According to Jaano Haidla, chair of the EMPL's board, the union supports the draft's goals of mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as creating the conditions for a clean and greenhouse gas-free economy. However, in their view, the draft does not meet those goals.

"Instead, those who created this draft have concentrated on the legal fixation of the overall and intermediate targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the focus should be on realistic actions, which would create the preconditions for meeting the challenges of climate change as well as for the growth of the economy, including the general well-being of the Estonian people," Haidla said.

According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft, to meet the draft's objectives, the state will need to invest €3 billion by 2040, with a further €11 billion coming from the private sector.

"Without the private sector, it will not be possible to meet climate targets. This makes it all the more incomprehensible that the Climate Act and the related amendments to the Forest Act and the Nature Conservation Act are being processed without their joint impact being assessed. It is also unclear what the targets are in absolute terms, what the timetable is for implementation of the measures and where the funds will be found," Haidla said.

The EMPL believes the draft should not move forward until relevant impact assessments have been completed and presented to all affected parties and the public.

In Ethe MPL's view, the draft Climate Resilient Economy bill does not contribute in any way to the development of Estonia's domestic bioeconomy. "The opportunities available in this sector to adapt to climate change and for more active carbon sequestration have been completely missed," Haidla said.

This week, the Estonian Employers' Confederation also announced that it would not coordinate the Climate Resilient Economy Act. According to the confederation, the purported aim of the act is to increase the competitiveness of the economy and stimulate economic growth, though this appears to remain only a theoretical premise rather than having any tangible practical outcomes.

The confederation believed that, in its current form, the draft does not provide the necessary legal and investment certainty for the private sector, and is merely a meaningless framework. This makes the necessity of the law and its potentially positive impact on the business environment questionable.

There are approximately 3,900 companies operating in the forest and timber sector in Estonia. The sector has contributed €1.15 billion to the Estonian national budget, accounting for 11 percent of the country's total tax revenue.

The Ministry of Climate sent the draft Climate Resilient Economy Act bill and its accompanying explanatory memorandum forward for public consultation at the beginning of August,  awaited feedback until 5 September. On the basis of the feedback received, the ministry has promised to introduce improvements before submitting the law to the Riigikogu this fall.

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