CDR Türkiye Launches Ahead of COP31 to Turn Türkiye’s Potential for Durable Carbon Dioxide Removal into Regional Leadership

CDR Türkiye, an independent platform founded to contribute to the development of durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in Türkiye and the wider region it is part of, spanning the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, has started its work. Its website, www.cdrturkiye.com, is live as of today.

Global demand in this field is rising, and Türkiye is positioned to take a leading role in the region. CDR Türkiye has set out to mobilise this potential by building the common ground that brings together project developers, industry, finance, public institutions and academia.

Why carbon dioxide removal matters for Türkiye and the world

Carbon dioxide removal opens a frontier field in climate action and a new industry. Durable carbon removal means taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it for centuries to millennia: underground, in rock, in the ocean, or in long-lived materials. This sets it apart from conventional sinks and nature-based removals such as afforestation, where carbon can be released back to the atmosphere over much shorter periods and is at risk from wildfires.

The UN finds that global warming will very likely exceed 1.5°C within the next decade. While cutting emissions is critical, scientists worldwide agree that removing carbon dioxide is key to balancing the hard-to-abate emissions from sectors such as cement, steel and chemicals. These industries are the backbone of Türkiye’s economy and now face a carbon price at home and at the EU border, where more than 40% of Türkiye’s exports go. CDR can help them manage that cost and could in time earn Türkiye export revenues from certified, home-grown removals.

Why CDR Türkiye was founded

Türkiye holds a combination of natural and industrial conditions that few countries in the region share: energy and mineral resources; extensive agricultural land and the biomass that comes with it; olivine-rich geology and underground carbon storage potential; large-scale cement, steel, mining and chemical industries; growing clean energy capacity; and a position at the meeting point of three continents.

Global demand for durable carbon removal is rising while qualified supply in this region remains limited. For Türkiye this represents a concrete opportunity in exports and foreign currency earnings. The same work produces co-benefits in soil health, water retention, industrial decarbonisation, rural employment and the circular economy.

That potential does not translate into projects on its own. The topic is still new in Türkiye. Public institutions, industry, finance and research do not yet know one another in this area, and there is no common ground on which pathways offer a genuine advantage, which standards will apply, or how projects will be financed.

CDR Türkiye was founded by Pınar Öncel, Göker Avcı and Atilla Yücel to build that common ground. The first aim is to establish Türkiye’s durable carbon removal potential on verified evidence, bring together the stakeholders who can act on it, and accelerate the market’s readiness. Building on this model, the next aim is to help Türkiye take on regional leadership in durable carbon removal.

Areas of work

The platform takes a technology-neutral approach across durable carbon removal pathways. For Türkiye, the most concrete theme is the integration of these methods and technologies with industry. Balancing the unavoidable residual emissions of hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel and chemicals with durable removal, and turning the waste, heat and mineral streams of those plants into removal capacity, are of critical importance.

Compass 2030

CDR Türkiye is guided by Compass 2030, which sets out six outcomes it aims to see in Türkiye by 2030:

Carbon removal readiness assessment. Preparing a comprehensive analysis that measures how ready Türkiye is for durable carbon removal across geological potential, industrial capacity, regulation and financing conditions.
National carbon removal strategy. Developing a strategy that positions durable carbon removal within the national climate framework and defines its role.
Demand creation. Building a coalition of public and private buyers in Türkiye and abroad, and channelling that demand through advance market commitments and offtake agreements into the first projects developed across different technologies in Türkiye.
Financing for pilot projects. Establishing a financing structure suited to the region that brings together public resources, development banks and private capital to launch the first durable carbon removal projects across different technologies, measured in the field and independently verified.
ETS integration. Recognising durable carbon removal within the Turkish Emissions Trading System and integrating it under credible rules.
Regional partnerships. Building partnerships that make Türkiye a hub where projects are developed with its neighbouring geography and experience is shared.

With a focus on turning Türkiye’s potential for durable carbon removal into regional leadership, the geographic priority is first to unlock that potential at home. Building on that experience, the aim is to help Türkiye take a leading role across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Balkans and the Caucasus.

Publications and events

Through its monthly newsletter, CDR Türkiye Brief, CDR Türkiye shares developments in the field from a Türkiye and regional perspective, and through CDR Stage it holds interactive events that bring together experts and practitioners.

The CDR Türkiye team will report regularly from the ground throughout COP31, held in Antalya in November 2026, and will take part in two panels:

16 November, 16:00 · Green Zone, Ziraat Bankası stand. Göker Avcı will speak on the panel “The State and the Future of Carbon Dioxide Removal Projects”.
17 November, 12:30 · Blue Zone, Think Negative CDR Pavilion. Pınar Öncel will moderate the panel “Built to Last: Industrial Integration as a Route to Carbon Removal in Emerging Markets”.

Contact: contact@cdrturkiye.com