Three targets for the future:
- According to the government programme, the Finnish Government is committed to meeting emission reduction targets and moving towards carbon neutrality in 2035 followed by carbon negativity.
- The new Climate Change Act entered into force in 2022. The Act set emission reductions targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 and laid down the target of carbon neutrality in 2035.
- Finland’s obligation under EU law is to halve the effort sharing sector’s greenhouse gas emissions (non-ETS) by 2030 (from 2005 levels) and to maintain the net sink of the land use sector. The target for period 2021-2025 is that land use sector causes no net emissions (emissions are equal to removals). Furthermore, the minimum net removal level set for Finland’s carbon sink is -17.8 million tonnes of CO² equivalent by 2030.
Key pillar of Finland’s climate policy is the Climate Change Act. The scope of the Act was extended to cover emissions from the land use sector (i.e. land use, forestry and agriculture) and for the first time the Act includes a target to strengthen carbon sinks.
The emission reduction targets in the Climate Change Act are based on the recommendations of the Finnish Climate Change Panel. The emission reduction targets are -60% by 2030, -80% by 2040 and at least -90% but aiming at -95% by 2050, compared to the levels in 1990.
Source: Ministry of the Environment
Annual Climate Report: Finland’s emissions decreased by 11% in 2023
An annual way of monitoring the development of Finland’s emissions and progress towards emission reduction targets is the Annual Climate Report. The latest release is from June 2024. The conclusions are based on instant preliminary data of Statistics Finland, but more accurate data will become available later.
Key findings:
- Finland’s total greenhouse gas emissions decreased considerably (11%) in 2023 mainly due to changes in the structure of domestic electricity production. Production of nuclear power and wind power increased significantly last year.
- In emissions trading sector, emissions decreased by 19% compared to the previous year, even more than expected.
- To reach carbon neutrality in 2035, Finland needs to reduce emissions by 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Further actions are needed in all sectors.
- Land use sector was a small net sink (circa -1 Mt CO2-eq) in 2023, but the sector is falling behind EU obligations set for 2021-2025.
- Emissions from the effort sharing sector decreased by 5%, but meeting the EU obligation is uncertain also for this sector.
According to the national Climate Act, Finland’s net emissions should be zero or negative by 2035. By 2030, the total emissions must be reduced by 60% compared to the 1990 level. This would mean a level of 28.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Finland’s obligation for the carbon sink of the land use sector is set at the EU level. With the current figures in the greenhouse gas inventory, the obligation for the Finnish land use sector for 2030 is -7.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Source: Annual Climate Report 2024
Key policy measures to achieve the government’s climate targets
The focus of Finnish government is on promoting the clean transition and investments in industry. Finland seeks to strengthen its competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment target for renewable industries by doubling its production of clean electricity. The share of renewable energy in energy production will be increased, and action will be taken towards phasing out the use of fossil fuels in heat and electricity production by the 2030s at the latest. More information can be found on the Government Programme: Finland and clean energy.
We will update this article with a list of policy measures in 2024, as Finland’s new government gets fully going with its legislative work.
Here are Finland’s climate targets in a nutshell.
Further reading:
Read more about the Government’s climate policy:
Finland’s national climate policy (Ministry of the Environment)
Finland’s national climate and energy strategy (2022) is a medium-term action plan that covers all greenhouse gas emissions and removals achieved through carbon sinks:
Carbon Neutral Finland 2035 – national climate and energy strategy
National climate and energy strategy has been prepared in coordination with:
- Finland’s Medium-term climate change policy plan (2022) that applies to the effort-sharing sector, and
- Climate plan for the land use sector (2022) that includes specific measures taken to increase carbon sinks
Read more on the Climate Change Act 2022:
New Climate Change Act into force in July