Finland wants 64m CO2 consumption quota

Finland is still not pleased even though European Union member countries on Friday accepted a calculation system that enables Finland to increase the consumption of wood without a need to reduce carbon emissions elsewhere.

EU environmental ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Friday passed a formula that Estonia, the current presidency of the union, had developed mainly to meet Finnish needs. According to the decision, cut down of wood can be increased as long as the carbon sink of the whole EU continues growing.

In the system reached on Friday, Finland could increase the use of wood to the level that matches 54.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over ten years.

However, Finnish Environment Minister Kimmo Tiilikainen said Finland wants a quota of at least 64 million tonnes. "There are only bad alternatives available here now," Tiilikainen said at the meeting, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported.

In the vote by the environment ministers, Finland voted "blank" while Poland and Croatia voted against.

The flexibility in the formula accepted the total EU amount as 370 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over ten years.

The ministerial vote followed a parallel view from the European Parliament in September. The stand accepted in the parliament allowed an increase in the cutdown but did not specify the quantities.

There are several major investment projects in pulp mass and bio-fuel in Finland that presume an increase from the current consumption of 65 million cubic meters of wood per year to at least 80 million cubic meters. Some of the plans have been put on hold awaiting the EU decisions.

The original stand from the European Commission would have required Finland to reduce carbon emissions from some other source or to purchase emission rights from elsewhere.

The final level of the authorization will be determined in talks between the European Parliament, the EU member countries and the European commission. Yle Brussels correspondent Petri Raivio predicted the exact outcome would be clear during this year.

Tiilikainen told a Finnish language newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the vote indicated the poor understanding of sustainable forestry among the EU countries. Tiilikainen said Finland would still make an attempt in the final adjustment talks with the Commission.

The EU is in the process of creating emission rules for the time after 2020, following the expiry of the commitments under the Kyoto protocol.