Govt adopts medium-term climate change Policy Plan

The Government on Thursday approved and gave to Parliament the Report on the Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan, said the Ministry of the Environment in a press release.

The Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan presents the package of measures by which Finland will halve emissions from the effort-sharing sector by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.

Parliament will give its opinion on the Plan. The implementation of the plan will start immediately.

“Building a fossil-free welfare state is now more urgent than ever – from the perspective of both climate and security policy. At the same time, we must make sure that the transition is just. Effective climate work that is also fair is the guiding principle all through the Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan that has now been completed. The plan contains various kinds of financial support to both households and local governments so that the process to phase out fossil fuels will be as just as possible,” said Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Emma Kari.

Measures to boost a fair transition include financial support for phasing out oil heating, purchase and conversion subsidies for low-emission vehicles, and subsidies for building charging points for electric cars.

According to preliminary data from Statistics Finland, Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 were about the same as in the previous year. In the longer term, emissions have decreased.

“The good news is that last year emissions decreased in the effort sharing sector, e.g. in the transport, agriculture and waste sectors. The Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan contains the measures by which the decrease in these emissions will continue and we will stay on the path towards a carbon-neutral Finland,” Kari said.

“Last week we had quite alarming news that, based on preliminary data for 2021, the land use sector has for the first time turned from a carbon sink into a source of emissions. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is currently leading a process to prepare a climate plan for the land use sector, and the Government must find ways to reverse the trend when finalising this plan,” Kari added.

Through the measures of the Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan it will be possible for Finland to achieve the emission reduction target to 2030 proposed by the European Commission for the effort-sharing sector, i.e. agriculture, transport, individual heating of buildings and waste management.

The planned measures will reduce emissions by an estimated 5.7 megatonnes by 2030 compared to the current trend in emissions.