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5.3.2021 | Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen highlighted Finland's views on the use of the EU’s sustainable finance classification system in the forestry and energy production sectors. Minister Vanhanen discussed these matters with European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness on Friday 5 March.

17.11.2021 | On Wednesday 17 November, the Ministerial Committee on European Union Affairs outlined the Government’s position on the Climate Delegated Act under the EU classification system for sustainable activities, also known as the EU taxonomy. The matter will be submitted to Parliament as a Europe communication.

13.5.2022 | The European Council has stated that the EU will work to get rid of its dependence on Russian energy as soon as possible. Decisions on sanctions and trade diversion are topical. Long-term investments will be guided by, among other things, the EU's Fit for 55 package. In the coming weeks, there will be many far-reaching decisions on European energy policy.

23.6.2022 | The EU energy ministers will meet at a Council meeting in Luxembourg on 27 June 2022. They aim to reach a general approach on the tightening of the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Renewable Energy Directive as part of the Fit for 55 package. Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä will represent Finland at the meeting.

2.6.2022 | Honorable Håkan Agnevall, CEO and President of Wärtsilä, dear Ladies and Gentlemen, dear audience

21.1.2022 | Suomi ja yhdeksän muuta EU:n jäsenvaltiota ovat toimittaneet 21.-22.1. Ranskan Amiensissa pidettävän epävirallisen energiaministerien tapaamisen alla Euroopan komissiolle ja Ranskalle neuvoston puheenjohtajamaana kirjeen, jossa esitetään huoli bioenergian kestävyyskriteereistä.

30.8.2022 | The coastal nations around the Baltic Sea will dramatically boost their use of offshore wind power and take other measures to promote the production of renewable energy. They will also develop the energy distribution network between their countries to secure energy supply. The countries agreed to intensify their cooperation at the Baltic Sea Energy Security Summit held at the official residence of the Danish Prime Minister in Marienborg on Tuesday 30 August.

9.6.2023 | The level of wellbeing among people in Finland may fall if we do not invest in education, social capital and the reduction of health inequalities, according to a recent policy paper by the OECD. The policy paper describes the combined effects of the sustainability of people’s wellbeing, the economy and the environment. It is possible to create solutions to the challenges of economic sustainability with the help of information.

16.7.2021 | European Commission published new EU Forest Strategy on 16 July 2021, aiming for better coordination on forest-related initiatives as well as increasing the cooperation of Member States on forests. The Strategy highlights climate and biodiversity targets, which are important also for Finland. The strategy has evolved towards more balanced version during the preparation by the Commission, leaving however room for improvement in the initiatives to follow.

15.12.2022 | On 14 December 2022, the National Forest Council adopted Finland’s new National Forest Strategy, which extends until 2035. The new National Forest Strategy is a growth strategy that seeks growth of both forests and business and, first of all, growing wellbeing both from forests and for forests.

7.9.2023 | During the autumn, the Government will launch a number of projects to boost the energy transition. The aim is to attract investments to Finland that reduce emissions and turn Finland into a leader in terms of clean energy and a positive climate handprint.

1.3.2023 | Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Antti Kurvinen have convened a roundtable to discuss the role of the forest sector in climate policy. The roundtable for the forest sector will meet on Thursday 2 March.

30.10.2023 | Finland and the Australian state of New South Wales will strengthen their cooperation to promote carbon neutrality and to develop solutions advancing it. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the matter was presented at an event in Australia on 30 October 2023. Finland was represented by Ambassador Satu Mattila-Budich.

2.3.2023 | On Thursday 2 March, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Antti Kurvinen convened a roundtable to discuss the role of the forest sector in climate policy. The aim of the discussion was to clarify the shared understanding of the situation and find solutions to strengthen sinks and reduce emissions.

23.11.2023 | On 23 November 2023, the Government adopted a resolution on launching an auction procedure concerning offshore wind power sites located in the public water areas of Finland. 

27.9.2023 | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah participated in the meeting of the For Forest Group composed of the forest ministers of the most forested EU countries in Austria on 25–26 September. At the meeting, the ministers responsible for forestry of Austria, Slovenia, Sweden and Finland signed a joint statement on the EU forest policy. 

6.6.2024 | The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment began to update the low-carbon roadmaps together with the sectors in autumn 2023. In accordance with the Programme of Prime Minister Orpo’s Government, the roadmaps from 2020 have now been updated to correspond to the changed operating environment and technological development of sectors and companies. This time, 14 sectors systematically investigated ways to decarbonisation.

26.4.2024 | According to the joint statement of the For Forest group composed of four forested countries of the European Union, a sustainable bioeconomy must be at the core of the next European Commission’s Work Programme. A total of 16 EU Member States have joined the statement of Finland, Sweden, Austria and Slovenia to be discussed at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on Monday 29 April.

30.10.2024 | By summer 2023, only three years had passed since the publication of the sectoral low-carbon roadmaps in 2020. A provision in Petteri Orpo’s government program from June 2023 mandated the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and various sectors to revisit the roadmaps in light of the evolving operating environment. With this mandate, the update process began in autumn 2023. By autumn 2024, all 14 participating sectors had completed their updates.

9.10.2024 | On 9 October 2024, the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy discussed and supported the new outlines for the ownership policy concerning Metsähallitus for 2024–2027. Besides the reconciliation of different needs, new objectives have also been included. Among the topics concerned are the economic benefit from the operations of Metsähallitus to the State and promotion of biodiversity and renewable energy.

31.5.2024 | Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen will convene a series of roundtables to discuss the opportunities offered by industrial carbon management, the role of companies in implementing technological carbon sinks (negative emission technologies) and what is required to implement these technological sinks fast and cost-effectively.

21.8.2024 | For Forest+ is a group dedicated to advocating for the interests of the forested Member States within the EU. Ministers from the group’s member states – Austria, France, Slovenia and Sweden – and their representatives visited Finland on the invitation of the Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah between 20 and 21 August 2024. During their visit, the ministers discussed next st...

1.4.2025 | The use of coal in Finnish energy production will end this spring as energy companies Helen and Vantaan Energia will close their last remaining power plant units using coal. The energy use of coal will thus end four years before the deadline of May 2029 required by law. In this way, Finland is taking another major step towards an energy system that is cleaner, more self-sufficient and climate neutral.

25.11.2024 | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah visits Canada with a delegation of the Finnish forestry and bioeconomy actors on 24–28 November. Minister Essayah will deliver the keynote speech at the Scaling Up Bioeconomy Conference 2024 in Ottawa. Finland is the Feature Country of this year’s conference. In addition, the Minister and the business delegation will visit the province of Quebec.

2.7.2025 | The European Commission has published a legislative proposal on the emission reduction target for 2040. The Commission proposes a net emission reduction target of 90 per cent by 2040 compared to the 1990 levels.

4.9.2025 | For Forest + is a group that promotes the interests of the forested Member States in the EU. Now Italy and Latvia are also members, besides Austria, Finland, France, Slovenia and Sweden. The For Forest Group + held the first meeting in its new composition in Slovenia on 28–30 August 2025.

4.12.2025 | The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of the Environment have begun legislative drafting to ensure consistent and predictable application of the obligations under the Birds Directive. The need to amend the Forest Act and the Nature Conservation Act stems from a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on felling trees during the period of bird breeding and rearing.

1.4.2026 | The For Forest Group+ of forested EU countries has again grown stronger as Germany joined the group at the meeting held in Sweden on 31 March–1 April. The topics discussed by the ministers included the EU Deforestation and LULUCF Regulations, the Birds Directive, and the development of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management.

25.6.2026 | The clean energy transition continues to make good progress: the use of fossil energy sources keeps decreasing in industry, electricity production and heating. The trend in emissions takes us in the right direction, but more work will be needed in all sectors to reach the climate targets nationally and at the EU level.

11.6.2021 | Kommunikationsforumet för husteknik erbjuder aktuell information till dem som äger och ansvarar för underhållet av byggnader om hur byggnaders energiprestanda kan förbättras genom att korrekt justera och underhålla värme-, ventilations- och luftkonditioneringssystem. Forumet erbjuder information om såväl småhus, radhus och flervåningshus som servicebyggnader. För närvarande påminns det om underhållet och användningen av fastigheter under sommarsäsongen.

11.10.2021 | Under de senaste åren har öppna skogsdata och den snabba utvecklingen av e-tjänster gjort det betydligt lättare att få tillgång till information om skogarna. Det är bra, eftersom det hela tiden behövs allt mer information om skogstillgångar, natur och annat som stöd för det beslutsfattande och utvecklingsarbete som gäller skogarna.

26.10.2022 | I de projekt som ingår i det tvärvetenskapliga programmet fördjupar man sig bland annat i metoder som kan öka kolinlagringen i skogen och skogsmarken samt den biologiska mångfalden. Projektet stöder dessutom markägare i att ta i bruk klimatsäkra verksamhetssätt.

16.7.2021 | Europeiska kommissionen publicerade den 16 juli 2021 en ny skogsstrategi som syftar till att främja samordningen av skogsinitiativ och samarbetet mellan medlemsländerna i skogsfrågor. I strategin betonas klimat- och biodiversitetsmålen som är viktiga också för Finland. Strategin har i kommissionens behandling ändrats i en bättre riktning jämfört med tidigare versioner, men mycket återstår att förbättra i det fortsatta arbetet.

5.3.2021 | Finansminister Matti Vanhanen framförde Finlands synpunkter på hur klassificeringssystemet för hållbar finansiering fungerar inom skogsbruket och energiproduktionen. Ministern diskuterade frågan med EU-kommissionär Mairead McGuinness fredagen den 5 mars.

13.5.2022 | Europeiska rådet har fastställt att EU så snabbt som möjligt strävar efter att frigöra sig från beroendet av rysk energi. Dagsaktuella beslut är beslut om sanktioner och inriktning av handeln. På längre sikt styrs investeringarna bland annat av EU:s Fit for 55-paket. Under de närmaste veckorna kommer man att dra upp många långtgående riktlinjer för energipolitiken i Europa.

23.6.2022 | EU:s energiministrar träffas vid ett rådsmöte i Luxemburg den 27 juni 2022. Det är fråga om ett betydande möte, eftersom målet är att nå en allmän riktlinje om de skärpningar av energieffektivitetsdirektivet och direktivet om förnybar energi som ingår i 55 %-paketet. Näringsminister Mika Lintilä företräder Finland vid mötet.

17.11.2021 | Onsdagen den 17 november fastställde EU-ministerutskottet statsrådets ståndpunkt i fråga om den delegerade rättsakt på klimatområdet som kompletterar EU:s taxonomiförordning om hållbar finansiering. Ärendet överlämnas till riksdagen i form av en E-skrivelse.

7.4.2022 | Det geopolitiska läget i Europa har förändrats på ett fundamentalt sätt i och med Rysslands angreppskrig.  Det viktigaste är att sörja för tryggheten, och en av trygghetens grundpelare är maten. Därför har man beslutat att för dryga 300 miljoner euro bygga upp ett försörjningspaket som stöder jordbruket. 

22.6.2021 | Politices magister Matias Kallio har utnämnts till jord- och skogsbruksminister Jari Leppäs specialmedarbetare från och med den 21 juni 2021.

9.6.2023 | Det finns en risk för att finländarnas välfärdsnivå sjunker om vi inte satsar på utbildning, socialt kapital och hälsojämlikhet, visar OECD:s färska rapport. Rapporten beskriver de sammanlagda effekter som uppnås när välfärden, ekonomin och miljön är hållbar. Evidensbaserad information gör det möjligt att hitta lösningar för utmaningarna med den ekonomiska hållbarheten.