Finland Announces 80 Per Cent Emissions Reduction Plan

Finland emerged as the latest nation to pledge to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions on October 15th 2009, with the government promising that a minimum 80 per cent reduction under benchmark 1990 levels will have been achieved by 2050.  Its announcement came barely 50 days prior to a pivotal global climate change meeting at which world leaders will attempt to forge a new global warming pact.

“Unmitigated climate change may result in immense human suffering and destroy ecosystems”, the Finnish government stressed in its new climate change report.  “To minimise the risks and harm, the government supports efforts to limit global warming over the period [up until 2050] to two degrees Celsius at most.”

Emissions Reduction

Finland has previously detailed shorter-term emissions reduction goals.  In 2008, it pledged allegiance to the overall European 2020 aim of lowering emissions to 20 per cent under 1990 levels.  Simultaneously, it detailed how renewable energy sources would be drawn upon increasingly, to the extent that they would make up 38 per cent of all energy use. 

In creating a new low-carbon environment, the Finnish government highlighted in the report some of the requirements now demanded.  These included a new stance towards implementing energy efficient building standards along with environmental tax modifications. 

“The target of the Foresight Report is a shift to a thriving low-carbon society in which emissions have been reduced by at least 80 per cent from the 1990 level by 2050 as part of a wider international effort”, the report stated, adding, theoretically:  “...the achievement of emission reductions in Finland requires virtually zero-emission energy and road transport sectors in the long term.”

Finland Climate Change

Among the environmental technologies set to be drawn upon to hit the overall Finland climate change goal are nuclear power and CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage).

The global climate change meeting will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7th and 18th.  Its overall aim is to construct a new climate change deal to take over from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in three years’ time.  Discussions leading up to these key few days for the future of the environment have been marked by international disagreements over two key issues: the degree to which developed nations should help undeveloped nations in fighting climate change, and the level at which developed nations should be setting their own national emissions reduction goals.