Türkiye has established the operating rules for its national Emissions Trading System market. The regulation, prepared by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority, was published in the Official Gazette dated October 21, 2026, and entered into force. It covers allowance auctions, secondary-market trading, electronic registration, collateral, settlement, invoicing and payment procedures.
EPİAŞ will operate the market
Under the regulation, Energy Exchange Istanbul, known as EPİAŞ, will serve as the market operator. Primary-market allowance auctions and secondary-market transactions will be conducted through the ETS Market Management System. Allowances held by regulated businesses will be tracked through accounts in the Transaction Registry System.
The registry will provide the central record for issuing allowances, holding them, transferring them between accounts, cancelling them and using them to satisfy emissions obligations. Businesses covered by the ETS will need to open registry accounts and complete the relevant participation agreements before accessing the market.
Allowances will enter the market through auctions
In the primary market, allowances will be offered through auctions conducted according to a calendar set by the Climate Change Directorate. The auctions will establish a Turkish-lira Allowance Reference Price. Allowances distributed free of charge or acquired in the primary market may subsequently be traded in secondary markets.
The spot allowance market is designed to match purchase and sale bids from participants. The regulation also sets the framework for calculating and managing collateral, settling receivables and payables arising from trades, making payments and challenging invoices. Filing an objection to an invoice will not suspend the payment obligation.
Reporting failures can restrict transactions
Participants reported as having failed to submit a verified greenhouse-gas emissions report on time may face restrictions on transactions in their registry accounts, except for actions needed to meet allowance-surrender obligations. The restriction can be removed after the competent authority confirms that the verified report has been submitted. The mechanism directly links emissions-reporting compliance with access to market functions.
Entry into force does not mean immediate live trading
The regulation’s publication does not mean that real-money allowance trading began on the same day. A transitional provision allows a virtual implementation, without delivery, invoicing or payment obligations, until the registry, primary market and spot allowance market become operational.
The text also provides for a supplementary allowance price mechanism relating to emissions in the 2026 system year. Details such as applications, allowance issuance and auction timing will depend on procedures set by the relevant authorities. The regulation does not announce a fixed launch date, an initial carbon price or a definitive cost for individual companies.
An operational framework for carbon trading
The new regulation connects Türkiye’s previously established emissions-trading framework with detailed market operations. The next steps will include opening participant accounts, testing the systems, announcing auction schedules and formally launching live markets. For regulated companies, verified emissions data and advance planning of allowance needs will be central to participation.
The rules therefore mark an institutional milestone rather than the completion of every implementation step. Their immediate effect is to define who operates the market, how allowances move through it and which financial and reporting controls will apply once trading systems go live.
