The Nordic nation aims to meet this goal by 2035 but is taking its environmental action one step further by committing to becoming net negative – absorbing more CO2 than it emits – by 2040. This sets Finland well ahead of the EU’s 2050 target for balancing the carbon books, making it a world leader on curbing emissions. South Sudan has a closer target of 2030 but, as a developing country, is dependent on international climate finance to achieve neutrality. By the same measure, they found that the EU and Germany must reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the early-2030s to honor the Paris Agreement and the demands of climate justice.
With vast ‘snow’ forests spanning 75 per cent of the country, Finland has great natural advantages to help it on its way. Protecting these forests is key. New figures from Statistics Finland show that they turned from being overall carbon stores to emitters for the first-time last year. This means they are releasing more CO2 through deforestation than the remaining trees could absorb. Currently, large tracts of forest are cut down by logging companies, made into pulp and paper before being burned as a form of bioenergy – often controversially labelled ‘renewable’.