What happened
Türkiye’s Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Ministry has enacted a regulation governing solid fuels to protect air quality. It covers the specifications, certification, domestic supply and use of both imported and locally produced solid fuels.
The regulation prohibits a broad list of materials from being burned for heating. These include petroleum coke, mineral oil, vehicle tyre pieces and other tyres, dung, textile residues, cables, wet or painted wood, plastics, household and food waste, medical and other special waste, asphalt, paint products, and fuel-oil containers. Other waste not defined by the regulation is also excluded from heating use.
Importers must demonstrate that solid fuels meet requirements for their intended use before receiving a compliance certificate. Only companies holding a Solid Fuel Importer Registration Certificate may import them.
Locally produced heating coal, coal briquettes, solid biofuel briquettes and pellets, industrial biofuels in pellet, briquette or chip form, and blended heating coal cannot be placed on the market without a compliance certificate.
Why it matters
The measures place new compliance responsibilities on fuel importers, producers, distributors and sellers in Türkiye. A person or company distributing fuel for heating must obtain a Solid Fuel Distributor Certificate and may sell or distribute heating fuel only through the seller named in the sales permit.
Fuels intended for household heating require both a compliance certificate and a sales permit. They may be marketed only in provinces covered by that permit and must be sold in bags.
Storage requirements also affect import and supply operations. Solid fuels must be kept in storage facilities registered in the solid-fuel module. Fuels unloaded in customs-controlled areas must be stored separately so that samples can be taken, with signs identifying the fuel, customs tariff number, quantity, vessel, intended use, customs declaration and compliance-certificate number.
Facilities importing coal under an exemption, including industrial plants and power stations, will receive allocations based on their consumption capacity. Their imported coal will be monitored, and non-compliance can result in the exemption being withdrawn.
What's next
Certificates and registrations issued before the regulation was published remain in effect until 30 June 2027. These include compliance and sales permits, as well as distributor, seller and importer registrations.
Fuel found to be non-compliant and removed from sale or distribution must be collected from storage sites. The importer or producer is responsible for transport, storage preparation, storage and related costs. The material must be used at an approved industrial facility within five working days, or at a facility selected by the relevant provincial authority if no facility is proposed.
