Making Helsinki carbon neutral
The goal of Helsinki City Strategy 2021–2025 is to create a carbon-neutral Helsinki by 2030.
Significant progress has already been made with continuous climate work. In 2023, Helsinki’s emissions were 45 percent smaller than those in 1990, even though the number of residents had increased by more than 150,000. Per resident, the emissions were calculated to be approximately 60 percent smaller. However, in order to make Helsinki carbon-neutral, the emissions have to be reduced even more and faster than before. A carbon-neutral Helsinki is being created in collaboration between the residents, the City, businesses and organisations.
Sustainable traffic solutions
In 2025, already half of Helsinki’s emissions comes from traffic. One key requirement is that people reduce their kilometres travelled by car and choose low-emission methods of transport. Becoming carbon-neutral also requires that the share of EVs will increase.
Among the actions are:
- Promoting the use of electric cars by means such as extending the charging network
- Reducing emissions from heavy traffic with equipment choices and environmental criteria
- Reducing emissions from port operations
- Extending parking fee zones
- Promoting walking, cycling and the use of public transport
- Implementing new mobility services
- Reducing distances with dense urban and traffic planning
More energy-efficient buildings
The heating of buildings has until 2025 caused more than half of Helsinki’s emissions. The greatest emission reduction potential lies in energy renovations: for example, when a building is renovated, it can be made significantly more energy-efficient than before.
Very strict and binding energy efficiency requirements have been set for the City’s own building stock in both new constructions and renovations. In addition, local production of renewable energy is being increased. The City’s actions are wide ranging and thereby also wide reaching in their impact, as the requirements apply to all the City’s office premises and service buildings, as well as to all residential buildings operated by Helsingin kaupungin asunnot Oy (Heka).
In the summer of 2023, Helsinki became the first city in Finland to introduce a limit value for the lifecycle carbon footprint of new residential blocks of flats. The limit value for residential blocks of flats is used as a requirement in new local detailed plans. In addition to the plans, the city can set out carbon footprint requirements, for example, in plot competitions and plot transfer terms. The introduction of the limit value was based on the need to control the emissions from residential construction in a material and technology-neutral manner, because the high volume of residential construction makes it a significant source of emissions. The City is exploring the possibility to set limit values also for other use categories.
Among the actions are:
- Providing advisory services to support Helsinki housing companies’ energy renovations and increased use of renewable energy
- Steering district planning more towards carbon neutrality than before
- Improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy in the City’s service and residential buildings
- Taking the entire carbon footprint of construction into account and promoting wooden construction
- Replacing outdoor lights with more energy-efficient alternatives
Energy production
The development programme of Helen Ltd, the energy company owned by the City, is responsible for emission reductions in energy production. Reducing the emissions from electricity production affects the emissions of the entire nation. The use of coal has been stopped entirely. The Hanasaari coal plant closed in 2023 and the use of coal at the Salmisaari plant stopped in April 2025. Abandoning coal will decrease the city’s carbon emissions by 43%. On the national level, the closing of the power plants in Helsinki will reduce the total carbon dioxide emissions of Finland by 5 percent.
Among the actions are:
- Replacing fossil fuels by building heating plants that run on renewable energy
- Utilising waste heat
- Implementing heat pumps
- Utilising the demand response for heat and electricity
- Switching to wind and solar energy in electricity production
- Using electricity storage facilities
- Applying energy solutions of the future.
Towards a smart and clean economy
The procurements form more than 40 percent of the City’s expenses. Helsinki’s goal is to reduce emissions from its own procurements with environmental criteria regarding aspects such as construction materials, food services and ICT equipment. Furthermore, the City creates platforms and opportunities for developing Smart & Clean business activities.
Among the actions are:
- Making the development of climate-friendly products and services in Helsinki as easy as possible
- Developing climate-friendly solutions together with businesses and residents
- Daring to try new things and create pilots, and sharing what we have learned from them
- Developing the City’s procurement criteria so that they encourage operators to provide climate-friendly products and services
- Taking the entire lifecycle of the products and services we procure into account
- Promoting a sharing and circular economy in terms of the use of the City’s facilities, libraries, food management, etc.
- Monitoring our procurements and reporting them in a more methodical manner
- Reinforcing residents’, City employees’ and politicians’ know-how in matters related to climate change and circular economy.
More information
More information about Helsinki’s climate actions, objectives and monitoring at Monitoring of the emissions reduction plan | Climate work in Helsinki | City of Helsinki
