The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) announced the "Zero Emission or Emission Trading? COP31 in the Shadow of Carbon Markets" report, prepared for the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP31) to be held in Antalya EXPO between 9-20 November 2026, at a press conference held in Ankara yesterday.
Speaking at the meeting, TMMOB Chairman of the Board of Directors Ali Ekber Çakar touched upon the increasing pressure on the press at the beginning of his speech; "One of the important targets of these repression policies is press workers. The detention and arrest of journalists due to their news, interventions against press organizations, censorship and access barriers are a clear attack on the public's right to receive information. Here we express once again: Journalism is not a crime. Freedom of the press and the public's right to receive information cannot be prevented. Unlawfully detained journalists, politicians, elected officials and all citizens should be released immediately; the pressure on democratic rights and freedoms must be stopped," he said.
Emphasizing that the main debate regarding COP31 is "who benefits and who pays the price from the policies created on the grounds of climate change", Akbar said; "Today, a significant part of the climate policies carried out on a global scale serves the establishment of new financial mechanisms rather than the solution of environmental problems. In our report, the emission trading system, carbon markets and net zero targets are evaluated from this perspective. At the end of the whole process, global emissions have not decreased, but increased," he said.
"Environmental problems continue to increase exponentially," said Ekber; "Is the system that has been implemented for thirty years really established to reduce emissions, or has a new commercial area been created through carbon? However, the basis of many problems are; unplanned urbanization, wrong land use, destruction of water basins, narrowing of forest areas, infrastructure deficiencies and lack of control. If you open a stream bed to construction, the cause of the flood is not climate change. Climate change is a scientific fact. However, the solution to environmental problems cannot be left to the mercy of carbon markets and financial instruments. The solution is based on public interest, based on science, and society." "and policies that protect the interests of nature together," he said.
In the report regarding COP31; "When we look at the current process, a huge financial rent and addiction mechanism is being built with the illusion created by global capitalism. The dominant countries that actually pollute the world are imposing tools such as 'ETS' and 'Net Zero' in order to cover up their per capita emission crimes. COP summits, rather than being an area of ecological salvation, are marketing fairs where nature is financed under the control of financial monopolies and green painting policies are legitimized. Promising resistance with abstract legislation in the face of the reality of cities whose infrastructure collapses even in routine natural events "It is an illusion," he said.
The report states, "The success of public policies is measured not by the existence of documents, but by the common ecological results they produce in the field." "The way to adapt to the characteristics of nature is through public planning, reduction in consumption and localization strategies that reject uncontrolled resource plunder, rent-based urbanization and free market anarchy. In this direction, Turkey should evaluate a general consistency policy that tests the compatibility of large-scale investment, mining licenses, development plans and agricultural incentive decisions with the targets at an early stage, monitors basin-based cumulative effects and ensures the re-evaluation of conflicting practices, and increases the number and size of nature protected areas."
