Govt adopts mid-term climate change plan

The government on Thursday adopted the medium-term climate change plan up to 2030, said a government press release.

The plan ‘Towards Climate-Smart Day-to-Day Living’ sets out the necessary means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in the non-emissions trading sector, i.e. transport, agriculture, heating and waste management.

This climate change plan, based on the Climate Change Act that entered into force in 2015, is the first of its kind.

Together with the Energy and Climate Strategy adopted in November 2016 it implements the Paris Climate Change Agreement in Finland and steers us to a path by which the EU’s climate objectives can be reached by 2030.

“Efficient mitigation of climate change requires fundamental changes in societies. The plan narrows down the gap between the business-as-usual scenario and meeting the objectives in various sectors, and examines how the society could support climate-smart consumer choices in everyday life. It is also an important tool as we aim for a carbon-neutral Finland by 2045”, said Minister for Housing, Energy and the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen.

In the non-emissions trading sector the greatest potential for reducing emissions is in the transport sector, which now causes about a fifth of Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions. The aim by 2030 is to halve the emissions from transport compared to the levels in 2005.

The emissions are to be reduced by replacing fossil fuels with new-low-emission alternatives and by improving the energy-efficiency of vehicles and transport systems.

Changes in consumer patterns, digitalisation and sharing economy stress the role of consumption and consumers in climate change policy. Consumers are encouraged to halving their carbon footprint by 2030.

The implementation of the climate change plan is followed by annual reports to be submitted to the Parliament.