Finland’s preliminary Recovery and Resilience Plan, drafted by the Ministerial Working Group chaired by Finnish Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen and published on 15 March 2021, covers the key areas for promoting a green transition. According to the plan, approximately half of the funding of around two billion euros is to be channelled to projects related to the green transition and digitalisation, and the other half to initiatives in support of employment and skills together with health and social services.
The preliminary plan published by the working group contains several elements similar to CLC’s proposal for the content of the European Green Recovery published in May 2020. Key areas of focus include green hydrogen technology and carbon capture, the reuse and recycling of materials and side streams, new energy generation technologies and energy network development, and new energy solutions and energy efficiency in buildings. There are also measures to support climate actions in transport, agriculture and forestry and green transition research and product development.
In line with our previous proposal, we encourage Finland to prioritise projects that:
- have significant carbon handprint potential as well as the potential to generate new international business; and
- that develop our infrastructure and other factors to make future investments more attractive.
We also propose greening the curriculum to ensure that solutions related to climate change, bio and circular economies and biodiversity are incorporated into primary education in Finland.
Finland could, consequently, contribute more effectively to the global transition towards a low-carbon society while ensuring domestic production, employment and well-being as well as decreasing its own carbon footprint at the same time.
More Information: Jouni Keronen, CEO, Climate Leadership Coalition, +358 50 4534881, jouni.keronen@clc.fi and Juha Turkki, Development Director, Climate Leadership Coalition, +358 45 3461925, juha.turkki@clc.fi
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