Tampere joins Carbon Neutral Municipalities network

Tampere City Region is strengthening its commitment to strict carbon neutrality targets. As the central city of the region, Tampere joined the Carbon Neutral Municipalities (HINKU) network by decision of its City Board recently, said a press release of Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, The City of Tampere and Tampere City Region.

Of the other municipalities in the city region, Lempäälä, Nokia, Pirkkala, Vesilahti and Ylöjärvi were already members of the network. Kangasala and Orivesi are still in the process of preparing their decisions.

The members of the Carbon Neutral Municipalities network are committed to reducing their emissions by 80% from the 2007 level by 2030. The remaining 20% will be sequestered in carbon sinks and compensated for.

The regional climate package is a burden-sharing agreement according to which each municipality will carry out individual emissions reduction measures ideal for them.

With an annual population growth rate of over 1% (approximately 4,000 inhabitants a year), the Tampere City Region must manage its growth in a sustainable manner across municipal boundaries.

"The appealing Tampere city region is home to 0.4 million people. We are one of Finland's two growing metropolises, which is why we must take bold action to achieve carbon neutrality. The Tampere region is the largest unified region in the Carbon Neutral Municipalities network. The network will provide us with the support, knowledge and expertise that we need to become carbon neutral by 2030," said Mayor of Tampere Lauri Lyly.

In December, the regional government decided to commit to a shared goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

"Presenting the Tampere city region as a unified pioneer region in climate change matters serves to further increase the attractiveness of the already appealing economic area in both Finland and outside of our borders. The ambitiousness of the targets and the uniformity of the commitment are wholly unique across the globe, which is something that Finland should take pride in," said Professor Jyri Seppälä, the national director of the Finnish Environment Institute's Carbon Neutral Municipalities project.

According to the calculations of CO2-raportti, Tampere produced approximately one million tonnes CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016, meaning 4.4 tonnes per resident. The greatest emissions sources were road traffic and district heating. Compared to 2010, the emissions have been reduced by 28%. The areas in which emissions have been reduced the most are electricity consumption and the heating of buildings.

According to calculations conducted for Tampere City Region by Tietotakomo, the region's total emissions in 2016 were approximately two million tonnes CO2e, or 5.2 tonnes per resident. The areas in which emissions need to be reduced the most during the Hinku period of 2007-2030 are electricity, traffic and district heating.

"The region's municipalities have strengthened their climate leadership and set their sights high. However, reaching the targets will not only require the contribution of pioneering municipalities, but everyone from municipal residents, companies and other actors alike," said Tampere City Region's Development Manager Ritva Asula-Myllynen.