Finland Set to Become First Country in the World to Ban Coal

The Finnish government has announced plans to introduce a coal ban, because it is one of the the dirtiest fuels on the planet, by 2030.

“Finland is well positioned to be among the first countries in the world to enact a law to ban coal … This will be my proposal,” Minister of Economic Affairs Olli Rehn told.

According to The Independent, the “Energy and Climate Strategy for 2030 and Beyond” is the country’s plan to phase out coal within 14 years. Finland aims to turn its energy production carbon-neutral by 2050 with plans to switch its traditional energy sources to biofuels and renewable energy.

The strategy will be presented to the Finnish parliament for approval in March.

Currently, Finland gets only 8 percent energy from coal, mostly imported from Russia. Renewable sources and nuclear make up 45 percent and 34 percent respectively.

Regardless of the favourable circumstances, it would still be radical if Finland became the first country to bring in a law banning coal. That puts it ahead of other nations that have been looking for ways to end their relationship with the fuel.

Finland is not the only country trying to stamp out coal—other European countries as well as Canada have similar plans. The state of Oregon also wants to phase out the carbon-polluting fuel.

Several – including the UK, Austria and the Netherlands – have announced plans to phase coal out within 10 or 15 years. France’s prime minister announced last week that the country will shut all its coal plants by 2023.

However, this approach has “more degrees of freedom” than a ban, says Lund.

Canada, for example, announced on Monday that it would phase out traditional coal by 2030. But its roadmap permits provinces to carry on using coal beyond this date provided they reduce emissions with carbon capture and storage.