Municipal Climate Solutions Programme accelerated climate work in municipalities and regions 

More than 60% of Finns live in municipalities that aim for carbon neutrality or an emission reduction of at least 80% by 2030, five years before Finland’s national carbon neutrality target in 2035. Although Finland has many municipalities that are at the leading edge of climate action, many others have not yet launched their own climate work.

Read about climate plans on the website Climate plans of municipalities, in Finnish.

The Municipal Climate Solutions Programme of the Ministry of the Environment accelerated and funded local and regional climate work in Finland in 2018-2024. 

The most important tasks of the programme were

  • to promote and speed up climate work in municipalities and regions,
  • to provide funding for local and regional climate solutions, 
  • to fund and disseminate national climate tools and policies at local and regional level,
  • to improve and strengthen the flow of information and cooperation between the state and municipalities in the field of climate work.

The Municipal Climate Solutions Programme is linked to Finland’s carbon neutrality target

Local authorities play a key role in Finland’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. They serve as the platforms, facilitators, boosters and catalysts for local and regional climate work. Within their own municipality, local authorities are responsible for town planning, land use, transport planning, ownership steering of municipal energy companies, heating choices for many buildings and public procurement, for example.   

As a rule, the municipal sector accounts for about 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the region. The remaining 90% of the emissions are produced by other sectors, especially by the activities of local companies and residents. However, there is great variation in the percentages of this 10/90 rule between different types of municipalities, so municipalities should focus both on reducing their own emissions and on boosting emission reductions by other operators in the region. Municipalities can do this by means of various guidance measures, such as obligations, economic guidance, communication and service design.

Funding provided to introduce best practices and experiment with new ones

The Municipal Climate Change Solutions Programme supported and funded climate work in municipalities and regions through procurement operations and government grants. Most of the programme’s funding was targeted directly at assisting municipalities and regions in their own climate projects. The starting point for the projects was to adopt best climate practices and to experiment with new ones. At the regional level, neighbouring municipalities were encouraged to cooperate with several other municipalities on climate issues. On the regional level, climate work was promoted especially through Regional Councils and Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres). 

Part of the programme’s funding was used for procurements at national level that enabled climate work in all municipalities and regions. The funding was used to develop common tools, operating models, communication materials, knowledge base and training.

Projects funded from the programme

The Municipal Climate Change Solutions Programme has funded about 160 projects in 2018–2024. The most important themes of the funded projects have been the climate and economic leadership in municipalities, climate cooperation between municipalities and companies, sustainable lifestyles and engagement of municipal residents, low-carbon transport, energy efficiency and resource wisdom as well as regional climate cooperation. The projects have been carried out by municipalities, regional councils, national organisations promoting climate change, research institutes and ELY Centres. Projects have been implemented in all regions of Mainland Finland. In addition to large cities, small and medium-sized municipalities have also been included in the programme.

Projects supported by the programme in 2019–2023. Regional projects are marked in light green. Municipal projects are marked in dark green. In addition, the map shows the municipalities involved in national projects (ILMAVA coaching, Climate Leaders, KILTOVA, KIVA, REETTA, REIVI, REIJO). The map does not show ELY Centres. The Municipal Climate Change Solutions Programme funded the ELY Centres’ Climate Roadmap project and the activities of the ELY Centres’ climate expert network. The roadmap strengthened the climate work of the ELY Centres throughout Finland.

Studies and publications

Result cards by topic 

Result cards by funding year  

Summary of intermediate results and final evaluation of the Municipal Climate Solutions Programme  

Social media

Follow and participate in the discussion on municipal climate work in social media with the hashtag #KuntienIlmastoratkaisut.

More information

Veera Loikkanen, Senior Specialist 
Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Environmental Protection Department, Ilmasto ja kemikaalit Telephone:0295250325   Email Address: