The Climate Resilient Economy Act, sent out for a round of public feedback by the Ministry of Climate on Monday, aims to help reduce emissions and establish sector-specific guidelines on how to achieve this.

Environmental organizations, however, are not satisfied with the draft bill. According to the Estonian Council of Environmental NGOs and NGO Save Estonia's Forests, the draft climate law delays the reduction of Estonia's greenhouse gas emissions and fails to protect people from the worsening impacts of climate change.

The draft allows the oil shale industry to increase emissions by almost half and permits continued overlogging of forests, but the necessary approach should be the opposite, the organizations argue.

Maia-Liisa Anton, coordinator of the Estonian Council of Environmental NGOs, told ERR that when the Ministry of Climate published a summary of the climate law in May, they provided comprehensive feedback highlighting the same major concerns now present in the completed draft.

"We believe the overall emission reduction target is too modest and does not meet our international obligations under the Paris Agreement. This is our most fundamental concern," Anton said.

Henrik Välja, CEO of the Estonian Forest and Wood Industry Association, said there are both commendable aspects and those that need improvement in the draft. Currently, he believes it hasn't sufficiently addressed whether and to what extent the law will advance the Estonian economy.

"How will it affect the competitiveness of our companies and thus the nation's viability and the well-being of Estonian people? Are we making things better or worse with this law in the current difficult situation? Society needs an answer to this question before this law is passed, which is when a decision can be made," Välja said.

Additionally, he noted that the draft appears very general at first glance, leaving room to make substantive and impactful decisions later by referring to the framework law without adequate involvement and analysis.

"This would be very poor legislative practice that should be avoided," Välja stated.

On a positive note, he highlighted that the draft emphasizes the importance of using and adding value to local resources and developing renewable energy.

"The use of clean energy in production is increasingly gaining attention worldwide, and if our industry can use more competitively priced renewable energy, it will undoubtedly support the development of companies and attract new innovation-creating industrial investments to the region," Välja said.

Environmental organizations also see some positive aspects in the draft. Anton confirmed they are very pleased that a climate law is being drafted at all, as Estonia currently lacks legally binding climate targets, which the Supreme Court highlighted as a significant issue in its ruling on the oil plant. Therefore, the law is certainly necessary but not ambitious enough.

State expects major investment from the private sector

The CEO of the Estonian Forest and Wood Industry Association noted that, according to the ministry's calculations, the state needs to invest €3 billion by 2040 to meet the draft law's goals, while the private sector needs to invest €11 billion.

"These are very large sums, and without private sector investments, it will not be possible to meet climate targets. For companies to make these investments, the economic environment must be attractive and provide a sense of security for investors," Välja said.

Based on this, the association believes that, in addition to the Ministry of Climate, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, led by the minister of economic affairs and industry and his team, should also be responsible for implementing the law.

Elena Sapp, head of the environmental sector at the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, said they generally understand the climate law. The draft has been discussed with members, and the goals set for the sector have been agreed upon in working groups.

"However, the implementation of the law remains unclear since much important information currently only exists at the explanatory memorandum level," she said.

Sapp pointed out that transferring the general objective of the Effort Sharing Regulation, which is a 24 percent reduction in emissions, to the agricultural sector is not realistic without significantly reducing the number of animals and the amount of agricultural land in use. This would lead to negative social and economic impacts, such as a significant decrease in the sector's total value and export value, reduced incomes, job losses and decreased food self-sufficiency.

According to Sapp, the combined impact of the measures must be assessed when developing the objectives and additional measures.

"Since Estonia's livestock density is one of the lowest in the EU, reducing the number of animals, for example, may limit the reduction of mineral fertilizer use, as it would require increasing the use of organic fertilizers, including animal manure. The use of organic fertilizers is also important for increasing soil carbon sequestration capacity," Sapp said.

She added that it is not yet possible to quantify the impact of all potential additional measures due to the lack of baseline data or methodology and to consider them in the greenhouse gas inventory.

Conservationists: Estonia must stick to the Paris Agreement

Environmental organizations want the new law to be based on the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping the global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius and to set more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, according to Anton, the goals set in the draft law would likely result in a temperature increase of more than two degrees.

Laura Vilbiks, a climate policy expert at the Estonian Fund for Nature, stated that a temperature rise of up to two degrees in our region would lead to more frequent extreme storms, rains, floods and heatwaves.

"Temperature fluctuations, droughts and pests would, in turn, threaten agriculture and food security. Health risks would also increase for those who find it harder to adapt to extreme weather conditions – the elderly, people with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses," said Vilbiks.

Environmental organizations are also dissatisfied that while Estonia's current national energy and climate plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, the draft climate law sets this target at only 59 percent.

The environmental organizations plan to submit their amendments to the draft law, but considering that these suggestions have been made repeatedly, Anton did not think it very likely they would be taken into account.

"Our major concern is that this draft does not consider that the worsening climate and environmental crisis is causing increasing economic damage. As the climate crisis deepens, it will be impossible to protect the economy, and this should be a concern for the entire society, not just environmental organizations," said Anton.

The Ministry of Climate expects amendment proposals to the draft climate law in September. The draft is expected to be submitted to the Riigikogu for processing in November.

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