Tampere climate budget: The city, residents and businesses need to work together

For the fifth time, the City of Tampere published a climate budget in its budget to help monitor progress towards the 2030 carbon neutrality target and the resourcing of climate action. Carbon neutrality requires determined collective action and emission targets that are getting tighter every year. The remaining emissions will be offset in a systematic way.  

The climate budget sets out Tampere's 2024 climate emissions cap, i.e. the emissions budget, as well as indicative maximum emissions for 2025 and 2030. The climate budget also includes a financial plan for climate action, which specifies the euros allocated to the city group's climate action in terms of operating expenditure and investments. The implementation of the climate budget is monitored annually in the context of the annual financial statement.

Electricity consumption and district heating are largely in line with the emissions budget  

The emissions budget helps to assess the city's ability to reach the carbon neutrality target in 2030 by combining the emissions projection of the Carbon Neutral Tampere 2030 Roadmap with those climate measures in the Tampere Climate and Environment Watch whose impact can be estimated.

For electricity consumption, climate emissions are best on track to meet the carbon neutrality target. While the energy crisis may have caused emissions from electricity production to rise in the short term, it has also accelerated the transition, especially on the demand side.

Emissions from transport are higher than the target, despite historically low figures for 2021. The latest data on transport emissions for 2022 is 225 kt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), an increase of 6 percent compared to the previous year. The increase is understandable given the lower distribution obligation for transport fuels and the end of the Covid restrictions, but it is bad news for meeting the target.

Reaching the 2030 target will require determined cooperation

The 2024 emissions budget now decided for transport is up to 34 percent below the 2022 emissions (168 ktCO2e). Reaching this target will require determined action by the city, the citizens and businesses.

Emissions trends for district heating have not been in line with the climate budget in recent years, but this has changed with the Naistenlahti 3 Biopower plant. Its technology allows the replacement of peat with wood fuels, which can reduce district heating emissions by up to 160 ktCO2e rapidly. In addition, Tampereen Energia has just published a study on carbon-neutral and fuel-free district heat production for the future.

Waste and waste water seems to be the sector that will not reach the target. However, it is not the emissions from current waste management activities that are at issue, but the calculated emissions from existing landfills, i.e. from the decomposition of waste generated in previous decades. More information is urgently needed on the actual level of emissions and the possibilities for reducing them.

The city's subsidiaries are investing significantly in climate action

The Financial Plan for climate action included in the Climate Budget illustrates the financial contribution of the City of Tampere group to emission reduction activities. Climate action is defined as actions taken primarily to mitigate or adapt to climate change or to promote sustainable mobility. If it is difficult to keep within the emissions budget, the adequacy of the financial contribution to climate action should be examined.

In the 2024 budget the operating expenditure on climate action in the city organisation has increased from the previous year to 24,5 million euros, with 17,1 million euros invested in climate action, representing 2,0 percent of operating expenditure and 7,3 percent of investment relative to the city budget as a whole. Operating expenditure mainly consists of various staff and planning costs and ordering public transport with clean propulsion systems. Other costs consist the maintenance of footpaths and cycle paths. The most significant items of investments relate to the construction of pedestrian and cycle paths, electric buses and their charging infrastructure, the construction of bicycle parking, LED replacements for outdoor lighting and the phasing out of oil heating and the installation of solar panels in the city's building stock.  

The City of Tampere's subsidiaries plan to invest up to 105 million euros in climate action in 2024, representing 38,2 percent of the total investment by the subsidiaries. The most significant part of this consists of tramway infrastructure and fleet, as well as additional investments in the Naistenlahti 3 Biopower plant. In addition, significant investments relate to Tampereen Energia's electric boilers and district heating battery, Tampereen Vesi's network renovations and heating system renovations.