Turkey Environmental Impact Assessment regulatory updates

The Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has engaged in both project-specific and systemic regulatory actions regarding Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).

In Tunceli, the Ministry initiated a new EIA process for the Çemişgezek Regulator and Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Tağar Stream. This move follows a court decision that canceled the project’s previous EIA approval. Although the Erzincan Administrative Court officially canceled the approval in February 2026, reports indicated that construction of the facility was already 100% complete. Local environmental advocates and preservation platforms have opposed the new process, citing risks to the local ecosystem and cultural heritage sites.

Concurrently, the Ministry implemented broad updates to the national EIA Regulation. These changes updated criteria for various industrial and environmental projects. The updated EK-1 list now includes nuclear power plants and water transfer projects between river basins. The EK-2 list was also modified to include thermal power plants and industrial incineration facilities with a total thermal capacity of 20 MWt or higher, as well as certain regulation projects involving riverbeds of continuously flowing rivers.