Prime Minister Kallas: The green policy action plan is earmarked for approval this autumn

The new composition of the committee was presented with an overview of a report drafted during the term of the previous government analysing Estonia's actions to date in implementing green policy and presenting the government with recommendations for the coming years so that progress can be made in the implementation of green-policy actions.

The experts view the green transition as a good opportunity for Estonia to maintain the competitiveness of its economy and to ensure that it is better able to cope with energy and security crises. The experts say that the issues covered during the session are of the utmost importance in guaranteeing Estonians as high a quality of life as possible and bolstering the country's ability to combat the dangers arising from climate change.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that an environmentally aware approach will not only help to preserve Estonia's natural environment but also, in the long term, to improve its living environment. "Ensuring food security is very important to Estonia, as is the carefully considered use of land and striking a balance between the potential of the timber industry and the sustainable management of forests," said the head of government, who is leading the work of the Green Policy Steering Committee. "Alongside all of that, we must maintain our country's biodiversity, since for people in Estonia, our natural environment is one of our greatest assets." She added that the expert advisory group's recommendations form significant input in the drafting of the green policy action plan, which the government has earmarked for approval this autumn.

The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Rural Affairs have been tasked with comprehensively analysing the proposals put forward during the session and presenting to the government a further action plan this October.

Minister of the Environment Madis Kallas says that in the current crisis, even more attention must be turned to the search for sustainable, long-term solutions. "In terms of value, the environment and species diversity are priceless and must both be protected," he said. "Energy is the focus of people's attention at the moment, because of course we are all concerned about our ability to cope. The transition to renewables is a sustainable, long-term solution, and the draft act being prepared by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications which will shortly be submitted to the Riigikogu represents a concrete step in that direction, since in it the state sets its objective as being to produce as much renewable electricity by 2030 as the country consumes on an annual basis."

Minister Kallas added that we must also think about how we can preserve our natural resources and both consume and waste less. "I am convinced that we can achieve a lot here without impacting on people's quality of life," he said.

A sustainable food system

The experts note in their report that many of Estonia's agriculture and food-sector indicators are already at the level that the EU average should attain by 2030, which means that more consideration needs to be given to the local level in order to reach the next stage of development. Investments in precision agriculture that will help rein in the risks and environmental burden associated with the use of plant protection products and mineral fertilisers must be increased, and agricultural producers' awareness of integrated plant protection and its implementation must be raised through transfer-of-knowledge measures and curricula at various levels. More attention and resources need to be turned to regions and production systems in which the diversity of agricultural landscapes needs to be boosted and contributions made to ensuring the preservation of biodiversity. The implementation of animal health programmes needs to be supported in the animal husbandry sector in order to reduce the use of antimicrobial substances and to improve animal health and welfare. In the organic sector, measures are sought to be adopted that will help to make organic producers more competitive.

"In Estonia, 22% of agricultural land is used for organic production, but the actual amounts of organic produce remain modest and the cost-effectiveness of such production leaves something to be desired," explained Ants-Hannes Viira, a senior researcher at the Estonian University of Life Sciences and a member of the expert advisory group. "We ought to be turning more attention to production volume, to boosting productivity and to establishing a market that favours the wider use of organic products. That would ensure that Estonian organic produce reaches more consumers."

Adapting to climate change

The experts explained that while Estonia has experienced very little impact in terms of adapting to climate change to date, it was reflected last summer in energy prices when, for example, there was insufficient water to keep the nuclear reactors in France running and coal was unable to be transported along the Rhine in the normal quantities because of the low water level in the river. "These impacts do reach us eventually, and on top of that we have ever hotter summers posing a health risk to the people living in Estonia," said Lauri Tammiste, the director of the Stockholm Environment Institute in Tallinn.

In regard to adapting to climate change, attention so far has mostly been focussed on the natural environment and ability to perform rescue operations. However, climate-related threats also need to be taken into account in agriculture and land use, spatial planning, the bioeconomy, the construction of buildings and infrastructure, energy and ensuring supply security.

"People in Estonia are definitely environmentally aware, but they tend to view climate change as a global problem rather than associating it with their own lives or country," Tammiste said. "Neither is it clear what climate risks mean for each and every local government, which is why they are not really taken into account in spatial planning and design, even though both can significantly ameliorate or magnify the consequences of climate change." In the view of the experts, the risks that bring climate change-induced migration pressure and vulnerability in global supply chains to Estonia should already be coming under analysis.

Biodiversity, land use and the enhancement of bioresources

The experts warned that the indicators of the state of Estonia's natural environment are worsening at the landscape, ecosystem and species levels alike. Outside of protected areas the state of the environment is poor, and protected areas alone cannot guarantee natural diversity and the preservation of the benefits that nature offers. Intensity of land use is growing and settlements and infrastructure are expanding.

Aveliina Helm, a professor of restoration ecology at the University of Tartu, remarked that how we treat our natural environment is of enormous importance not only to the climate, but also to the other species that live on our land.

"Nature being in a healthy state is the foundation of our entire living environment," she said. "The landscapes we have in Estonia - our forests, our bogs, our meadows - are the greatest ally we have in alleviating the scope and impact of climate change. That is precisely why it is so worrying that our land-use practices have transformed Estonian nature into a greenhouse gas emitter rather than a binder, which is to say it is no longer mitigating the impact of climate change, but contributing to it. It is very important that we strive to achieve the kind of land use that values nature as a whole and its significance in reducing the effects of climate change."

Estonia's ability to improve the status of the environment through targeted action is underscored by the fact that in protected areas, for example, nature is doing better than in unprotected areas.

The experts say that more attention needs to be turned to preserving nature, including outside of protected areas. "At least 30% of our land and 30% of our coastal waters should be under protection, but preservation and restoration of the environment should be valued elsewhere in cities and natural spaces," Helm advised. "We need to be looking for ways to promote biodiversity alongside everything else we promote, and to do it everywhere. There are a lot of options in this regard in forestry, agriculture, spatial planning, road construction, the building of infrastructure and other areas." The experts also noted that where large-scale developments are concerned, their impact on biodiversity and the climate should be assessed prior to an investment decision being made and that the promotion and restoration of biodiversity should form part of total budgeting for new structures going forward.

Since the fields of biodiversity, land use and the enhancement of bioresources are so extensive, the committee's discussions in regard to them are set to continue.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

More information about the proposals made by the expert advisory group can be found online at https://www.valitsus.ee/media/4870/download.

At its previous session in May, the Green Policy Steering Committee was presented with the proposals made by the expert advisory group on how to make the transition to a greener economic model affordable for people and how to accelerate the development of a research-intensive green and circular economy. See: https://www.valitsus.ee/uudised/rohekomisjon-arutas-kuidas-tagada-et-rohepoore-inimeste-heaolu-arvestaks

On 29 March the government reviewed the Green Policy Steering Committee's recommendations on mobility and spatial planning. See: https://www.valitsus.ee/uudised/rohekomisjon-tutvus-ettepanekutega-tarkadeks-valikuteks-liikuvuses-ja-ruumiplaneerimises

A discussion of energy recommendations took place on 18 March. See: https://www.valitsus.ee/uudised/rohepoliitika-eksperdid-julgeolekukriisis-meie-kohustus-kiirendada-rohepooret

The names of the members of the expert advisory group can be found online at https://www.valitsus.ee/uudised/tana-sai-kinnitatud-rohepoliitika-eksperdiruhma-koosseis.

Photo: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA8eBC

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