Minister Mykkänen holds roundtable discussions on opportunities offered by industrial carbon sinks to Finnish companies

Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen will convene a series of roundtables to discuss the opportunities offered by industrial carbon management, the role of companies in implementing technological carbon sinks (negative emission technologies) and what is required to implement these technological sinks fast and cost-effectively.

The roundtables will bring operators from the industrial sector together to build a common understanding of the situation and give ideas for future work at the ministries. The aim is to set up an efficient network to support influencing in the EU contexts and find cost-effective national solutions. 

Views and proposals are also sought from industrial associations and companies on what the central government should focus on and what are the most essential legislative means to build value creation in carbon management.

The first roundtable met in the Government Banquet Hall on 31 May 2024. The participants came from the associations representing the forest, energy, technology and metal industries, the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, the Bioenergy Association of Finland, Gasgrid, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Stora Enso, UPM, Metsä Group and the key ministers. 

As an introduction to the discussions, public officials from the ministries spoke about the situation in terms of legislative drafting and future work related to influencing and preparation of national actions, as well as on the storage of carbon dioxide and the agreements required for this. The discussion showed that the opportunities created by industrial carbon management have been recognised and there is a lot of discussion and preparatory work concerning their utilisation. The next roundtable will be convened on 5 June, this time for the energy companies. 

The European Commission published Communications on the 2040 climate target and industrial carbon management in February. They will open paths towards new clean solutions and further development of carbon sequestration. At that time, Minister Mykkänen pointed out that many of the priorities of Finland’s work to influence the EU policy were reflected in the Communications. 

“Carbon capture, utilisation and storage offer great opportunities. A significant percentage of Europe’s biogenic carbon dioxide is produced in Finland, where it can be sucked from industrial smokestacks. Together with the other special strength we have in Finland, clean electricity production, it will also be possible to create even more advanced value chains for the bio-based carbon dioxide that has been captured to replace fossil coal as raw material,” Minister Kai Mykkänen says.

Industrial carbon sequestration and utilisation of the carbon dioxide that has been captured offer significant opportunities for climate change mitigation, improving the competitiveness of industry and creating new markets. To achieve these targets, sufficient investments in infrastructure, development of the legislation and international cooperation will be needed. 

Besides investments, during this decade the focus should be on creating rules for the market and developing transport infrastructure. This includes developing the regulation on transport and ensuring seamless interoperability of different modes of transport. The key measures also include ensuring the storage capacity and creating a clear framework for the access to storage.

Inquiries:
Lyydia Ylönen, Special Adviser to Minister of Climate and the Environment, tel. +358 50 476 1341
Juhani Tirkkonen, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 062 140
Eleonoora Eilittä, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 235
Hanne Siikavirta, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 295 250 049