So far, the Turkish government has refused to implement the 2016 Paris climate agreement. Now Erdogan has apparently reached an agreement with other G20 countries.

According to insiders, a week after the ratification of the Paris Agreement, Turkey received a loan of billions for climate protection. People familiar with the plans said 3.1 billion euros are to be provided by the World Bank, France and Germany.

Most of the money is said to be provided by the World Bank with two billion euros. France packs up to a billion euros on top, while Germany is expected to come in at a little over 200 million euros. “An agreement has already been reached on the amount and modalities, so Turkey has ratified the Paris Agreement,” said one of the insiders.

Controversy over Turkey’s status as an industrialized country

The signing of a letter of intent on the loan agreement is planned for this month and ahead of the UN climate summit in Scotland, it said. Money should flow even if Turkey’s position does not change. So far it has been planned that the country on the Bosporus will be listed as a developed country in the Paris Climate Protection Agreement.

This classification is associated with stricter requirements than in developing countries. Erdogan repeatedly considered Turkey a developing country and pointed to a comparatively small share of global carbon dioxide emissions over the past few decades.

Turkey was the last of the 20 large industrialized countries (G20) to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The country signed the agreement in 2016. But it refused to confirm it as it was classified as a developed country. The climate agreement provides for limiting global warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial values. One of the drivers of global warming is the gas carbon dioxide, which occurs when fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil are burned.