Construction industry high up on Nordic climate agenda

Making the Nordics the world’s most sustainable and integrated region is the central vision for the Nordic cooperation towards 2030. This will be achieved through three strategic priorities, one of which is to promote a green transformation of Nordic societies and work towards a carbon-neutral, sustainable, circular and biobased economy.  

As the construction industry is a major CO2 emitter, a joint 2019 Nordic declaration stated that the countries would fight climate change and reduce emissions from construction. Part of this work would be to integrate the principle of circularity into the construction industry both in the Nordic region and elsewhere in the EU.  

Changes to construction crucial

The Nordic ministers responsible for housing and construction agreed that it would not be possible to achieve the Nordic governments’ goals of making the Nordics a global climate leader without rapid changes to how buildings are constructed and renovated.

Since 2020, a steering group under the Nordic Council of Ministers has been responsible for cooperation aimed at harmonising the Nordic construction sector and secure cuts to CO2 emissions. The steering group meets once a year and will report to the Nordic ministers of industry and housing.  

Cooperation on an EU level

The Nordic ministers cooperate on an EU level on the revision of the Construction Products Regulation, the EU’s mechanism for construction companies’ voluntary reduction of CO2 emissions. They also work to get the EU to introduce rules for how to measure a building’s CO2 emissions during its life span.

The 2021 Finnish Presidency of the Council of Ministers has announced the development of a competence network for a circular economy for the construction industry. It is also promoting Nordic cooperation aimed at increasing the region’s input in international climate processes like the Paris Agreement, while working towards new goals within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.