Finnish Minister in Mumbai: Huge scope to deepen cooperation for environmental technologies

06 January 2008
Finnish Minister in Mumbai: Huge scope to deepen cooperation for environmental technologies

For us in Finland, India is clearly a major partner both for bilateral cooperation and at the international forum. For instance, in negotiations on climate change India has a key role to play. I believe there is still huge scope and potential for deepening and strengthening our economic ties, especially in the areas of environmental technologies and know-how, said Mr Kimmo Tiilikainen, Minister of the Environment of Finland in his keynote address at the Finland - India Networking Luncheon, Mumbai, on 5 February.

The Minister mentioned the three main pillars of the Finnish economy: the forest sector, metal and engineering, and high technology, especially telecommunications.

But he emphasized that new sectors and areas are also developing rapidly, with interesting business opportunities emerging both home and abroad. One of these areas is environmental and energy technology and solutions, including renewable energy.

The challenge we all face is how combine economic growth, job creation and welfare with sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment. This is the only way development can be truly sustainable in the long run.

Environmental research activities have contributed greatly to the success of the Finnish environmental business, including energy efficiency and clean industrial processes, water and waste management, recycling and environmental monitoring.

Today, one third of our exports are so called 'eco-exports'. Finland is one of the world leaders in sustainable paper and pulp processes, bio-energy, combined heat and power production and district heating.

I believe we have a lot to offer in clean technology and energy efficiency, and many of the members of our delegation are here exactly for this purpose, Tiilikainen estimated.

The EU has always stressed that developed countries have the moral obligation - and the necessary resources - to take the lead in making the shift towards a low-carbon global economy.

But while we are ready to take the lead, it is clear that we cannot win this battle without the contributions of developing countries, particularly those that are most advanced - such as India.

The development and deployment of clean technologies to assist developing countries to move to a sustainable energy path will be crucial.

But I believe that this will happen on the scale necessary only if we set clear targets and goals that all actors can work towards. Global agreements and market based mechanisms create a signal which is important for the development of new technology and promotion of innovations.

It is the task of governments to provide this credible long-term policy framework. India will have a crucial role in the negotiations ahead.

The business community has a key role in fighting climate change. In the coming decades, the combined investments to the energy systems in the EU and India will be huge. This will offer growing business opportunities in the future for companies providing low-carbon technologies and management systems.

The International Energy Agency has estimated that the world's total investment in the global energy system for the next 25 years will be in the range of 17 trillion dollars.

To satisfy this huge need for energy, we must to find a well-diversified and climate-friendly mix of technologies. Better energy efficiency and energy saving, cleaner fossil fuel technologies and renewable energy sources must be pursued. And political decisions we make today must ensure that promising new climate-friendly options have fair opportunities in the future markets.

Investments in cleaner and more sustainable energy can support a range of policy objectives, including energy security, competitiveness, employment, air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. We must pursue an integrated approach to climate change, energy and competitiveness.

The EU and India are already working together in this area.

The full speech

Related article