Thriving towards a low-carbon society

The Finnish Government has adopted a report that sets a target to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent from the 1990 level by 2050 as part of an international effort. The report marks out the road to a low-carbon Finland in 2050.

In the Climate and Energy Strategy adopted in the autumn of 2008, the Government gave an outline of its climate and energy policy focusing on the years up to 2020.

The strategy put forward concrete measures for Finland to achieve the EU's climate and energy objectives.

In its discussion of climate and energy policy beyond 2020 and outlining of paths towards a sustainable level of emissions over the long term, the Foresight Report on Long-term Climate and Energy Policy supplements and supports the work carried out as part of the strategy.

As the period in question extends until 2050, no future developments can be known for certain. For this reason, the report aims to map out a variety of possible futures and to support preparedness for them by weighing up a number of different lines of action.

The work on the scenarios indicates that the shift to a low-carbon society requires a marked improvement in energy efficiency in all sectors. Similarly, in all cases there is a need for the development, deployment and diffusion of low-carbon technology, and the use of renewable energy needs to be increased significantly.

For example, the energy standards for new buildings will be revised in order to improve energy efficiency, and efficiency improvements will be required in renovations of existing buildings. Ecological tax reform will be continued, and information concerning the climate impacts of choices in everyday life will be made easily available to citizens.

Achieving the two-degree target requires joint global efforts to combat climate change. Finland will actively work towards reaching a comprehensive and ambitious agreement in climate negotiations and pursue the integration of climate issues in foreign policy and international cooperation.

Finland will also contribute to efforts to seek sufficient climate funding for poor countries.

The preparation of the report has been carried out at the Prime Minister’s Office in cooperation with the key ministries.

To get the message out to citizens, a series of regional future forums will be organized. The foresight report will also be presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

The Foresight Report

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