Türkiye’nin 7552 Sayılı İklim Kanunu: Kentler ile Yerel Yönetimlerin Rolü ve Sorumlulukları Üzerine Akademik Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

Küresel iklim değişikliğinin yol açtığı ve etkileri giderek kentsel alanlarda yoğunlaşan çok katmanlı kriz, çağımızın en temel sosyo-ekolojik sorunlarından biri olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Kentler, hem yüksek sera gazı emisyonlarının asli kaynakları olmaları hem de iklim risklerine karşı taşıdıkları yapısal kırılganlıklar nedeniyle, iklim eylemlerinin merkez üssü konumundadır. Türkiye’nin Paris Anlaşması’na taraf olması ve 2053 net sıfır emisyon hedefini benimsemesiyle birlikte, 7552 sayılı İklim Kanunu’nun 9 Temmuz 2025 tarihli Resmî Gazete’de yayımlanarak yürürlüğe girmesiyle ulusal iklim politikası yasal bir zemine kavuşmuştur. Bu çalışma, yürürlüğe giren İklim Kanunu’nu, getirdiği yasal yükümlülükler ve sunduğu fırsatlar ekseninde kentler ve yerel yönetimler perspektifinden bir değerlendirmeye tabi tutmaktadır. Doküman analizi yöntemiyle desenlenen değerlendirme, uluslararası iklim hukuku, kent ve yerel yönetimler literatürüyle diyalog halinde, kanunun normatif çerçevesinin ötesine geçerek sahadaki potansiyel yansımalarını sorgulamaktadır. Değerlendirme, mekânsal planlama, enerji, ulaşım, atık yönetimi ve iklim finansmanı gibi kentsel yönetişimin kilit alanlarındaki yerel yönetim sorumluluklarına odaklanmakta, Türkiye’deki mevcut durumu uluslararası örnekler ve akademik bulgular ışığında karşılaştırmalı olarak değerlendirmektedir. Özellikle kamu ve özel hukukun iklim krizine yanıt verme biçimlerindeki farklılıklar, iklim davacılığındaki son dönem yenilikler, finansman mekanizmalarının etkinliği ve iklim adaletinin kesişimsel boyutları gibi güncel ve karmaşık akademik tartışmalar, bu makalenin temel eksenlerini oluşturmaktadır. Bulgular, Kanun’un yerel iklim eylemlerini keyfiyetten çıkarıp yasal bir zorunluluk haline getirerek Türkiye için ileri bir adım teşkil ettiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Sonuç olarak, Kanun’un sahadaki başarısının yalnızca metnin normatif gücüne değil, büyük ölçüde yerel yönetimlerin mali ve idari olarak güçlendirilmesine ve uygulama süreçlerine aktif katılımlarının sağlanmasına bağlı olduğu öne sürülmektedir.

Keywords

• İklim Kanunu
• İklim Hukuku
• Kentsel Sürdürülebilirlik
• İklim Davacılığı
• Türkiye

Türkiye's Climate Law No. 7552: An Academic Assessment of the Role and Responsibilities of Cities and Local Governments

Abstract

The multi-layered crisis caused by global climate change, whose impacts are increasingly concentrated in urban areas, emerges as one of the most fundamental socio-ecological problems of our time. Cities, both as primary sources of high greenhouse gas emissions and due to their structural vulnerabilities to climate risks, are the epicenter of climate action. With Turkey's accession to the Paris Agreement and its adoption of the 2053 net-zero emissions target, national climate policy gained a legal basis with the publication of Climate Law No. 7552 in the Official Gazette on July 9, 2025, and its enactment. This study evaluates the enacted Climate Law from the perspective of cities and local governments, focusing on the legal obligations it imposes and the opportunities it offers. This assessment, designed using document analysis, engages with international climate law and urban and local government literature, exploring the law's potential impact on the field by going beyond its normative framework. The assessment focuses on local government responsibilities in key areas of urban governance, such as spatial planning, energy, transportation, waste management, and climate finance, and provides a comparative assessment of the current situation in Turkey in light of international examples and academic findings. Current and complex academic debates, particularly the differences in how public and private law respond to the climate crisis, recent innovations in climate litigation, the effectiveness of financing mechanisms, and the intersectional dimensions of climate justice, form the core axes of this article. The findings demonstrate that the Law represents a step forward for Turkey by transforming local climate action from a discretionary act into a legal obligation. Ultimately, it is argued that the Law's success on the ground depends not only on the normative strength of the text itself, but also largely on the financial and administrative empowerment of local governments and their active participation in implementation processes.

Keywords

• Climate Law
• Urban Sustainability
• Climate Litigation

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