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Central government debt management – Sustainability and Finnish Government Bonds

Sustainability and Finnish Government Bonds

The sustainability of a sovereign state is built on its environmental, social and governance policies. Finland is by many metrics a global forerunner in sustainability and ranks high especially in governance comparisons. In this section, we have gathered environmental, social and governance factors that describe the Finnish society.

Our approach to sustainability is holistic, focusing on government level targets and performance and recognising the social nature of budget spending. The focus of our funding strategy is on the liquidity of the benchmark bond curve, and thematic bonds are currently not part of the strategy.

Climate and Nature

Finland’s main targets concern climate and biodiversity. In these policy areas, Finland is committed to international agreements and has both EU and national level obligations that stem from legislation or government programme. The aim of Finland’s national climate policy is carbon neutrality by 2035. In 2022, this target was laid in law. In biodiversity, Finland is committed to the EU level strategy of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030.

From a global perspective, Finland is well prepared for climate change. However, to reach the EU and national level climate and nature targets, many decisions on policy, taxation and legislation must be made.

Social Equality and Wellbeing

Finland is a highly equal society with a comprehensive social security system, small income differences and skilled labour force. In international comparisons, Finland continuously ranks high on the measures of mutual trust and social cohesion. In 2024, Finland was declared the happiest country in the world by UN for the seventh year running.

Finland’s key challenge is the demographic change that reduces labour force and weakens the economy’s growth potential. The longer-term outlook for the Finnish economy is subdued also by rather weak labour market productivity and, in Nordic comparison, modest employment rate. To address these challenges, the government is committed to a set of structural reforms. This section highlights some of the most important reforms through which the government seeks higher labour market participation.

Governance & Competitiveness

Finland ranks high in many indicators and international comparisons focusing on sound governance and institutional strength. Governance factors have typically been Finland’s strength and a positive driver for Finland’s credit ratings. The quality of Finland’s governance is based on transparent and effective government, respect for the rule of law, control of corruption and political stability among other things.

Finland’s sound governance and high-quality institutions are also reflected on the business environment which ranks high globally. Additionally, Finland’s economy compares well with its international peers on its competitiveness.