Government parties to convene for joint climate meeting
The Government and the parliamentary groups of the parties in the Government will meet for a joint climate meeting in Helsinki on 3 and 4 February. Under the theme ‘A fair transition to a carbon-neutral economy’, the meeting will discuss climate policy measures, timeframes for action and a fair and just transition towards a carbon-neutral society.
The objective of the present Government Programme ‘Inclusive and competent Finland – a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable society’ is for Finland to be carbon-neutral by 2035 and the first fossil-free welfare society. This requires even faster emissions reductions in all sectors and the strengthening of carbon sinks.
In October 2019, the Government discussed the state of play in our climate policy and the actions towards carbon neutrality. At the same time, the Government decided to convene a joint climate meeting of the parties in the Government in early 2020.
The focus of the meeting will be on the Government’s common climate challenges, including how to bridge the gap between climate actions and commitments and the impacts of climate policy on Finland. The meeting will discuss regionally, socially and economically sustainable climate measures. The meeting will start on Monday 3 February with brief presentations by ministers and experts, followed by 12 workshops for the representatives of the Government parties. On Tuesday 4 February, the meeting will continue with presentations to the Members of Parliament concerning the state of play in terms of employment measures.
The external experts invited to the meeting are Markku Ollikainen (Finnish Climate Change Panel/University of Helsinki), Juhani Damski (Finnish Meteorological Institute), Ari Alatossava (municipality of Ii) Jaakko Eskola (Wärtsilä), Antti Arasto (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland), Otso Manninen (Bank of Finland), Jyri Seppälä (Finnish Environment Institute), Heikki Liimatainen (Tampere University), Antti Vasara (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland), Mari Pantsar (Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra), Marja Järvelä (University of Jyväskylä), Tuula Packalen (Natural Resources Institute Finland), Kristiina Regina (Natural Resources Institute Finland), Saara Tamminen (Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra), Oras Tynkkynen (Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra) and Lassi Linnanen (LUT University).
‘Carbon neutral Finland that protects biodiversity’ is one of the six strategic themes of the Government Programme. The Government’s climate policy work[K1] is guided by the Ministerial Working Group on Climate and Energy Policy.
Inquiries: Matti Niemi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 306 and Päivi Anttikoski, Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 40 536 4821, Prime Minister’s Office.