Helsinki has introduced new measures on mobility, construction and energy after finding it was not on track to reach the target of carbon neutrality by 2030.

The Helsinki Board this week approved updates to the Carbon-neutral Helsinki programme, which was launched in 2018 to cut direct emissions by at least 80 percent by 2030 (from 1990 levels), and to offset the remainder. The original goal was 2035 but this was brought forward.

By 2021, emissions had been reduced by 33 percent but Kaisa-Reeta Koskinen, director of the emissions reduction programme, told Cities Today that on the current trajectory, emissions would only reduce by 69 percent by 2030.

“The emissions development is in the right direction but far too slow,” she said. “In order to achieve the objectives, more effective and determined action is needed. The city is strongly committed to the climate objectives, and they are taken seriously. We must now prioritise effective action.”

The new plan includes implementing demand-controlled ventilation in city offices, using low-emission concrete in infrastructure projects, replacing outdoor lighting sources with LEDs, and developing regional heating solutions.

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