Embassies show interest in Finnish Environmental Expertise

Lahti Science and Business Park Ltd
Press Bulletin 5 November 2009

The 'Climate & Cleantech Finland - Copenhagen and Beyond' forum organised for foreign diplomats accredited to Finland was a great success, the number of participants exceeding the organisers' estimates. Held at Sibelius Hall in Lahti on Thursday 5 November, the event attracted no fewer than 40 attendees representing 30 countries, including 18 ambassadors, for instance those of the USA, China, India, Ukraine and Mexico.

The event was organised by Lahti Science and Business Park Ltd together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) and Finpro. Finland's environmental goals, our environmental technology strengths, climate challenges and the cleantech functions of the city of Lahti were all packaged into a concise two-hour info spot.

Pekka Huhtaniemi, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, expressed the wish that industrialised countries should not resort to protectionism. The economy is recovering and must be given a chance. "The trade in environmental products may have a significant impact on economic recovery, and new technologies are needed to adapt to climate change," he said.

Tellervo Kylä-Harakka-Ruonala, Director of EK, summarised the basic challenge of energy and climate policy as securing energy availability at a reasonable price while effectively combating climate change - all this at the same time. According to her, a universal and incentive-favouring climate convention is the answer. "A successful climate policy will be triply beneficial. Firstly, efficient emission cuts worldwide; secondly, a level playing field for businesses; and thirdly, an emerging market in clean technology," she said.

Director Mari Pantsar-Kallio from Lahti Science and Business Park Ltd reported on the dual operations of the national environmental technology cluster that she is coordinating. "The environmental technology that has been under development in Finland for a long time can now be offered to developing countries. On the other hand, ongoing projects represent opportunities for foreign companies to invest in Finland. There is huge business potential in water supply, energy and waste management, on both sides," she said.

The other speakers at the event were Jyrki Myllyvirta, City Manager of Lahti, and Jorma Turunen, Managing Director of Finpro.

"A very thorough presentation which gave a good overview of Finland's strategies in general and the top names in the cleantech business in particular," said Huang Zing, the Chinese ambassador. "There were a lot of new things for me here; I have only been in Finland less than three months. You have a lot of dependable cleantech technology which will help in managing large problems such as climate change," Huang continued.

The Indian ambassador Om Prakash considered that Finnish environmental technology has potential on the Indian market, and indeed cooperation is already in progress. "The challenges in India are enormous. We have millions of people who do not even have electricity yet, and progress is not possible without energy. We must balance these two challenges - environment and the climate on the one hand, and economic development on the other," he said.

Presentations and speeches:

Welcome to Lahti, the Cleantech City | Jyrki Myllyvirta, Mayor, City of Lahti

Climate policy and trade aspects
Pekka Huhtaniemi, Under-Secretary of State, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Business perspectives to climate policy and Cleantech Finland
Tellervo Kylä-Harakka-Ruonala, Director, Confederation of Finnish Industries, EK

Cleantech Finland at Bright Green, Copenhagen
Jorma Turunen, President & CEO, Finpro

Finnish Cleantech Cluster - Providing solutions to global climate challenges
Mari Pantsar-Kallio, Director, PhD, Lahti Science and Business Park Ltd & Finnish Cleantech Cluster

Photos taken by the Photographer Markus Henttonen
Please note: The photos available in that link can be used only for personal purposes. If you are interested to use them for commercial purposes or wish to have high-resolution versions of them, please contact Ms. Päivi Tirkkola, paivi.tirkkola(at)lahtisbp.fi or +358 3 8114 200.

Further information:

Mari Pantsar-Kallio
Director | Lahti Science and Business Park Ltd & Finnish Cleantech Cluster
+358 (0)50 402 6919 | mari.pantsar-kallio(at)lahtisbp.fi