuance tracked by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE). As of October 2026 it does not appear among the Presidency’s issued regulations.
Turkish ETS allowances are book-entry instruments held in EPİAŞ’s transaction registry, and Article 9(9) of the Law says they cannot be the subject of collateral agreements. A token claiming to represent an allowance outside that registry has no legal basis we can identify. Tokenised voluntary credits are less clear: the crypto-asset definition in Article 3 of the Capital Markets Law No. 6362 (added by Law No. 7518) covers intangible assets created with distributed ledger technology that can represent value or rights, and crypto-asset service providers need SPK authorisation under Article 35/B. We have not found an SPK position on carbon tokens, so whether a carbon-token marketplace needs that authorisation remains open. We discussed the wider tokenisation framework in our RWA tokenisation piece.
ESG data and green claims: greenwashing is now defined
Three instruments now govern what ESG and carbon fintechs say:
- Advertising. Since 1 August 2026, the amended Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation defines an “environmental claim” and requires certificates cited in ads to be backed by documents from competent, accredited or independent bodies; generic environmental terms cannot be used without explanation, and the ad must say which part or life-cycle stage the claim concerns (Article 17(3), (5), (6)). More in our advertising rules article.
- Taxonomy. The Türkiye Green Taxonomy Regulation (Official Gazette 24 September 2026, No. 33380) aims to prevent greenwashing, which it defines as the deceptive use of public relations, finance, advertising or marketing to create a false sustainability impression. Companies may report voluntarily; brokerages, investment trusts, portfolio managers, banks, and insurance, reinsurance and pension companies must report under SPK, BDDK and SEDDK rules, but not before 1 January 2029 (Article 13, Provisional Article 1).
- Climate Law. Failing to provide required information, or making misleading statements, carries a TL 170,000 fine (Article 14(6)).
For EU consumers, Directive (EU) 2024/825 applies from 27 September 2026 and blacklists generic environmental claims where the trader cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim, and claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact based on offsetting. A “carbon-neutral card” or “offset your purchase” feature aimed at EU consumers needs review. The separate Green Claims Directive proposal (COM(2023)166) is still awaiting the Council’s first-reading position, per the Parliament’s Legislative Observatory.
Sustainability reporting under TSRS: who must report
Under Public Oversight Authority (KGK) Decision No. 21634, Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS) apply to listed categories, including SPK-regulated investment firms, portfolio managers and listed companies, BDDK-regulated banks, leasing, factoring and financing companies, and insurers, once they exceed two of three thresholds in two consecutive periods. Banks (other than those under the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund) are covered regardless of size. A KGK decision of 13 January 2026 raised the thresholds to TL 1 billion total assets, TL 2 billion net sales and 500 employees for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025. Scope 3 disclosure is not required in the first two years. Payment and e-money institutions are not named as such in the list, but their bank partners are, so expect data requests.
Where to start
For a Turkish exporter selling CBAM goods to the EU:
- Confirm with each EU customer whether it is above 50 tonnes and an authorised declarant.
- Decide whether to supply verified actual emissions data; book an accredited verifier early.
- Add CBAM data, verification and cost-sharing clauses to supply contracts.
- If your installation is in the Turkish ETS pilot, check your monitoring methodology plan deadline and MEDAS verifier appointment.
For a carbon-credit or ESG-data fintech:
- Map whether any token you issue or list could be a crypto asset under Law No. 6362; get a view before launch.
- Do not represent Turkish ETS allowances off-registry or as collateral.
- Audit every “green”, “carbon-neutral” or “offset” claim against the Turkish advertising rules and, for EU users, Directive 2024/825.
- Build products that can output data in TSRS and taxonomy formats your bank and corporate clients will need.
See our fintech law hub for related payment and crypto topics.
Does a Turkish exporter pay CBAM itself?
No. The legal obligation sits with the EU importer, which must be an authorised CBAM declarant above the 50-tonne threshold. In practice the exporter supplies emissions data and may bear part of the cost through pricing, so the supply contract decides the exporter’s exposure.
Do Turkish ETS installations pay for allowances in 2026?
No. Under Carbon Market Board decision KPK/2026/1, installations in the pilot only report in the 2026 system year; the price mechanism starts from the 2027 system year, with 100% free allocation on a benchmark basis during the pilot.
Can we sell tokenised carbon credits to users in Türkiye?
There is no specific rule yet. Turkish ETS allowances exist only in EPİAŞ’s registry and cannot be used as collateral. Tokens representing voluntary credits may fall within the crypto-asset definition of Law No. 6362, bringing SPK authorisation into play, but SPK has not addressed the point. Assess the structure before launch.
Sources. Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (CBAM, OJ L 130, 16.5.2023), Arts. 4, 9, 22; Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 of 8 October 2025 (OJ L, 17.10.2025), Arts. 2a, 9 (replacing Art. 9 of Regulation 2023/956), 17(7a), 22(2), Annex VII; European Commission, CBAM definitive regime and CBAM certificate prices; Directive (EU) 2024/825, Art. 4, Annex I points 4a and 4c; Legislative Observatory, 2023/0085(COD); Climate Law No. 7552 (RG 9.7.2025, No. 32951), Arts. 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, Provisional Art. 1; Türkiye ETS Regulation (RG 27.8.2026, No. 33353), Arts. 4, 5, 16, 25, 29, 30, Provisional Art. 3; Carbon Market Board decision KPK/2026/1; Türkiye Green Taxonomy Regulation (RG 24.9.2026, No. 33380), Arts. 4, 13, Provisional Art. 1; amendment to the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation (RG 1.7.2026, No. 33297), Arts. 1, 5, 15; Law No. 7518 (RG 2.7.2024, No. 32590) amending Law No. 6362, Arts. 3 and 35/B; KGK Decision No. 21634 (RG 29.12.2023, No. 32414 (1.M)) and KGK decision of 13.1.2026 (RG 16.1.2026, No. 33139).
This article is general information and not legal advice; a specific situation should be assessed with counsel.
Author
More from Vircon Insights
KVKK for Game Studios: Telemetry, Device Identifiers, Ad SDKs and the Data That Leaves Türkiye Every Session
October 22, 2026Türkiye Geographic Data Permits Regulation 2026: What Companies Working with Location Data Must Check
October 16, 2026The EU Data Act for Turkish Companies: Connected Products, Cloud Switching and the September 2026 Design Deadline
October 15, 2026Stablecoins, Tokenised Deposits and Wholesale CBDC: Legal Status for Turkish Businesses (October 2026)
October 21, 2026In-App Purchases and Refunds in Türkiye: The Digital-Content Exception, Pre-Contract Information and the Child Who Bought Gems
October 21, 2026Deepfakes, Impersonation and APP Fraud in Türkiye: Who Bears the Loss?
October 20, 2026Related Practice Areas
ICOs, Crypto & Blockchain
Crypto-asset regulation, token offerings, exchange and custody licensing.
View service →Corporate Law
Share transfers, capital increases, board structuring, governance.
View service →US Company Formations & Flip-Ups
Delaware C-Corp, flip-up structures, SAFE/convertible notes, 83(b).
View service →