Government’s climate policy: carbon-neutral Finland by 2035

According to Sanna Marin’s Government Programme in 2019 Finland will be carbon-neutral by 2035, and the world’s first fossil-free welfare society. This requires faster emissions reductions in all sectors and strengthening our carbon sinks.

Climate change, loss of biodiversity and overconsumption are different aspects of the same sustainability crisis, which is why the Government has adopted a comprehensive approach to their root causes. The means to achieve the target include new decisions on climate policy and nearly emissions-free electricity and heat production by the end of 2030s, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of building, promoting a circular economy, and a climate-friendly food policy. In taxation, the focus will shift even more to taxes on environmentally harmful activities. The decline in biodiversity will be halted by reforming the nature conservation legislation, increasing the funding for the protection of biodiversity and promoting a sustainable use of natural resources.

The work on this is led and guided by the Ministerial Working Group on Climate and Energy Policy, chaired by Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen. Work on the Government’s policy will be done in an open and transparent manner, including public consultations to hear the citizens’ views. Emissions reductions will be implemented in a way that is fair and just, both socially and regionally.

Key projects

• Reform of the Climate Change Act
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment: Energy and climate strategy
• Medium-term climate plan
• Climate programme for the land use sector
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment: Low-carbon roadmaps for specific sectors
• Roadmap to fossil-free transport (in Finnish)
• Roadmap to low-carbon building (in Finnish)
• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry: Climate-friendly food production and consumption
• Habitats protection, restoration and management programme ‘Helmi’
• Roadmap to sustainable taxation (in Finnish)
• Reform of energy taxation (in Finnish)
• Reform of taxes and payments in sustainable transport (in Finnish)
• Round table on climate policy
• Programme to promote a circular economy
• Reform of the land use and building act (in Finnish)
• Wood building programme

Ministerial working group

Chair

Krista Mikkonen
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change

Members

Timo Harakka
Minister of Transport and Communications

Ville Skinnari
Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade

Mika Lintilä
Minister of Economic Affairs

Jari Leppä
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry

Li Andersson
Minister of Education

Thomas Blomqvist
Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality

General Secretary

Outi Honkatukia
Senior Environmental Adviser, Ministry of the Environment