Making use of the individual opportunities of regions and urban development are the key means by which the EU aims for sustainable and just development and growth after the COVID-19 crisis. This is why a new emphasis should be placed on EU-level cooperation in urban policy and on a policy that highlights the special characteristics of regions and cohesion. Ministers responsible for urban matters and territorial cohesion adopted the revised Territorial Agenda of the EU and the New Leipzig Charter on urban development. The informal meeting of the ministers on 30 November–1 December was held as a video conference, chaired by the German Presidency.

The Climate Policy Roundtable will hold its fifth meeting on Wednesday 2 December. The main topic of the meeting is the process to reform the Climate Change Act.

The economic costs of climate policy measures such as emission tax and their effects on income distribution can be regulated by redistributing emission tax revenue back to households. This is the outcome of a study conducted by the Pellervo Economic Research Institute PTT, Merit Economics, and Statistics and Research Åland ÅSUB. The means to do this include earned income tax and/or corporation tax concessions and direct support to households.

Based on a recent evaluation, the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE is a progressive research institute that is widely appreciated in society. It produces research and expertise of a high standard and its societal impact is significant. What SYKE could do, however, is show even stronger leadership as a promoter of sustainable development, both internationally and nationally.

Finland intends to propose the Saimaa ringed seal habitats in the Lake Saimaa archipelago as a new natural site to be inscribed on the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites. Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen told about the process to update the tentative list at the World Heritage Forum on 11 November.

The Ministry of the Interior sent the draft government proposal on amending the Money Collection Act out for comments on 6 November 2020. By this amendment, voluntary carbon offsetting services would be excluded from the scope of application of the Money Collection Act. In future, no money collection licence would be required for operations concerning voluntary carbon offsetting.

The negotiations on the Climate Change Act between the Ministry of the Environment and the Sámi Parliament under section 9 of the Act on the Sámi Parliament were held on Tuesday 27 October. The Government proposal for the reformed Climate Change Act should be ready in spring 2021.

The carbon tariffs planned by the EU may curb carbon leakage, but on closer inspection, they can prove problematic in many ways. According to a study published on 29 October, the EU’s carbon tariff project will face challenges in the coming years.

On Wednesday 28 October, the Climate Policy Roundtable met to discuss a fair and just transition to fossil-free transport. The key focus was on measures to be included in the roadmap to fossil-free transport and distribution of the costs arising from emission reductions in the transport sector.

The Climate Policy Roundtable will hold its fourth meeting on Wednesday 28 October. The main topics to be discussed are the roadmap to fossil-free transport and how fair and just treatment of stakeholders will be taken into account in preparing the roadmap.