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It will remove bicycle lanes from the sidewalks of 150 streets
On 21 October, the Finnish City of Helsinki reported that it will remove bicycle lanes from the sidewalks of several streets in the suburbs. In other words, it will give pedestrians more space to walk safely and freely, without fearing that they may end up colliding with a cyclist.

The European Union and its member states are committed to building circular and sustainable societies and to reducing carbon emissions. Thus, their support for different projects that advance these goals should come as no surprise.
One of the latest such initiatives is Finland’s CircularHoodFood project, part of the country’s 6Aika Strategy, which brings together six large cities, including Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku and Oulu.
While urban farming is already extremely popular in Finland, with citizens growing industrial amounts of food within their own households, CircularHoodFood will make the practice even easier to pick up and develop.

The plans for these projects were approved by the Finnish government earlier this year but work is now set to finally begin

Stockholm Exergi, a joint venture between Finnish utility Fortum and the city of Stockholm, is exploring the possibility of making the Swedish capital’s district heating the world’s first to become carbon negative.
As a first step, the company this spring will close its last coal-fired boiler for power and heat production at the Värtaverket combined-cycle plant in Stockholm.
Stockholm Exergi already in 2016 had replaced most of Värtaverket’s coal-based production with biofuels.
The company is now investigating whether a carbon capture system (CCS) could be utilized at Värtaverket, which would turn the plant carbon negative. Based on the pilot in progress, bio-CCS is also a cost-effective alternative for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the company claims.

Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires decarbonising the whole economy, including the energy-hungry heating sector, says Finland's Riku Huttunen. And that will involve cooperation at all levels of government, including local and EU authorities, he argues.

In Finland, city regionalism has transformed from a national strategy to promote balanced regional development (i.e., the Nordic welfare state model) into an ostensibly transnational process designed to connect particular regions of Finland – most notably Greater Helsinki – into the global knowledge economy. The net result of this process is to produce a particular state form, which can be described as the “metropolis state”. This refers to how city-regionalism is used selectively in national political discourse in order to develop the country as a whole into a more globalized and competitive place; one which is presumably more attractive to transnational capital and inward investment.

Climateinfo, produced by Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY, has developed an online climate training service that anyone can join free of charge. Climate training is meant for all those interested in leading more climate-friendly lives. The training programmes take four weeks each and comprise a weekly letter, training videos, weekly tasks, a closed Facebook group and live chats.

Nearly 70% of Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions are generated by households therefore residents play a key role in a cities’ climate goals.

Finland is set to embrace a decarbonised future by increasing carbon taxes and introducing laws in 2018 that will begin to phase out the use of coal, with more nuclear capacity waiting to offer an alternative fuel source.

On average, participants can earn around EUR 2 per kilometre
From Saturday 10 July, cyclists in Helsinki will be able to earn money doing what they love whilst simultaneously helping the municipality repair damaged streets. This was announced on 28 June when the City of Helsinki shared that all residents are invited to take part in a game to map out 300 kilometres of cycling paths in the capital.

Afin d'inciter à la réduction des émissions de carbone, la ville de Lahti, en Finlande, offre à ses habitants titres de transport et denrées alimentaires comme récompenses, au titre d'"éco-citoyens". Pour cela, les citadins utilisent une application dédiée.

Interview with Anni Sinnemäki, Deputy Mayor of Helsinki (Finland): why ambitious local governments are crucial for reaching international climate targets

The Mayor of Finland's capital launched a campaign on Wednesday aimed at tackling climate change called the Helsinki Challenge competition. During a Helsinki Symposium at City Hall, Mayor Jan Vapaavuori promised one million euros to whoever can devise an energy production method that would replace coal burning for heat in the capital city.

Finland has brought forward its coal phase-out date by one year, according to reports, with the new deadline set for May 1, 2029, after which coal will be banned from use as an energy source except in an emergency.