A group of 195 nations reached a landmark agreement to curb climate change in Paris Saturday. Specifically, the deal will see nations cooperate to keep "the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels."
Finland's main private sector business lobby the EK described the recently-concluded climate talks as a good opportunity, adding that the agreement is an important step towards a more balanced competitive environment and increased demand for clean technology.
The agriculture and forestry group MTK said it was pleased to see that the industry's role as a food producer had been written into the agreement. More importantly there was final recognition of its crucial role in binding carbon emissions.
Critics not fully satisfied
The accord had its critics - NGOs weren't fully satisfied with yesterday's climate pact. Finnish environmental and development organisations issued a joint statement last night, in which they said the accord's goals and stated measures are at odds.
They pointed out that national emission reductions targets were voluntary - and probably wouldn't be enough to accomplish the goal of limiting global temperature increases to below 1.5 degrees during this century. Rather they said, we could see a rise of nearly three degrees without binding measures.
The groups also noted that the warming goals mean that EU and Finnish emissions targets are now dated and would need to be tightened post-Paris. As a result, governments, cities and the private sector would have to roll out concrete and aggressive actions.
On Saturday, head of the Finnish Meteorological Institute Petteri Taalas said that Paris summit goal was “unrealistic” and difficult to attain. He warned that climate change would cause considerable adversity by driving extreme weather.
Agriculture Minister positive on talks
Forestry and Agriculture Minister Kimmo Tiillikainen adopted a more pragmatic tone, saying the climate accord was "expected, inevitable and revolutionary", although "not perfect".
He noted that the agreement showed that the world was now ready to do what it had failed to accomplish before.
Apart from the central goal of limiting temperature increases, the accord also clearly mentions the role conservation and sustainable forest management in offsetting the impact of human actions on the planet.
It also calls on developed countries to help foot the bill for cleaning up the fallout from climate-driven disasters in developing countries – although it is not a legally binding target. A proposed fund is also meant to incentivise developing countries to adopt renewable energy sources rather than coal or oil.