European Sustainable Development Week
Prime Minister convenes joint meeting of climate policy forums

Government Communications DepartmentMinistry of the Environment
Publication date 21.9.2020 14.29 | Published in English on 21.9.2020 at 16.04
Press release 594

The National Commission on Sustainable Development, the Economic Council and the Climate Policy Roundtable will meet on Thursday 24 September. The theme of the joint meeting is the just transition to a carbon-neutral society. The event will explore ways to achieve the Government’s carbon neutrality target by 2035 in a manner that is just and sustainable.

Almost a hundred members of the forums representing different sectors of society will attend the meeting, which is now being held for the first time. All three influencing forums are led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who will also chair the joint meeting.

The aim of the meeting is to bring together the views of the various institutions on the Government’s climate policy and on the practical implementation of the just transition. Decisions made on the carbon neutrality target in the Government budget session will provide a framework for the discussion. For example, the Government decided in its session to establish Finland's sustainable growth programme, which will allocate EUR 0.9–1.2 billion in EU recovery funding to climate action.

The meeting will include speeches from Aalto University Professor and Sustainability Panel member Minna Halme, Research Director of Pellervo Economic Research Docent Olli-Pekka Ruuskanen and Climate Panel Chair Markku Ollikainen.

A panel of representatives from the National Commission on Sustainable Development, the Economic Council and Climate Policy Roundtable will discuss the objectives, tools, challenges and practical implementation of the just transition. The panel will also address the COVID-19 crisis and its aftercare from the perspective of the just transition.

The panellists will be Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen, Minister of Education Li Andersson, MP and member of the Environment Committee Mari-Leena Talvitie, member of the Agenda 2030 Youth Group Sara Nyman, Managing Director of the Confederation of Finnish Industries Jyri Häkämies, Chair of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions Jarkko Eloranta and CEO of WWF Finland Liisa Rohweder.

Joint meeting part of European Sustainable Development Week

The joint meeting is one of the events taking place in Finland during European Sustainable Development Week. The aim of European Sustainable Development Week is to make sustainable development projects and initiatives visible across Europe.

You can watch a livestream of the joint meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Economic Council and the Climate Policy Roundtable on the Government’s YouTube channel.

Inquiries: Annika Lindblom, Secretary-General, tel. +358 295 250 163, Commission on Sustainable Development/Ministry of the Environment, Pekka Sinko, Secretary-General, tel. +358 295 160 189, Economic Council/Prime Minister’s Office, Merja Turunen, Secretary-General, tel. +358 295 250 387, Climate Policy Roundtable/Ministry of the Environment, Matti Niemi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 165, Prime Minister’s Office.