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4.5.2026 | The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met in London from 27 April to 1 May 2026. As expected, the Committee’s 84th session again allowed more time for negotiations on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. 

26.11.2025 | In 2024, the European Union adopted a directive amending the Directive on ship-source pollution. On 25 November 2025, the Ministry of Transport and Communications the Ministry of Transport and Communications decided to launch a project to start preparing the necessary legislative amendments.

5.8.2025 | Representatives of UN Member States will negotiate on the Global Plastics Treaty in Geneva, Switzerland on 5–14 August. The negotiation situation is very challenging, and there is also an increasing political pressure to reach an agreement. The demanding foreign policy situation has also made the negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty more difficult.

29.2.2024 | On 15 February 2024, the Member States, Parliament and Commission of the European Union reached a preliminary agreement on amendments to the Directive on Ship-Source Pollution and on the Introduction of Penalties for Infringements. The aim of the amendments is to improve the protection of the marine environment. On 28 February, the provisional agreement was discussed in the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Member States (Coreper).

28.8.2024 | The status of the Baltic Sea remains predominantly poor. The effects of eutrophication in all sea areas disrupt biodiversity and the functioning of the food network. However, the harmful development may be reversing. Although the change is not substantial from the previous status assessment published in 2018, longer-term monitoring indicates a slight improvement.

22.11.2024 | Pressures to reach an understanding will be mounting when the representatives of the UN Member States convene in Busan, Republic of Korea, on 25 November–1 December for the last scheduled negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty. Finland’s Chief Negotiator Tuulia Toikka from the Ministry of the Environment expects that the negotiations will be challenging.

19.10.2024 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's opening speech at the International Conference on Environmental Safety, Point 8 of the Ukraine's Peace Formula, Helsinki 19 October 2024. (Check against delivery).

4.5.2026 | Kansainvälisen merenkulkujärjestön (International Maritime Organization, IMO) meriympäristön suojelukomitea (Marine Environment Protection Committee, MEPC) kokoontui Lontoossa 27.4.–1.5.2026. Komitean 84. istunnossa päädyttiin odotetusti ottamaan jälleen lisäaikaa neuvotteluille toimista alusliikenteen kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vähentämiseksi. 

4.5.2026 | Internationella sjöfartsorganisationens (International Maritime Organization, IMO) kommitté för skydd av den marina miljön (Marine Environment Protection Committee, MEPC) sammanträdde i London den 27.4–1.5.2026. Vid kommitténs 84:e session beslutade staterna som väntat att ta ytterligare tid på sig för förhandlingarna om åtgärder för att minska växthusgasutsläppen från fartygstrafiken. 

21.5.2021 | On 17 May, the European Commission published a communication on promoting a sustainable blue economy in the EU. The Communication sets out a detailed agenda for the blue economy. A sustainable blue economy is a fundamental part of the broader European Green Deal, which is indispensable for the future of Europe. Sustainable blue economy is not possible without clean and healthy oceans and seas.

24.8.2023 | On 24 August 2023, the Government submitted Union communications to Parliament on the European Commission's proposals for amendments to the so-called maritime transport package.

5.10.2023 | Last June, an Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction was adopted at the United Nations. The agreement is also known as the BBNJ Agreement (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) or, more poetically, as the High Seas Treaty. It is an important milestone in the protection of the oceans. The BBNJ Agreement was opened for signature in September during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly.

28.2.2025 | The resumed session of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Rome reached an understanding on developing the financial architecture for biodiversity and on the monitoring and common review of biodiversity work.

25.2.2022 | The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) brings together nearly 200 Member States to launch the negotiations on a global plastics agreement. UNEA is the highest environmental decision-making body in the UN. The Finnish delegation in Nairobi, Kenya, is headed by State Secretary Terhi Lehtonen from the Ministry of the Environment.

16.11.2020 | The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will meet from 16 to 20 November. A key topic on the agenda of the virtual session is short-term measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.

16.11.2020 | The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will meet from 16 to 20 November. A key topic on the agenda of the virtual session is short-term measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.

9.12.2021 | At its meeting on Thursday 9 December, the Ministerial Committee on European Union Affairs outlined Finland’s positions for next week’s European Council, Euro Summit and Eastern Partnership Summit.

12.11.2019 | The legislation on the delivery of waste from ships to ports will be updated. The aim is to improve the treatment and reception of waste in ports, which will reduce the generation of marine litter and, in particular, the discharge of plastic into the seas.

2.12.2022 | The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Montreal, Canada on 7–19 December 2022. “The Conference in Montreal must mark a turning point in terms of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030, somewhat in the same way as the Paris Climate Change Conference did for preventing climate crisis,” says Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo, who leads Finland’s delegation.

20.3.2019 | The last plenary meeting of the Finnish Chairmanship reviewed the reports and recommendations of the Arctic Council’s Working Groups, discussed cooperation between Working Groups and Observers, and prepared the Declaration of the Ministerial meeting. Representatives of all of the eight Arctic States and six Permanent Participant organisations representing indigenous peoples, as well as observers from Europe, Asia and international organisations, attended the meeting.