The goal of a 38% increase in the use of renewable energy, would be extremely demanding and costly for Finland to implement. An increase of just one percentage point here is roughly equivalent to the volume of wood used by one pulp mill in an entire year, according to the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.

Emissions trading gives renewable energy sources a competitive advantage and makes wood more appealing as a fuel. Despite this, the European Commission is considering a new ‘green energy’ trading mechanism alongside emissions trading. This new mechanism is unnecessary. It must be left to the Member States themselves to decide how to promote renewable energy sources, as this is the best way to ensure that local conditions are taken into account, the Federation says. The forest industry is the largest producer of renewable energy in Finland by far. Nearly 70% of Finland’s renewable energy is generated as a by-product of the forest industry. About 40% of the wood received by the mills ends up in bioenergy production through a variety of process stages. Further negotiations must focus on scaling and focusing renewable energy promotion measures so as to encourage the bringing of wood and other biomass onto the market. The Finnish Forest Industries Federation considers it important and recommendable to increase the cost-efficient use of renewable energy. All renewable energy sources (biomass, hydropower, wind power, waste and geothermal) and emission-free energy sources such as nuclear power must be considered as options in efforts to curb global warming. Increasing the use of bioenergy in Finland and elsewhere in the EU is possible by improving the availability of wood and by increasing the collecting of wood harvesting waste. Classifying peat as a slowly renewable energy source would also improve the chances of actually achieving the EU’s objectives in the use of renewable energy.