The first Finland`s National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change aiming at adaptation and risk management of climate change was published in 2005 and the actions extend to the year 2022.463 One of the actions of this adaptation plan is to promote regional and local adaptation as well as cooperation. This adaptation plan was included in the national climate strategies. National CCA (609/2015) came into force in the 1st of June 2015. With this national act, both long-term and mid-term strategic mitigation and adaptation plans were confirmed.464
Different Ministries have also published their sector-based adaptation plans: Ministry of the Environment’s Action Plan in 2016465, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 2011–
2015466 and the Ministry of Transport and Communication's administrative sector for 2009–
460 Finland`s Seventh National Communication under the UNFCCC 2017, p. 282. In public procurement procedures according to Palmujoki et al., Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 2010, p. 257, the environmental criteria is more commonly used in Sweden.
461 IPCC ARC3.2., p. 14.
462 IPCC ARC3.2., p. 19.
463 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 2005.
464 The CCA (609/2015) section 6 subsections 1 and 2.
465 Ministry of Environment 2016.
466 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 2011.
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2020.467 These adaptation plans have been updated and developed further. In addition, separate programs have been published. These programs include, e.g., for Finnish Agriculture – Steps towards Climate Friendly Food468, the Energy and Climate Programme of The Finnish Defence Forces469 and the Climate change adaptation strategy for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.470 Additionally, Financial sector has published its own paper regarding on how to handle the risks caused by the climate change,471 and at least 16 out of 18 regions have published their climate strategies.472 In its publication Local Authorities and Climate Change,473 the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities also highlighted the role of local authorities in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The preparedness for risks caused by the climate change of municipalities is tightly connected to the National Security Strategy for Society.474 The Weather and Climate Risks in Finland -report475 published in 2018 concluded that the climate change will have direct and indirect impacts to the Finnish society on multiple levels.476
In the beginning of year 2016, national energy and climate strategy477 was accepted. The strategy defines the main goals and policies for both the carbon trade and the effort sharing sector to the year 2030. The Ministry of Environment is responsible of these middle term coordination of climate policies.478 There are proceeding programs, including the activities on how to decrease emissions in agriculture, transport, waste management, F-gases in industry and building heating, and evaluation of development of gases´ and policy measures´
impact on them.479
The Finnish government made a principle decision regarding the promotion of greener
467 Ministry of Transport and Commication 2009.
468 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 2014.
469 Ministry of Environment 2008.
470 Helsinki Region Environmtental Services Authority 2012.
471 Finanssiala 2018.
472 By the year 2012. European Climate Adaptation Platform: Climate-ADAPT –Sharing adaptation infor-mation: Countries, Regions and cities: Country profiles: Finland. 2019.
473 Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities 2007.
474 Ilmastonmuutoksen kansallisen sopeutumisstrategian arviointi 2013.
475 Tuomenvirta et al. 2018.
476 Ibid.
477 Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment 2017.
478 Ministry of Environment: The environment: Climate and air: Mitigation of climate change:
National climate change policy. 2019.
479 Ibid.
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solutions in the public procurement in 2013.480 The aim of the decision was to decrease the use of energy impacts as well as harmful environmental impacts on product, service and building life-cycle costs. The current aim is that cleantech solutions would cover 10 % of the total annual procurements.481 This target obligates state authorities, but not local municipalities. Less than half of municipalities consider climate impacts in their procurement and land planning so far.482 To conclude, there is unused potential.
During the implementation process of the public procurement law, environmental aspects were widely discussed. The environment impact of public purchasing was especially discussed based on sustainability and more climate-friendly aspects. 483 Since the government has engaged in carbon-free solutions, the strategic guidance should be provided.484 Without increasing climate-, and environment and innovative solutions, the targets of the government will not be reached.485
The new government programme put emphasis on procurement expertise.486 In addition, it states that the APPCC (1397/2016) will be revised in such a way that carbon and environmental footprints will be included as criteria for procurements with significant environmental impacts. 487 The aim during the next four years is to adopt a tool in order to divide the risks of innovative procurement and spread adoption of good practices for sustainable and innovative procurements. Also, the existing criteria to support sustainable consumption will be promoted, and there is a target to create new criteria. Both the public procurement as well as public food and catering services have a key role in improving the sustainability of the food system. There will be a national ‘climate food’ programme.488 One of the core goals will be minimising the climate footprint of the food consumed in Finland.
The share of vegetables will be increased in public food and catering services. When it comes to meat products, eggs and milk, local governments will be guided to give preference to
480 Valtioneuvosto 2013.
481 Programme of Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s Government 2019, p. 107–108.
482 Alhola – Kaljonen 2017; Parviainen 2015, p. 37.
483 YmVL 20/2016 vp., p. 2.
484 YmVL 20/2016 vp., p. 3.
485 Ibid.
486 Programme of Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s Government 2019, p. 44.
487 Ibid.
488 Programme of Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s Government 2019, p. 45.
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Finnish local and organic production.489 This is contradictory to the EU law and free trade as well as public procurement principles. The future will show, how this target will be reached.
Public procurement is considered in a government programme as a tool to promote technological advances.490 Besides that, it is seen as a driving force for sustainable development, innovation and lifecycle thinking.491 Innovative procurement will account for 10 % of all public procurement by the end of the parliamentary term.492 In order to achieve this target, the progress will be monitored annually. Cooperation at the practical level and training possibilities for purchasing entities will be increased.493 There is also a plan to expand the exclusion criteria for environmental, violations in APPCC (1397/2016).494 So far, the problem has been that it is difficult to exclude a tenderer on the basis of environmental violation.
The focus of climate change mitigation should be on national and local policies, since the decisions made at the grassroot level have direct impacts on the GHG emissions. Govern-ments cannot implement policies on their own. Over 60 % of municipalities in Finland wish that state would support their climate work economically.495 In addition, climate change pol-icy is inefficient on its own but needs to be implemented and addressed to economic activi-ties such as public procurement purchasing processes.496