1. How do you assess the long-term effects of climate change on Türkiye and the world?
The current climate change is happening at an unprecedented speed, different from many previous instances in Earth's history. This acceleration is rooted in the transformation of the capitalist mode of production, from its colonial and plundering primitive accumulation in different geographies to the consequences of today's globalized imperialist market conditions. The global climate system, which has different layers from the lithosphere to the atmosphere, has increasingly failed to absorb the environmental changes caused by the resource use and waste levels of an accelerating capitalist production—especially since the Industrial Revolution. The planet's most critical ecosystems are approaching or surpassing irreversible tipping points, disrupting their operational balance, which in turn strengthens the feedback mechanisms that further accelerate climate change.
The surpassing of tipping points means that the average temperature increase, which is the main indicator of climate change, could continue for a long time even if all greenhouse gas emissions were halted today. The goal set by the Paris Climate Agreement to keep the temperature increase "well below 2 degrees and preferably at 1.5 degrees" compared to the pre-Industrial Revolution era aligns with these irreversible thresholds. However, as seen in the latest climate data, the two-year temperature average for 2023-2024 has already exceeded 1.5 degrees (1.54°C according to the Copernicus Observatory report). Although climate science requires a 10-year average to declare that the 1.5-degree threshold has been surpassed, the current trajectory of global climate policies is not only failing to reverse the trend but is accelerating it further.
The current political climate, where emissions are rising and wars are spreading, will determine where global warming stabilizes and how much of the world remains habitable for humans. Already, equatorial and tropical regions—including African countries, South Asia, and island nations—are becoming uninhabitable due to rising sea levels, extreme heat making some seasons and nights unbearable, and collapsing infrastructures, even in the absence of extreme weather events. In this sense, critical temperature thresholds are actually thresholds of irreversible climate injustices. If we are to talk about any "climate justice," it must be achieved within this time frame by overcoming capitalism. Every day that this destructive system, which has reached the end of its historical lifespan, continues to exist, the peoples of the world are pushed further away from climate justice.
The geography that includes Türkiye is also among the regions that will be most affected by climate change. We can already observe this through the unusual increase in the frequency, intensity, and spread of extreme weather events such as storms and tornadoes. According to a relatively moderate IPCC scenario, between 2071-2100, the average temperatures in Turkey will rise by 5-6 degrees in inland regions and by 4-5 degrees in coastal areas compared to the 1961-1990 average. Based on reports from NGOs and universities working on this issue, it is projected that by the end of the century, Türkiye' s temperature increase will surpass the global average by 2.5 to 4 degrees, with seasonal variations reaching 4 degrees in winter and up to 6 degrees in summer. The likelihood of exceeding the 2-degree threshold within 20 years is "high," and Türkiye is expected to face desertification and drought in Central and Southeastern Anatolia, extreme rainfall, flooding, and erosion in the Black Sea region, and severe water shortages in other regions. Under current emission scenarios, the average temperature in the interior parts of Anatolia and Kurdistan is expected to rise by 3 to 4 degrees by the end of the century. These shifts in seasons and climate will exacerbate the water crisis and agricultural production crisis, shrink wetlands, reduce biodiversity, intensify forest fires, and trigger epidemics and public health crises. As of 2024, 36 lakes in Türkiye have completely dried up in the last 50 years, while 14 others are at risk of drying up, and the country continues to remain water-scarce.
Turkey signed the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015 but only ratified it in October 2021, making it another failure in the series of unsuccessful climate summits shaped around negotiations between states and capital groups for 50 years under the UN and IPCC frameworks. During this period, Türkiye experienced a regime change and transitioned to a presidential system. The restructuring of state institutions, including the Ministries of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Agriculture and Forestry, and Energy and Natural Resources, has further exacerbated the uncoordinated nature of climate policies, deepening the consequences of climate change for the working class and marginalized groups. Numerous laws and action plans—such as the Energy Efficiency Law and the Climate Law—have been introduced, not to genuinely address climate change, but to access UN climate funds, attract green foreign investments from imperialist states, and align with the evolving global division of labor dictated by the capitalist class. As a result, every extreme weather event has turned into a catastrophe due to state irresponsibility.
Due to the geographic distribution of continents, climate change inherently has unequal effects. However, the regions most affected by climate change are also, historically, those least responsible for causing it and the ones with the weakest capacity for self-protection. This situation paves the way for the use of climate change as a tool for imperialist capitalist hegemony. In other words, while discussing the consequences of climate change, it is crucial to recognize that not only the most oppressed and exploited social groups within each country suffer the most, but also that the global response to climate disasters imposes "green" imperialist transformation programs, creating new financial and technological dependencies. Today, we witness the massive political and sociological consequences of tens of millions of people being displaced due to civil wars and drought disasters in a few countries. Even now, over a hundred million people are forced to migrate within their own countries, lose their livelihoods, and settle in climate refugee camps in places like India, Bangladesh, and Libya. As climate change accelerates, climate-induced migrations will increase, leading to profound social consequences. However, the capitalist system is attempting to address its contradictions through war and new plundering policies before these consequences fully emerge, imposing its own short-term solutions.
Türkiye is among the top 20 countries with the highest emissions, with per capita emissions exceeding the global average. It is expanding its military-industrial complex and regional expansionist ambitions, growing its capital in energy-intensive and cheap labor-based production sectors within the global imperialist division of labor, and sacrificing its underground resources and renewable energy potential for the short-term profits of capital rather than social needs planning. It has also made significant progress in using fascist state terror as a crisis management tool in today's chaotic global conjuncture. Therefore, the long-term societal effects of climate change in Turkey will depend on the lifespan of its regime and its internal and external contradictions. The more the people develop their self-defense and political strategy against both the regime and the climate change it has learned to exploit as a shock tool, the more they will be able to build conditions for living in a healthier and safer environment.
2. What are the primary goals of your political party in addressing climate change?
Although Türkiye's contribution to exceeding the 1.5-degree global warming threshold is minimal compared to the U.S. and EU countries, it is among the countries most vulnerable to regional climate crises. Additionally, the government's economic development policies have led to deforestation, destruction of agricultural lands, and pollution of marine and freshwater sources. Thus, one of our party's primary agendas is ecological destruction.
The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and its successor, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), are the main opposition parties in Turkey. As a supra-party "umbrella party," DEM Party unites multiple political components under its roof and is constantly subjected to government repression. Our former co-chairs, Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, along with former Central Executive Board (MYK) members, remain imprisoned. Our members are frequently detained, and elected municipalities are seized by state-appointed trustees ("kayyım").
Despite these conditions, our party actively fights against government and corporate environmental destruction. We oppose deforestation, water pollution, coal plants, and extractive industries through grassroots mobilization, parliamentary actions, and legal resistance. We work to develop environmental awareness, establish and expand environmental organizations, and promote international solidarity in climate struggles. Our parliamentary efforts include blocking legislative changes favoring corporations, raising public awareness, and proposing alternative climate policies, despite consistent rejections by the ruling party. Ecological justice is a fundamental part of our party program, and we strive to integrate this perspective into every aspect of social life, from education to health.
Çiçek Otlu
Member of Parliament for İstanbul, DEM Party
Who is Çiçek Otlu?
Sivas / Yıldızeli – 1973, Tevfik, Fatma. Politician; completed her education at Ahmet Vefik Paşa Primary School and Ankara Ayrancı High School. Entered active politics in 1994. Worked at Atılım newspaper. Served as the President of the Working Women's Association from 2005 to 2009 and as the Vice Chair of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) from 2009 to 2016. Held the position of Chair of ESP from 2016 to 2019. Between 2021 and 2023, served as the General Spokesperson of the Socialist Women's Assemblies and as the Editor of Sosyalist Kadın magazine.
*The interviews published on the www.wpgw.org platform solely reflect the views and opinions of the respective individuals. These statements do not represent the official views of our platform or its editors. Our editors do not make any changes or modifications to the interview texts. Therefore, any legal responsibility arising from the statements made in the interviews rests entirely with the individuals involved, and our platform cannot be held liable.