Finance Ministry official sees something akin to "religious fanaticism" in support of bio-energy
Sailas wins forest advocacy prize
Raimo Sailas
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Raimo Sailas, the top civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, has lashed out against "religious features" that he feels have crept into the debate on biological sources of energy.
Speaking at a forest seminar organised by the commercial bank Nordea, Sailas was especially critical of the idea of using European Union, or Finnish state subsidies for the production of bio-energy.
"As such religious rapture exists, I would first recommend detailed studies and cool consideration before making any big decisions on bio-energy. I want to cool down the decision-makers a bit", Sailas said.
The surge in the price of crude oil in recent months has inspired political parties to come out in favour of a significant increase in the production of bio-energy. Most recently, Social Democratic Party chairman and Minister of Finance Eero Heinäluoma spoke on behalf of biological energy sources, setting as a goal freeing Finland of dependence on oil by 2030.
Sailas said that even elementary-level economic textbooks write that a nation's energy supply cannot be based on subsidies.
In the view of Sailas, any possible subsidies should either be of limited duration, or should have positive external effects - that is, other societal benefits. He suspects that bio-energy subsidies would have no such positive side-effects, and they would probably remain permanent.
Raimo Sailas is concerned that thanks to the trade in greenhouse gas emission allowances, a new situation is emerging in pricing. The energy industry could soon offer a better price for raw timber than the pulp and paper industry, making it economically more viable to burn wood for energy than to use it as raw material for paper.
Sailas also questioned moves to remove all debris, such as branches, treetops, and stumps that have been left in the forest after felling, and use them for energy. He noted that such scrap wood contains nutrients that the next generation of trees would need.
Sailas, known as an outspoken advocate of Finnish forestry, was awarded this year's award by the Society of Finnish Foresters and Nordea Bank for his work on behalf of the forests.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 25.8.2006 - TODAY |
 Finance Ministry official sees something akin to "religious fanaticism" in support of bio-energy |
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