Representatives of the Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC), Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Special Adviser Matti Niemi discussed Finland’s and the EU’s climate policy and the role of businesses in the implementation of climate solutions at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Kesäranta on Thursday, 19 November.

The Climate Leadership Coalition was represented in the discussion by Henrik Ehrnrooth, who will start as Chair of the CLC Advisory Board at the beginning of 2021, Antti Herlin, one of CLC’s founders, and Jouni Keronen, CEO of CLC.

At the meeting, CLC representatives presented CLC’s key proposals for boosting the EU’s and Finland’s climate action and thanked Prime Minister Marin and the Government for their clear and committed efforts to achieve the EU’s 2050 climate goal during Finland’s EU Presidency and prioritizing climate issues in the Finnish government’s programme.

CLC develops and promotes systemic solutions and market mechanisms to accelerate investments and new commercial the introduction low-carbon solutions. In CLC’s view, the private sector can finance most of the green transition if the regulatory framework is sufficiently motivating and predictable over the long periods of time required for significant investments.

The transformation to carbon neutrality offers tremendous opportunities for new business and it is a good reason for Finland to aim to be carbon neutral already in 2035. If we wish to have internationally commercialized solutions available when the big markets will change we need to develop and pilot the solutions before our competitors do. China, Japan and the United States will increase the pressure by adopting more active climate actions.

“It is often thought that mitigating climate change is just an inconvenience for companies, which they try to overcome as cheaply as possible. Here at CLC, we see it as a great opportunity for introducing new products and services that are more energy- and material-efficient and also improve the profitability of companies. The opportunity to work to curb climate change also motivates all employees,” said Antti Herlin, a founding member of CLC.

“CLC is focused on developing and promoting systemic climate solutions. Next year, one of our priorities will be to create a comprehensive and sustainable strategy for the EU’s land use and bioeconomy. This is also a natural basis for closer collaboration between the Nordic countries,” said Henrik Ehrnrooth, Chair of the CLC Advisory Board, who also served as Chair of the CLC Board for three years.

CLC is the largest non-profit climate business network in Europe. CLC’s 77 members employ 430,000 people globally.

For more information: Jouni Keronen, CEO, CLC, +358 50 4534881 or Kari Mokko, Development Director, CLC, +358 40 7513281.