Estonia is expected to earn approximately €500 million from the sale of its CO2 quota over the next four years.

"One decision was to allocate €200 million for the construction of Rail Baltic and approximately €75 million for the development of a joint Rail Baltic and Elron depot in Soodevahe," said Svet.

Another €50 million will be used to renovate apartments and €25 million to reconstruct ships.

"This latest program enables the possibility of bringing significant investments to Estonia," the minister said. "It is estimated that if we invest €25 million, it could generate about twice that amount in revenue for the state budget and increase Estonia's maritime sector turnover by approximately €200 million."

Svet said that the money earmarked for Rail Baltic allows Estonia to cover its own participation in the next years' procurements. "This is a very strong step toward ensuring that Estonia completes its part of Rail Baltic by 2030. It's especially important given that ministers in other Baltic countries are facing similar challenges. Having recently met with them, I feel that if we want them to move quickly, we must be even faster ourselves."

"For us, building Rail Baltic is also important from the perspective that if we manage to complete the railway from Tallinn to Pärnu even slightly earlier than the rest of the infrastructure, we will have the opportunity to launch regional rail services between Tallinn and Pärnu on the same route," he added.

Svet emphasized that both he and the government are committed to finishing the first construction phase by 2030. "We understand that this is an extremely challenging task, both financially and technically. However, it is crucial for ensuring Estonia's connectivity, securing our freight connections for passenger transport, and also in terms of logistics related to national security."

But €200 million euros will not solve all the problems that have arisen, the SDE politician said. "We still need about 400 to 500 million before 2030 and before the new budget period of the European Union starts."

The extra funding boost will allow the project to move forward with procurements that are already being prepared, Svet explained.

ERR asked if there would now be less money for apartment renovation, as CO2 quota money has previously been used to modernize Estonia's housing stock.

"Looking at our current situation with various European Union support funds and CO2 quota revenues, we can say that over the next four years, we plan to invest around €450 million in building renovations. To reiterate, this is over the next four years, and it includes €175 million, the allocation of which we will announce in the coming weeks," Svet replied.

"This includes the €80 to €90 million we plan to allocate next year. It also comprises €140 million designated for the renovation of both residential and commercial buildings, which Estonia is applying for from the Social Climate Fund that will be available in 2026. Additionally, there is the funding for which the government made a decision yesterday," said Svet. "At this point, my assessment is that we have managed to find a reasonable balance between the various objectives we face in the infrastructure and climate sectors."

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