Right to Clean Air Platform Turkey (RtCAP) (Turkish: Temiz Hava Hakkı Platformu) is an independent non-governmental organisation exclusively focused on the issue of air pollution in Turkey.[1]
The members of the platform are: CAN Europe, General Practitioner Association of Turkey, Greenpeace Mediterranean, Green Peace Law Association, Green Thought Association, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Physicians for Environment Association, TEMA Foundation (The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats), Turkish Medical Association (TTB), Turkish Neurological Society, Turkish Respiratory Society, Turkish Society of Occupational Health Specialists (İMUD), Turkish Society of Public Health Specialists (HASUDER), Yuva Association, WWF Turkey, 350.org
Work
The platform follows on from Byzantine emperor Justinian I who acknowledged the importance of clean air in 535 AD,[5] and the constitution of the Turkish republic which says that "It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve the natural environment, to protect the environmental health and to prevent environmental pollution.[6]
The platform is campaigning for Turkey to set a legal limit on the atmospheric fine particulates known as PM 2.5.[4] They state that over 50,000 deaths could have been prevented in 2017 if PM2.5 had been below WHO guidelines.[4] In 2023 they published a report saying that Turkey’s average PM 2.5 was 20, four times the WHO guidelines.[2]