EUROPEAN UNION CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM: A SWOT ANALYSIS FOR TÜRKİYE

Abstract

The European Union’s (EU) proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has gained attention as a potential policy tool to address carbon leakage and promote climate policy alignment in international trade. This paper examines the implications of the EU CBAM for Türkiye and conducts a SWOT analysis to evaluate Türkiye’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the context of CBAM implementation. In the paper, firstly EU’s environmental policy, European Green Deal (EGD) and CBAM are defined and examined in historical perspective. Secondly Türkiye’s environmental policy on behalf of CBAM is explained. Then, the effects of EGD and CBAM on Türkiye’s foreign trade is discussed. The last part is devoted to SWOT analysis. The analysis begins by exploring Türkiye’s strengths including its domestic climate policies and diverse economy. The analysis also highlights the weaknesses that could challenge Türkiye’s competitiveness under the CBAM. It identifies opportunities within the CBAM framework including incentives for green investments and collaboration for increased market access and also acknowledges potential threats such as trade disputes.