Making Helsinki carbon neutral

The goal of Helsinki City Strategy 2021–2025 is to create a carbon-neutral Helsinki by 2030. When this goal is reached, operations taking place in Helsinki will no longer warm up the climate.

Solar panels on the roof of the office building
Maija Astikainen, © Maija Astikainen / Helsingin kaupunki

Significant progress has already been made with continuous climate work. In 2020, Helsinki’s emissions were 33 percent smaller than those in 1990, even though the number of residents had increased by 150,000. Per resident, the emissions were calculated to be approximately 49 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

One fifth 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 further development in vehicle technology.

Among the actions are:

Photo Maija Astikainen
Accessibility in Helsinki - getting around Helsinki is easy on a metro

More energy-efficient buildings

The heating of buildings causes 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 and locally produced heat and power are 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). 

Because only a small percentage of all buildings located in Helsinki are owned by the City, it is important to encourage residents and organisations to take part in reducing emissions. The buildings owned by the City hold 11% of the emission reduction potential of the entire building stock of Helsinki. The majority of the measures to reduce emissions are financially attractive to building owners in the long term. They often improve livability as well.

Among the actions are:

Making provisions for emission-free thermal and wind energy

Photo Beatrice Bucht
a building with many windows in the Pasila district of Helsinki

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 will be stopped entirely. The Hanasaari coal plant closed in 2023 and the use of coal at the Salmisaari plant has closed 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.

Helsinki wants to serve as a platform for new, sustainable and innovative solutions and launched in years 2020 and 2021 the international Helsinki Energy Challenge. The challenge sought solutions that would enable the city to be heated sustainably in the coming decades without coal and with as little biomass as possible. The winner of the challenge was announced in March 2021. 

Among the actions are:

Photo Jussi Hellsten
Solar panels (1)

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:

More information

More information about Helsinki’s climate actions, objectives and monitoring at helsinginilmastoteot.fi

You can follow the progress being made in Helsinki’s climate programme on the Climate Watch website. (in Finnish).