Climate programme emissions reduction target for Lappeenranta achieved ahead of schedule

Climate programme emissions reduction target for Lappeenranta achieved ahead of schedule

Lappeenranta has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 38% from the 1990 level. This means that the emissions reduction target has been achieved ahead of schedule. The target set in the climate programme for Lappeenranta, approved by the City Council on 28 September 2009, was for Lappeenranta to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in its urban region by 30% by 2020.

To monitor the progress, the emission balance was measured in 2014 by LCA Consulting Oy, commissioned by Lappeenranta Region Environmental Office.

The Director of Lappeenranta Region Environmental Office Ilkka Räsänen estimates that the emissions have reduced quicker than expected because there is less fuel use and fossil fuels have been replaced with renewables in many sectors, such as energy production, electricity consumption, waste management and agriculture.

In Räsänen’s opinion, the most important breakthrough has been the biopower plant in Kaukas, which became operational in 2010 and now supplies most of the city’s district heating. The plant is primarily powered by renewable, wood-based fuel from forest-industry residue.

In addition to energy consumption, the concrete actions of the climate programme for Lappeenranta primarily focus on land-use planning, land acquisition, building regulations, traffic and education.

Ilkka Räsänen finds that municipalities play a key role in the reduction of GHG emissions alongside the industry and energy production.

– Municipal decision-making has a major impact on, for example, people’s attitudes and ways of moving around. Our biggest challenge lies in reducing the emissions from private car use, i.e. how do we get people to start using their car less for short commutes to work and short distances to services. The CO2 emissions from traffic will soon be the largest source of emissions in Lappeenranta. Along with others, a group of students at the Lappeenranta University of Technology is currently seeking solutions to this issue, says Räsänen.

Selected as the Cycling City of the Year in 2015, Lappeenranta has been improving the cycling conditions in a goal-oriented manner in cooperation with active cyclists. The use of public transport is also actively promoted through, for example, ticket product development. In day-care centres and schools, sustainable development values have been incorporated into teaching and everyday activities. Lappeenranta has four schools and one day-care centre which have been granted the Eco-Schools Green Flag certificate.

Energy-efficiency is a key objective in the building of service networks, such as the revamping of the service network for the western parts of the city.

Network cooperation

Lappeenranta continues its climate protection work through interactive cooperation with its partners.

At the initiative of the region’s energy and environmental sector companies, the Green Energy Showroom network was established in 2012, to bring together companies, research competence and the city’s officials in charge of investments. The network introduces a business perspective to the city’s objectives and how to achieve them.

In 2014, the city of Lappeenranta joined the HINKU network of carbon neutral Finnish municipalities. HINKU municipalities set out to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster than other Finnish municipalities, aiming to reduce them by 80% from their 2007 level by 2030. The implementation of the HINKU project is led by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).

Since spring 2015, Lappeenranta has been one of the four pilot cities involved in the Towards resource wisdom project launched by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The aim is to seek and develop means of making Lappeenranta waste-free and carbon-neutral by 2050.

Sitra’s resource-wise cooperation continues in the FISU network, which aims for resource wisdom in five sectors: energy production and consumption, mobility and community structure, consumption and materials, food production and consumption, and water use and water bodies.

Further information

Lappeenranta Region Environmental Office
Director Ilkka Räsänen
tel. +358 400 815 284
ilkka.rasanen@lappeenranta.fi

Project Manager Ville Reinikainen
tel. +358 40 593 1403
ville.reinikainen@lappeenranta.fi

City of Lappeenranta
Director Markku Heinonen
tel. +358 40 581 1998
markku.heinonen@lappeenranta.fi