Policy Context

Climate change is an increasingly important policy topic in Finland, with the majority of the discussions evolving around national efforts, R&D, and green transition (industrial policy). There is also a strong emphasis on climate in the current government program, though this is focused on domestic matters.

The key stakeholder for climate is the Ministry of the Environment, which is active in the EU as a key channel for Finland to influence global development. The EU is the key channel for Finland to influence global development. In multilateral cooperation, including international negotiations on environmental agreements, Finland promotes its objectives and the necessary measures through the EU and can thus be a globally influential player. Finland’s strong and diverse environmental expertise provides a good foundation for this.

As a rule, Finland implements the objectives of international agreements through EU legislation:

• Awards discretionary government grants for the activities of nature conservation, environmental, housing and building associations and acquisition of recreational areas;
• Awards government grants for research and development projects; and
• Coordinates certain types of aid granted by the EU (LIFE+ funding and assistance for environmental projects from the EU Structural Funds).

ODA Spending

How much ODA does Finland allocate to climate projects?

In 2021, Finland allocated a total of US$268 million to climate funding, including funding for projects with climate as a principal objective (principal funding) and for projects with significant climate change components (significant funding). This represented 29% of bilateral allocable ODA in 2021, higher than the DAC average of 24%. In 2021, Finland ranked 17^th among DAC donors for its total climate funding and 9^th for its climate funding as a percentage of bilateral ODA.

How is Finland's climate-related ODA changing?

Finland’s climate-related ODA (both principal and significant) both steadily increased between 2018 and 2021. In 2017, Finland’s principal climate funding reached US$175 million (30% of bilateral allocable ODA). However, principal climate funding dropped to US$8 million (1% of bilateral allocable ODA in 2018). Meanwhile, significant funding increased from US$31 million (5%) in 2017 to US$109 million (18%) in 2018.

In 2021, Finland spent US$219 million on climate adaptation, of which US$149 million was cross-cutting projects related to both adaptation and mitigation.