Climate Policy Roundtable to discuss climate justice in policy preparation
The Climate Policy Roundtable will hold its 19th meeting on Thursday 8 December. The main topic of the meeting will be justice in climate actions and plans.
Climate change is a fundamental threat to society, people and the living environment, and combating it requires wide-ranging participation and discussion among private individuals, businesses and other stakeholders. The key dimensions of climate justice include fundamental and human rights, realisation of the rights of future generations and a just transition, which means that the transition to a low-carbon society should not cause an unreasonable burden to individuals, employees, different population groups, businesses or sectors.
In its meeting, the Climate Policy Roundtable will discuss e.g. how the participation and procedures of different stakeholders should be developed in the preparation of climate measures and plans and which target groups should be specifically taken into account and identified during the preparation process.
The Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government states that emission reduction measures will be implemented in a way that is socially and regionally fair and just and that involves all sectors of society. The new Climate Act entered into force in July 2022. The objective of the Act is to ensure that Finland will be carbon neutral by 2035 at the latest. The Act also aims to promote the justice of climate measures: it strengthens the participation of different stakeholders in the preparation of climate policy plans and the way the rights of the Sámi people are taken into account in climate policy.
According to the Climate Act, the Government draws up a Medium-term Climate Policy Plan and a Climate Plan for the Land Use Sector at least every two electoral term. A Long-term Climate Policy Plan is to be prepared once every 10 years. In addition, A Climate and Energy Strategy will be drawn up once during the parliamentary term. In the preparation of climate plans, more and more attention has been paid to different kinds of participation procedures, besides the traditional consultations. For example, in connection with the preparation of the Medium-term Climate Policy Plan an extensive public survey was organised, and a citizens’ jury on the justice of climate actions was convened for the first time.
In future, a just transition will be stressed even more in climate policy preparation and decision-making. When new climate measures are being prepared, it is increasingly important to also focus on the assessment of their impacts in terms of justice and equality, on broad participation and on compensations for any harm caused.
The Climate Policy Roundtable brings together a broad spectrum of stakeholders from different sectors of society. The purpose of the Roundtable is to create a common understanding of how Finland can make a just transition to a carbon neutral society by 2035. With its work, the Roundtable supports the preparation and implementation of Finland’s national climate policy.
To follow the work of the Roundtable in social media use #ilmastonpyöreäpöytä and #hiilineutraali2035.
Inquiries
Riikka Yliluoma
Special Adviser to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
tel. +358 50 414 1682
[email protected]
Jarmo Muurman
Senior Ministerial Adviser, Secretary-General of the Climate Policy Roundtable
tel. +358 295 250 185
[email protected]