The Helsinki Region Environmental Services HSY has commissioned the Suomenoja wastewater treatment plant in Espoo to carry out an inventory of its equipment, with the aim of donating some of this to Ukrainian wastewater treatment plants. The Ministry of the Environment of Finland supports the donation.

The scientific evidence is clear: climate change is a threat to the wellbeing of humans and nature. In the report published today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC points out that urgent action is needed to ensure a liveable future for all. There is very little time for corrective actions but solutions are available.

The climate and ecological crisis and the sustainability gap in general government finances cannot be solved separately. Actions that strengthen general government finances can be targeted so that they systematically take the economy, legislation, taxation, incentives and governance structures towards the green transition. This is the conclusion of the Outlook Review published by the Ministry of the Environment.

The measures to reduce emissions have progressed as planned, but the trend in carbon sinks jeopardises the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2035.

On Friday 10 March, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo signed two memorandums of understanding with the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Communities and Territories Development. The purpose of these is to assist Ukraine extensively in monitoring the state of the environment, and in rebuilding the country and in the green transition. The aim is also to support Ukraine in harmonising its regulatory framework with that of the EU and, thus, the country’s EU convergence.

The Sámi Climate Council to be established under the new Climate Act will begin its work in the spring. The purpose of the Sámi Climate Council is to bring the knowledge base and perspectives of the Sámi people into the climate policy processes.

On Thursday 2 March, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Antti Kurvinen convened a roundtable to discuss the role of the forest sector in climate policy. The aim of the discussion was to clarify the shared understanding of the situation and find solutions to strengthen sinks and reduce emissions.

Parliament adopted the new Building Act on 1 March 2023. The act incorporates measures to combat climate change comprehensively into the building legislation. The act will also smoothen the construction processes, boost a circular economy and digitalisation and improve the quality of building. The Building Act will enter into force on 1 January 2025.

Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Antti Kurvinen have convened a roundtable to discuss the role of the forest sector in climate policy. The roundtable for the forest sector will meet on Thursday 2 March.

The majority of Finns consider that Finland can improve its competitiveness by investing in climate solutions and new kinds of competencies. Besides climate change, biodiversity loss has emerged as a serious environmental crisis, and the majority of the people are of the opinion that solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss should be sought as a whole.