On February 28th, an official of the Finnish parliament saidthat the Finnish parliament passed the government’s proposal to ban the use ofcoal from May 1, 2029 on the 27th. The official said that by 2029, Finnishenergy utility giant Fortum and other coal-fired power plants operating inenergy companies will have to stop production, and these companies will alsoreceive partial cost compensation.

Statistics from the Finnish Bureau of Statistics show that inthe first nine months of 2018, coal-fired power generation accounted for 8% oftotal energy consumption in Finland.

“Our plan to withdraw from coal has been plannedfor a long time and is now approved. It will take effect on May 1, 2029. Thislegislation will ban coal from being used as an energy source,” said LauriTenhunen, senior adviser to the Finnish Parliament Business Council. Lauriesaid that the proposal stipulates that coal can only be used in emergencysituations after May 1, 2029.

In 2017, Finland became one of the co-founders of ThePowering Past Coal Alliance, and the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs andEmployment said that Finland planned to completely eliminate coal in the energysector in 2030.