For mutual benefit
Conflicts impact the climate by accelerating environmental degradation, destroying natural carbon sinks and driving up greenhouse gas emissions. War-related destruction, such as burning infrastructure, deforestation and soil pollution, does harm ecosystems. “I would say such situations underline the need for transformation to clean energy,” Sari Multala, minister for climate & environment, Finland, told Business India. Nearly 95 per cent of electricity produced in Finland is fossil-free, which includes a mix of nuclear, wind and hydropower varieties. Usage of coal has dropped by 50 per cent year on year and is nearly eliminated from the national energy mix.
While there is a need to move to cleaner options, there is also an urgency to reuse and recycle products to save the environment, as it would reduce the carbon footprint. There is a need to promote the circular economy – which is an economic system based on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products, especially as a means of continuing production in a sustainable way, which is environment-friendly.
India is hosting the World Circular Economy Forum this autumn; it was held in Finland last year. “We see the circular economy as the business model, where we can actually try to reduce the use of natural resources by recycling them. For instance, in Finland, one of the most effective and successful re-use is of bottles/cans one uses for beverages. There are drop boxes for used bottles/cans at supermarkets; a customer also gets points, which he/she can use in the next purchase,” affirmed Multala, adding that Finland is the first country in the world that has a circular economy roadmap.
Finland also happens to be among the countries that rank high in domestic consumption per capita. “So, definitely, there is a lot of room for improvement for us,” the minister said. “But I think more and more companies have started to see this as an opportunity. Raw materials often need a lot of energy or are hard to find. I think this is a model that we have to move towards, and it has to then be included in our societies”.
Finland aims to be a zero-waste society by 2050. Nearly 90 per cent of the plastic bottles and 100 per cent of the glass bottles are returned via machines.
India, too, is catching up and has various projects and policies in place to reuse recycled products like textiles and paper. India generates over a million tonnes of textile waste annually, of which over 70 per cent is recovered and processed into new fibre, such as car seat stuffings or cleaning rags. “We try to include the circular economy in our societies through legislation,” she added. “There are strategies and roadmaps as well as volunteers to help achieve these goals”.
Renewing MoUs
Finland and India have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (of 2020) on environmental co-operation to deepen collaboration on pollution prevention and control, waste management, climate change, forests and natural resource management. “I am happy to note that the MoU has been renewed; this will deepen collaboration through knowledge and technology co-operation,” said Bhupender Yadav, minister for environment, forest & climate change, government of India.
Meanwhile, Neste of Finland (which produces renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel SAF) is actively expanding into India to support the aviation industry’s decarbonisation efforts. “Neste is now collecting used cooking oil to produce aviation fuels and sustainable fuels in India,” said Multala.
Elematic Olj, also of Finland and a leading supplier of precast concrete production technology worldwide, is driving sustainable, rapid construction work in India in its facility in Alwar, Rajasthan. The company provides energy-efficient machinery and waste-reducing technology; it also uses local materials in its work. Elematic’s technology enables a lower carbon footprint and faster, safer, high-quality building projects.
“We have one company that works in different countries, including India, where you can collect the low-value plastic and build elements for construction,” Multala explained. “There are a lot of business opportunities in this sector in India and Finland. There could be mutual benefits of co-operation for the circular economy in India – not just at the governments’ level but also in the private sector.”