In recent years, as a result of the rapid increase in population and industrial development, the need for energy has increased. Many investments are made especially for electrical energy which is an inevitable requirement for the industry. Most of these investments are made by using fossil resources in countries lands. Fossil sources are known to be consumable as well as too poisonous gases they give to the atmosphere during energy production. This situation causes global climate change. To prevent climate change, the carbon emitted to the atmosphere has to be brought under a certain control mechanism. In this context, the first Kyoto Protocol and then Paris Climate Agreement was signed. Under these agreements, countries will be responsible for the level of their greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This situation led to the carbon trade among countries. This situation accelerated the transition of countries from fossil sources to renewable energy sources. In this study, the effect of hydroelectric power plants, one of the renewable energy sources, on carbon emissions was investigated. According to the results, based on fossil sources of 408,533.57 tCO(2) per year from Turkey Gokcekaya dam has been shown to reduce the carbon footprint. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.