ASSESSMENTS ON THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL AND EU TAXONOMY

ABSTRACT: The sustainable development perspective, that left its mark on the 21st century, has significantly affected global economic policies and investment strategies. The linear economy approach, which left its mark on the process from the existence of capitalism to the 1970s, when environmental awareness increased, was completely interrupted by the economic contraction created by the Covid-19 process and left its place to circular economies. In this context, the European Green Deal published in 2019 is a circular economy roadmap that puts global environmental goals at the center of the economy and thus aims to increase the efficient use of resources. In the same year, the European Commission adopted the EU Taxonomy to integrate its financial system in line with its cyclical economic, social and environmental targets. EU Taxonomy aims to reveal environmentally compatible-incompatible activities in global financial markets with the rules it brings to EU financial market instruments. At the same time, Taxonomy aims to eliminate transaction costs, green laundering and information asymmetry caused by economic activities incompatible with sustainable cyclical activities. ÖZ: Yirmi birinci yüzyıla damgasını vuran sürdürülebilirlik, küresel ekonomi politikalarını ve yatırım stratejilerini önemli ölçüde etkilemiştir. Kapitalizmin var olduğu süreçten çevresel bilincin arttığı 1970’lere kadar olan sürece damgasını vuran doğrusal ekonomi yaklaşımı, Covid-19’un yarattığı ekonomik daralmayla tamamen sekteye uğramış, yerini döngüsel ekonomi yaklaşımına bırakmıştır. Bu bağlamda 2019 yılında yayınlanan Avrupa Yeşil Mutabakatı, küresel çevresel hedefleri ekonominin merkezine koyan ve böylece kaynakların verimli kullanımını artırmayı amaçlayan bir döngüsel ekonomi yol haritasıdır. Avrupa Birliği Komisyonu, aynı yıl döngüsel ekonomik, sosyal ve çevresel hedefleriyle uyumlu olarak finansal sistemini de entegre edecek şekilde AB Taksonomisini kabul etmiştir. AB Taksonomisi, AB finansal piyasa araçlarına getirdiği kurallarla küresel finansal piyasalarda çevreyle uyumlu/uyumsuz faaliyetleri ortaya çıkarmayı hedeflemektedir. Aynı zamanda Taksonomi, sürdürülebilir döngüsel faaliyetlerle uyumsuz ekonomik faaliyetlerin neden olduğu işlem maliyetlerini, yeşil aklamayı, bilgi asimetrisini gidermeyi amaçlamaktadır

In vitro biological activities of potassium metaborate; antioxidative, antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties

Antioxidant, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of potassium metaborate (KBO2) was investigated within the present study. Antioxidant capacity of potassium metaborate was determined by β-carotene bleaching (BCB) assay and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Potassium metaborate was evaluated for its antimicrobial effects against selected Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and a yeast via broth dilution method. The inhibition capability of potassium metaborate on the microbial biofilm formation of tested microorganisms was measured by microplate biofilm method using MTT (3- [4, 5- dimethyl-2-thiazolyl]-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium-bromide). Biofilm inhibition capacity of potassium metaborate was also observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Potassium metaborate was found to have the ability to scavenge hydroxyl radicals with an inhibition rate of 71.13% at 100 mM concentration. Antioxidant activity of potassium metaborate as determined by BCB assay gave higher result with an inhibition rate of 86.96% at the same concentration. According to the MIC (minimum inhibition concentration) values, the potassium metaborate inhibited the growth of C. albicans, S. aureus and E. coli at 62.5 mM concentrations while it was 31.25 mM for B. subtilis and 125 mM for P. aeruginosa. The highest antibiofilm activity was determined at the MIC of potassium metaborate with the reduction rate of 90.18% against C. albicans. It was concluded that, potassium metaborate have strong biological activities and can be effectively used for biomedical and environmental solutions

Geological evolution of a tectonic and climatic transition zone: the Beyşehir-Suğla basin, lake district of Turkey

Central-west Turkey is a transition zone both tectonically and climatically between the quite different central and western regions of Anatolia. Central Anatolia represents the seismically quiet part of the otherwise highly active Turkey. On the other hand, this region has some of the lowest precipitation and highest evaporation ratios of Turkey. Conversely, west Anatolia is one of the most rapidly extending regions of the world and seismically very active. The climate is very different from the central part of Turkey and more humid. The zone between these two regions is also known geologically as the Isparta Angle. This reverse-V-shaped fold and thrust belt has several lake basins today, which have archived the geological and geomorphological history of this tectonic and climatic transition zone. The Beyşehir-Suğla basin is located on the eastern part of this zone. This NW–SE trending basin includes the largest natural freshwater lake of the Mediterranean region: Lake Beyşehir. Lakes Beyşehir and Suğla are located in this tectonic depression that discharge into an incised river gorge opening to the Konya closed basin. In order to shed light on the development of the Beyşehir-Suğla basin, our study was mainly conducted within the Neogene and Quaternary units of the region. Our structural results indicate that the depression was probably formed by a transtensional regime in the middle Miocene, which is controlled by extensional tectonics since the early Quaternary. Also, the current depression has mainly embodied the structures that are the products of these tectonic phases. According to our sedimentary data and palaeoecological interpretation of available palaeontological data, the Beyşehir-Suğla basin was developed initially under a humid and warm climate in the middle Miocene; then since the late Miocene-Pliocene it was controlled by a relatively more arid and, at times, humid climate more like the central Anatolian basins. Although the Beyşehir-Suğla basin is hydrologically connected to the Konya closed basin in central Anatolia, it was protected from arid climatic conditions for over millions of years as evidenced by the lack of evaporites in the studied basin and surrounding basins located in the interior part of the Isparta Angle. While the regional climate seems to have changed consistently with the geomorphic response to large-scale tectonics (i.e. orographic barrier development), the Beyşehir-Suğla basin seems to be protected from hydrological closure by the existence of karstic features in the surrounding carbonate basement rocks