Energy and Climate Strategy

The Energy and Climate Strategy discusses measures based on energy and climate policies and sets goals for emission reductions, the promotion of renewable energy and increasing the efficiency of energy use. The strategy is implemented through a set of implementation programmes which determine the practical measures for achieving the strategy’s goals.

2016 update of the Energy and Climate Strategy

The government approved the strategy update on 24 November 2016 and gave it the parliament in the form of a government report. Once the strategy work is completed, the focus will shift to the preparation of Finland’s roadmap towards 2050 and the means by which greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by at least 80 per cent. The preparation of this roadmap will also include wide-scale hearings of stakeholders and citizens.

Emission cuts with national measures and emissions trading

Without new measures, Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 would be approximately 20 per cent higher than its emissions in 1990. The growth would be almost exclusively attributable to the emissions of energy production and the industrial sector. The EU aims to reduce the emissions of the aforementioned industries by 21 per cent from the level in 2005 by 2020, with the help of its Emissions Trading Directive.

According to the Commission’s proposal, the emissions of other sectors in Finland – such as transport, home heating and agriculture – must be cut by 16 per cent, on average and in comparison to the level in 2005, with national measures by 2020.