Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC) thanks the European Commission for the opportunity to contribute to the 2026 Finland country report and emphasizes strong support for both Finland’s 2035 carbon‑neutrality target and the EU’s 2040 climate target.
CLC underlines that ambitious, predictable climate goals strengthen competitiveness, guide industry toward decarbonisation, and help attract investments in low‑carbon technologies. CLC reiterates the Commission’s earlier assessment that Finland’s abundant clean, low‑cost energy is a major industrial advantage and agrees that boosting green technology investments, such as wind power, R&D, and circular‑economy measures, would further enhance competitiveness and resource efficiency.
However, CLC stresses that Finland needs more market‑based policy instruments to accelerate the economic transition. Current government plans rely heavily on subsidies, while policy gaps persist in transport decarbonisation, material circularity, carbon sinks, and incentives for innovation. CLC highlights opportunities in electrifying heating, improving material efficiency, developing higher‑value forest sector products, and strengthening domestic markets for circular solutions.
For industrial decarbonisation, CLC calls for a more strategic and comprehensive approach, particularly to enable large‑scale renewable energy deployment, grid investment, and hydrogen production. Insufficient policy signals especially around carbon removals like BECCS and biochar risk delaying technologies essential for meeting post‑2030 climate targets.
CLC concludes that Finland needs greater decisiveness, policy certainty, and long‑term planning to support clean investments and avoid undermining progress, such as through weakened biofuel mandates.
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