Copies of a press release drafted by a handful of environmental and human rights watchdogs that accuses the government of violating the climate act. Also the National Audit Office of Finland (VTV) has opened an audit to determine whether government decisions about climate policy have been founded on scientific evidence. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)
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CLIMATE MEASURES of the Finnish government are under scrutiny at the National Audit Office of Finland (VTV), reports Helsingin Sanomat.
VTV last spring opened an audit to determine whether the current and previous government have made their decisions on climate measures based on research data and whether the selected measures are adequate.
Underlying the audit is a concern that the governments have sought to bring down greenhouse gas emissions with measures whose effectiveness has not been sufficiently validated. Ineffective climate measures can come with a substantial price tag, the office reminded: if the modellings utilised to calculate emission reductions fail to accurately evaluate climate policy measures, Finland might not meet its climate targets and might have to purchase carbon credits to satisfy its commitments to the EU.
The credits needed by the country are expected to cost more than a billion euros, according to a report by YLE.
“Ultimately the audit will be conducted to make sure parliament receives accurate and sufficient information to support decision-making, particularly when it decides on measures related to mitigating climate change,” reads the audit plan.
A key focus of the audit are the climate plans presently being drafted at relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The audit officers will scrutinise the grounds on which emission reduction measures are included and excluded from the plans.
Helsingin Sanomat wrote that it has obtained information that politicians have asked ministry officials to examine the climate impact of reducing food waste and developing park-and-ride car parks. Absent from the lists are measures such as index-based adjustments to the energy and vehicle taxes, increasing the distribution obligation for biofuels, and updating national dietary recommendations.
The latter measures are therefore not planned for implementation during this electoral term, even if they could be cost effective.
VTV is expected to finalise its audit report by the second half of 2025.
Finland has recently come under heavy criticism over its climate measures. The Finnish Climate Change Panel warned in a report published last month that the current measures are insufficient to reach the binding emission-reduction targets, identifying the transport sector as an area that is especially failing to keep the necessary pace.
Finland has pledged to slash emissions from the effort-sharing sector by 50 per cent between 2005 and 2030. The sector consists of areas not included in the emission-trading scheme, such as agriculture, heating and transport.
The independent expert panel warned that the inaction could force the country to acquire carbon credits – in the worst-case scenario, for over a billion euros.
The list of reduction measures devised by ministries contain hardly any transport-related measures, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Several Finnish environmental and human rights organisations, meanwhile, are accusing the government of failing to take sufficient action to combat the climate crisis in a claim submitted to the Supreme Administrative Court (KHO). The claim argues that the failure is tantamount to violating not only statutory targets, such as the carbon-neutrality target set for 2035, and binding commitments to the EU, but also the basic rights to life, health and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
