CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY AND LEGISLATION IN THE EU

Course Objectives:

Climate change is one of the most important global problems faced by humanity after the industrial revolution. The European Union (the “EU”) has taken important steps in the fight against climate change. Undoubtedly, climate change is one of the most crucial struggle areas for our country. Turkey is shown as one of the countries that will be most affected by climate change. In addition, Turkey, which is in the process of harmonization with the EU, should align its policies and legislation with the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law and other relevant European Union legislation to combat climate change effectively. This course aims to provide a better understanding for students about the climate change crisis, EU’s climate change policies and the laws.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to;

• Comment on the current discussions on climate change challenges and legal dimension;
• Develop a solid comprehension of different perceptions and approaches to climate change policy and its implications; 
• Obtain extensive knowledge on EU’s Green Deal and European Climate Law, their policy tools and legal background; 
• Understand the importance of legal steps for climate change; 
• Analyze in a critical way the EU’s policy decision and practices; 
• Draw out implications of EU policies and Turkey’s accordance process in different policy dimensions to the EU.

Course Content:

The course will consist of three sections: 

• The first section will be an introductory section for EU’s climate change policies, historical evolution of these policies, the objectives and general regulations regarding to these policies. 
• The second section will be about the core of climate change policies of EU. In the scope of this section, the related regulations, laws, and EU countries’ applications will be analyzed with students. 
• The third section will include legal backgrounds and comparisons between Turkey and EU regarding EU’s Green Deal and European Climate Law.