Baltic Rim Economies 1/2022

Special issue on energy and environment

Published on the 28th of February 2022

The European Green Deal and its impact on the Baltic Sea Region

“The European Commission confirmed the European Green Deal as the top priority of this Commission already in December 2019. It sets out the key priorities to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while ensuring that the transition is just and inclusive for all. This is, like President Ursula Von der Leyen said, Europe’s “man on the moon moment”. To get there, the EU has put into the law the higher target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% by 2030, compared to 2020 levels.”

Kadri Simson
Commissioner for Energy
European Commission

The Greener the Deal, the Greener our Future

“Climate change remains one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Science has been very clear that we must strive to keep the global temperature rise to 1,5 degrees Celsius to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change. Although internationally progress was achieved in the context of the Glasgow Climate Pact, much work remains ahead of us to implement the promises we have made in Paris and in Glasgow.”

Artūrs Toms Plešs
Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development
Republic of Latvia

Don’t forget the blue over the green

“The European Green Deal is a well known European legislative framework. It gives principles and guidance on how to reach climate neutrality and an overall environment friendly approach within the EU legislation and everything which is linked to it such as funding criteria or quotas.”

Rasmus Andresen
Member of the European Parliament
Head of Delegation of the German Greens

European Green Deal and circular economy in Finland

“The greatest challenges of our time are climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution. By harming the climate and the environment, we are only harming ourselves. Nature or the atmosphere do not need people for anything, but people cannot do without a functioning ecosystem. Our wellbeing in the future is linked to meeting climate and environmental challenges.”

Saara-Sofia Sirén
MP, Member of Environment Committee and Grand Committee
Parliament of Finland

Baltic Rim Economies 1/2022 includes the following Expert articles

Kadri Simson: The European Green Deal and its impact on the Baltic Sea Region

Janusz Steinhoff: Challenges for the Polish power sector

Artūrs Toms Plešs: The Greener the Deal, the Greener our Future

Erki Savisaar: The European Green Deal and Estonia

Jovita Neliupšienė, Osvaldas Šmitas & Audrius Masiulionis: Channelling the competitive advantage by the greening of the economy

Niels Fuglsang: Energy efficiency can solve three major crises in Europe

Rasmus Andresen: Don’t forget the blue over the green

Riho Terras: The Green Deal must be a thought-out transition not a precipitous switch

Saara-Sofia Sirén: European Green Deal and circular economy in Finland

Sari Rautio: How can the Green Deal start the renaissance of Baltic Sea Region?

Rüdiger Strempel: The cost of degradation: a price tag on the Baltic Sea

Andreas Goldthau & Nick Sitter: The EU Green Deal and economic competitiveness

Michael Krug & Maria Rosaria Di Nucci: Renewable energy communities under the Green Deal: Enablers of a socially just transition?

Gerlind Wagner-Vogel: How to engage citizens to establish renewable community energy projects

Simon Bonnel: Infrastructure for Europe’s Green Deal

Aleksandra Gawlikowska-Fyk: Poland and the European Green Deal

Krzysztof Tomaszewski: The European Green Deal from the perspective of the Polish energy sector

Thomas Sattich, Rasa Morgan & Espen Moe: Lithuania – ahead of the European Green Deal

Reinis Āboltiņš: Embracing the mentality of sustainability

Maili Vilson: Can Estonia achieve the goals of the EU’s Green Deal?

Marco Siddi: The European Green Deal and EU-Russia relations

Simone Tagliapietra: Developing a green industrial policy for the European Green Deal

Juha Marttila: Green Deal and Finnish agriculture

Ilsa Godlovitch: ICT and energy efficiency: the two sides of the equation

Eugen Rusu: Perspectives of wind energy extraction in the Baltic Sea in the context of the European Green Deal

Kamila Pronińska: Baltic offshore wind role in Poland’s energy transition

Oliwia Mróz-Malik: Sea of opportunities – offshore wind energy development potential in Baltic Sea

Andrey Nikishin: Emissions-free electricity for Baltic sustainability

Vaclovas Miskinis & Arvydas Galinis: Energy efficiency trends and driving factors in the Baltic States

Jin-Li Hu: Energy transition under the ESG trend

Erik Trømborg: Biomass for heating – opportunities in the Baltic region

Dilip Khatiwada: Bioenergy as a low carbon energy: Promoting bio-based economy in the Baltic Sea Region

Astrida Miceikienė: The role of digitalization in the development of bioeconomy businesses

Ole Bøssing Christensen & Erik Kjellström: Climate change for the Baltic Region until 2100

Inga Dailidienė: Indicators of climate change in the Baltic Sea region

Aistė Balžekienė: Behavioral change towards climate neutrality in Baltic States

Matúš Mišík: A fossil fuel that supports decarbonisation

Jānis Krūmiņš & Māris Kļaviņš: Geological storage of CO2 in the Baltic States

Salvatore Ruggiero: Energy citizenship and the low-carbon transition

Alla Shogenova: Carbon neutral Baltic Sea Region by 2050

Augusto Bianchini, Riccardo Farneti & Jessica Rossi: Sustainable phosphorus management in the Baltic Sea Region

Susanna Vanhamäki, Johanna Leino & Esa Kokkonen: Smart specialisation supporting circular economy in the Baltic Sea region

Jonas Fischer: The important role of stakeholder collaboration in local energy transitions

Elena A. Tretiakova: Environmental characteristics of economic dynamics in the Northwestern Federal District of Russia

Joanna Pociask-Karteczka: High mountains in the Baltic Sea Basin – „water towers” of the region

Kari Liuhto: The European Green Deal and five myths related to natural gas