Helsinki’s greenhouse gas emission targets too meagre?

Many Finnish cities set tighter climate goals than the capital

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By Ville Seuri
     
      Early next year the Helsinki City Council faces its own “Copenhagen conference”.
      The council is supposed to decide how the city will fulfil the climate goals that it has set for itself. Civil servants are currently working on the plans along with the electric utility Helsinki Energy.
      Unfortunately, as soon as the decision is made, the city may have to go back and start the process again. The targets set by Helsinki for the reduction of the city’s emissions are so modest that the plan may be obsolete already from the outset.
     
Helsinki’s target is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy production in ten years by 20 per cent from the 1990 level. At the same time, the share of renewable sources of energy should be raised by one fifth.
      Since Helsinki approved these goals in 2008, other communities in Finland and abroad have gone further.
      The Danish capital Copehnagen seeks to be carbon neutral by 2015.
     
In Finland, the most ambitious goals have been set by Uusikaupunki, Parikkala, Mynämäki Padasjoki and Kuhmoinen, who hope to reach the zero carbon level in 2020.
      Of the larger cities and towns, Turku, Kuopio, and Lahti are showing the way. Vantaa plans to reduce total emissions by five per cent a year.
     
So shouldn’t the capital be a trailblazer? Demands to that effect have come from a number of sources, including Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki (Centre), who would like to see Helsisnki use wood in its district heating production.
      Professor Ilkka Savolainen of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) says that it may be easier for cities in the interior of Finland to make emission cuts than for Helsinki. They have much forest around them, which makes it easier to use bio-energy.
      “Helsinki would have to acquire biomass from long distances. That is why it has to resort to slower means, such as improving energy efficiency.
      Savolainen feels that ambitious goals can make economic sense, as the prices of emission rights are increasing.
      However, the energy production cuts will not have much of an impact on the European scale, as someone will use the emission rights anyway.
     
Another reason to set good goals from the outset is the time, money, and work that they require.
      The Helsinki City Council set its emission programme in early 2008. Since then, consultants and civil servants have pondered how the programme should be implemented.
      Helsinki’s targets were set at the level agreed upon by the EU.
     
However, after the Copenhagen conference the goals of the EU could become tighter. The EU has promised to raise its goal for emission cuts from 20 to 30 per cent, if the other large polluters make similar commitments.
      If this happens, some members of the Helsinki City Council are likely to call for more ambitious goals than the ones set in 2008.
      It is possible that another round of decisions will be needed; new reports could be commissioned from consultants, and civil servants would have to draw up a new implementation plan.
      All of this could have been averted, if the goals had been more ambitious to begin with.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 7.12.2009


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Climate change could lead to darker winters in Helsinki (22.9.2009)
  Burning wood chips would bring timber truck rally to Helsinki (15.9.2009)
  Helsinki Energy considers biofuel for Hanasaari power plant (29.2.2008)

Links:
  United Nations Climate Change Conference Dec. 7 - Dec 18 2009

VILLE SEURI / Helsingin Sanomat
ville.seuri@hs.fi