City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

CITY-LEVEL DECOUPLING: URBAN RESOURCE FLOWS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITIONS

16. Finnish municipalities working towards carbon neutrality 123

By Prof. Jyri Seppälä and Dr.Lasse Peltonen (Finnish Environment Institute)

Due to its reliance on energy-intensive industries, Finland’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are among the highest in the world, at approximately 15,500 kg/CO 2 per capita each year. While emissions from energy production and major industrial sources have been at the centre of the country’s climate policy, less attention has been given to emissions reduction at local level. However, bottom-up measures are gaining popularity as a means of addressing climate change, and leading Finnish municipalities are already pursuing proactive climate strategies. The Carbon Neutral Municipalities (CANEMU) project was launched in October 2008 in response to the need to reduce emissions at local level. The project is coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), a national environmental research and development centre operating under the Ministry of the Environment, and it is funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES). The project operates in five small Finnish municipalities, Kuhmoinen (with a population of 2,700), Padasjoki (3,500), Mynämäki (8,000), Parikkala (6,000) and Uusikaupunki (16,000). The rationale behind the project is to engage the pilot municipalities (working in co-operation with businesses, local residents and the research community) in a continued effort towards carbon neutrality. Between 2008 and 2010, the municipalities committed themselves to emission reductions exceeding current EU targets. The ultimate aim is to create 'win-win-win' situations, where efforts to mitigate climate change give full consideration to economic, environmental and social factors. The target is to reduce GHG emissions of each municipality by 80%

compared to their GHG emissions of 2007, and this is expected to be achieved between 2020 and 2030. In the first phase of the project, the current GHG emissions were assessed by SYKE in order to establish baseline emissions in 2007. In addition, on-line GHG emission monitoring is now possible for each of the municipalities involved in the project. The relevant energy companies offer weekly data on the use of fossil fuels for the purpose of the calculation system. This feedback is used for

District heating in Parikkala has been converted to renewable sources, mainly wood chips (Source: Olli-Pekka Pietiläinen, Finnish Environment Institute, 2010)

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