News

The UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will take place in New York between 7 and 15 July. The purpose of the annual meeting is to review the progress made in achieving the objectives of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Finland’s delegation will be led by Mika Nykänen, State Secretary to Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala.

The draft National Restoration Plan has been circulated for views. The plan specifies how Finland aims to implement the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and improve the state of nature in the years to come. The draft should be ready to be submitted to the European Commission in the autumn. The Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry request for views on the draft plan by 27 August 2026 at the latest.

The clean energy transition continues to make good progress: the use of fossil energy sources keeps decreasing in industry, electricity production and heating. The trend in emissions takes us in the right direction, but more work will be needed in all sectors to reach the climate targets nationally and at the EU level.

The EU Environment Council will meet in Luxembourg on Thursday 25 June. Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala will represent Finland at the meeting. Finland supports strong emissions trading in the EU, an ambitious climate policy and increased allocation of private and public funding for nature protection.

A working group led by the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Defence examined the coordination of habitat restoration and national defence and identified means to promote their shared objectives. The working group concluded that there are major synergies between restoration and national defence. In particular, the restoration of mires has significance for national defence in eastern and northern Finland.

A study led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute is describing the impact on Finland of a deteriorating Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) for the first time. The Government-funded HIIPUVA project is strengthening the knowledge base in preparation for conditions in which climate tipping points may rapidly disrupt living conditions.

On 29 May, Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala signed a decision of the Ministry of the Environment on the establishment of the Tampere National Urban Park. The National Urban Park extending from the national landscape of Tammerkoski rapid to lake shores and several districts of the city combine the characteristic landscapes and built environment of Tampere.

Today, the Ministry of the Environment informed the Finnish Supervisory Agency and, together with the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the municipal building control authorities about the accident in Helsinki in September 2025 and the progress of the investigations. Based on the tests, the Safety Investigation Authority issued a press release and an accident threat notification on 21 May 2026 concerning fibre cement boards used in balcony railings.

The proposed amendments will accelerate the development of the nature values market in Finland and promote the steering of private funding to improving the state of nature. The amendments would enter into force in August 2026.

The European countries participating in Santa Marta express their strong support for the Santa Marta First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels and appreciate the leadership as shown by Colombia and the Netherlands. Santa Marta establishes an action-oriented platform to scale up work and to elevate energy transition. This is critical for addressing the climate emergency.