Low-Carbon Development and Common Environmental Policies in the Organization of Turkic States

Abstract

Climate change and environmental degradation make it necessary to rethink contemporary development models, with the low-carbon development approach occupying a central position in this transformation. This study aims to analyze the institutional framework and policy harmonization capacity of low-carbon development and common environmental policies within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Within this scope, the low-carbon development approach and the literature on common environmental policies in regional organizations are examined within an integrated framework, while the institutional evolution of the OTS in the field of environment and climate is analyzed through summits, declarations, and sectoral cooperation mechanisms. In addition, the environmental performance indicators of the member states are compared in order to reveal the limits of policy harmonization at the regional level. The findings indicate that environmental and climate policies within the OTS are shaped predominantly through normative and declaratory documents, with binding targets and monitoring mechanisms remaining limited. The study concludes that voluntary, flexible, and coordination-based policy options for low-carbon development at the OTS level are more compatible with the existing institutional reality.