Finland's energy future will rest on water, nuclear, wood, wind and bio waste, SAK says

(Helsinki 13.12.2009 - Juhani Artto) The price of electricity is more important or critical for Finland than for most other countries. It is not only due to the cold climate and long distances in this sparsely populated northern country but also due to the major role the energy intensive industry plays in Finland's economy.

This is one of the starting points in the 27 page "discussion paper" on climate change and energy published on December 7 by SAK, the largest union confederation in Finland. The price of electricity has to be maintained at a reasonably low cost level so as not to threaten the competitiveness of industry and to ensure that energy consumption doesn&#;8217t eat up too large a proportion of people’s income.

As to global and European issues SAK primarily refers to recent policy statements made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). SAK is an affiliated member of both.

Renewable energy from the forest industry

Energy investments must, of necessity, favour low and zero emission solutions. In Finland this means construction of more nuclear, water and wind- powered plants, SAK says. It also sees possibilities to expand - in terms of electricity generation- the utilisation of bio waste and wood. In the near future several coal power plants will come to the end of their life cycle. "If that capacity can be replaced by cleaner energy production, the consequences for the climate will naturally be positive."

It would also bring Finland closer to reaching the ambitious goal, set for Finland in the EU's climate and energy programme, to produce up to 38 per cent of energy end consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020. The destiny and success of this demand very much depends on how the forest industry fares in the future as presently 70 per cent of the renewable energy used in Finland is generated by the forest industry.

SAK supports the Finnish government's policy to enable Finland become more self-sufficient in the energy sector. It is a demanding challenge, especially when one considers that, in recent years, more than half of Finland’s energy and energy raw material and anything from 12 to 20 per cent of the electricity used in Finland, has been imported.

Cooperation on environmental issues in companies

As far as the subject of emissions is concerned SAK rejects solutions that would place EU countries in an unfavourable and disadvantageous position vis à vis countries in other areas of the world. The best way to tackle this threat would be to reach a global agreement on emission reductions, SAK outlines.

SAK proposes both national and EU economic support for employees and industries that will suffer from decisions made to prevent climate change.

The SAK document is fairly optimistic when it comes to so called green jobs. "Developing environmental technology may open new export opportunities for Finnish companies." In recent years this has been recognised also by the government, and the sector has been included in the government's export promotion programmes.

Finally, SAK wants environmental issues included on the agenda of employee-employer cooperation within companies. Environmental issues should be added, in the legislation, to the tasks of safety representatives and safety committees.