Finland 2023

The International Energy Agency (IEA) regularly conducts in-depth peer reviews of the energy policies of its member countries. This process supports energy policy development and encourages the exchange of international best practices and experiences to help drive secure and affordable clean energy transitions.

Finland has set one of the most ambitious climate targets in the world, a legal obligation to reach carbon neutrality by 2035. It has made notable progress towards this target, deploying the first new nuclear reactor in Europe in over 15 years and strongly expanding wind generation. Thanks to the progress Finland has made on its clean energy transition, the country has the second lowest share of fossil fuels in its energy supply among IEA members. It is also reducing its reliance on Russian energy imports and ensuring energy security by increasing imports from other countries, raising domestic renewable energy production and improving energy efficiency.

Despite these notable successes in clean energy and energy security, significant challenges remain. Imported fossil fuels still account for over a third of the energy supply while some areas of the Finnish economy, such as transport and key industrial activities, remain dependant on fossil fuels. Also, land use change and forestry in Finland, which have historically offset a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, became a net source of emissions for the first time in 2021.

In this report, the IEA provides a range of energy policy recommendations to help Finland smoothly manage the transition to a secure, efficient and flexible carbon neutral energy system.