zemeunvalsts.lv introduction
The year 2023 has arrived. With geopolitical threats, economic problems, and an unpredictable future for many countries and nations. In this situation, everyone first and foremost must think about the interests of their own country. There is no more time.
Also, in regard to climate, environmental, and Green Deal issues and problems, it is the right and final time for Latvia's responsible institutions and their employees to find opportunities to begin close cooperation with our closest neighbours in Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Finland, and Sweden, all for the sake of unified and clear goals. As has been evident so far, in these circumstances and beyond, the experience of our neighbours in defending national interests will be very useful in Latvia at a state level.
The Finnish Ministry of Finance has published its climate and nature strategy to clarify the ministry's actions in policies and measures related to combating climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
“Climate change and the loss of biodiversity are among the most significant problems facing humanity. If they are not addressed, the well-being of future generations will be at risk,” the strategy states.
The Ministry of Finance has divided the risks resulting from crises into physical risks and transition-related risks. It cites floods, droughts, storms, and the potential for agricultural land erosion as examples of the former. Transition-related risks, on the other hand, are caused by measures adopted and implemented to adapt economic and production systems, including the impact on the prices of high-emission products that their producers could not have foreseen when making investment decisions.
“Predicting the potential consequences is difficult, and their severity will likely increase as the process of climate change and biodiversity loss progresses,” the document says.
The Ministry of Finance believes that Finland should be particularly concerned about the indirect consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss, which could affect Finland in terms of food production, supply chains, and climate refugees.
The strategy also takes into account fairness, future costs, and intergenerational choices related to environmental issues. The strategy emphasises that action must be taken immediately, even though the consequences of these actions will only be felt after a few generations, and the costs are unlikely to be distributed evenly across society.
“The government’s main responsibility is to ensure that the transition happens fairly. At the same time, the government must ensure that future generations have the opportunity to decide. This is known as the distribution of the burden between generations.”
The Director General of the Finnish Ministry of Finance, Mikko Spolander (Mikko Spolander), states that the ministry needs its own climate and environment strategy to create a framework or foundation for the work that experts from various departments carry out in relation to drafting legislation, choosing financial management tools, and assessing policy impacts. He explained that the strategy allows the ministry to inform both internally and externally what its responsibilities are and what principles determine its contribution to climate and nature-related policy.
“Climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the excessive use of natural resources form a grim trinity that threatens to fundamentally change society and endanger the well-being of future generations,” M. Spolander says. “These shocks will change the economy, the actions of every individual, and their choices.”
Mikko Spolander explained that the ministry, viewing things from its own perspective and using the tools at its disposal, must identify and propose, for example, economic and administrative instruments; solutions for limiting climate change, biodiversity loss, and excessive consumption.
“For example, financial market regulation and taxation can steer the choices of people and businesses towards achieving climate and nature policy goals,” M. Spolander clarified in a press release.