Air pollution regulations in Turkey and harmonization with the EU legislation

Since the very first moment of invention of fire in the prehistoric age, atmospheric pollution has increased to such an extent that it has become a threat for human and environmental health by the mid-20th century due to factors such as industrialization, migration from rural areas to urban, rapid population growth, unplanned settlements etc. In order to avoid these harmful effects, work has been carried out at national and international level. Air pollution is an important problem in Turkey too, and legal, institutional, technical and scientific studies are being conducted. One of the essential tools to be used to solve this problem is " legal regulations". There are a vast number of legal regulations relating to this matter in Turkish environmental legislation, with Turkish Constitution of 1982 being at the first place. In addition, Turkey has commitments arising from being a party of international agreements. In EU membership process, harmonization between the EU and national legislation is in progress. In this study, commitments of Turkey arising from international agreements and EU Directives about air pollution are set forth. Then, Turkish environmental legislation about this issue is summarised. Finally, a gap analysis of Turkish air pollution legislation is performed compared to international provisions, and thus a basis is established for the legal regulations to be issued in the future.