prime minister Sanna Marin (SDP) said on Friday that the latest European Union agreement on emission reductions is good news for Finland.
The Prime Minister said after an all-night negotiation meeting that led to an agreement that Finland was satisfied with the outcome.
“The negotiations took time because the details were different [emissions cuts] should be discussed at this point, ”Marin said.
Combating climate change is not only necessary, it also offers an economic opportunity, Marin said.
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“It is essential for us that the EU moves together towards carbon neutrality. At the same time, we can improve the EU’s competitiveness,” Marin said.
Marin said the EU emissions trading mechanism should be expanded. The price of permits rose to an all-time high on Friday, to more than € 31 per tonne, in anticipation of a cut in the supply of permits a sanction to deepen emissions.
EU countries agreed on a new climate change target for the bloc on Friday night in Brussels.
Leaders in the 27 Member States have agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030, significantly tightening the current 40% target.
The EU wants to achieve “zero emissions” by 2050, the deadline that scientists say the world must meet to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. In the meantime, Finland aims to be carbon neutral by 2035.
Greenpeace: Not sharp enough cuts
Greenpeace Finland says that the EU’s climate agreement is a step in the right direction – but not far enough.
Greenpeace Finland’s energy and climate change policy expert Kaisa Kosonen says the idea of raising the EU’s 2030 emissions target seemed impossible at the time.
“And now it happened and it’s definitely a great thing,” Kosonen said on Friday. In the same breath, however, Kosonen argued that in the light of climate science, the new goal is not enough to be consistent with the goal of the UN Paris Agreement to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
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“This is missing the right number. They now agree to reduce emissions by 55 percent in net emission reductions, while clean emission reductions should have been at least 65 percent, ”Kosonen told Yle.
EK: Finnish industry is able to achieve its goals
At the same time, the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK) was satisfied with the trade.
“EK considers the new EU climate decision to be good news,” says the business lobby’s energy and climate manager, Kati Ruohomäki.
He noted that EK had supported the European Commission’s proposal to limit emissions to 55%, and that the decision was in line with EK’s own targets.
Although the EU’s coronavirus stimulus package is to be used largely for investments to reduce emissions, the timetable is challenging, Ruohomäki said.
“Investment decisions must be made by 2023 [the projects] must be completed by 2026. And when you talk about investing in new technology, not everything may go as planned, ”he said.
According to Ruohomäki, Finnish industry will benefit from the decision made on Friday. It will be able to change its own operations to meet the requirements and deliver low-carbon products and technologies to its customers, he said.
Source: The Nordic Page
