Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said that the new government is as different from the old one as night and day. You are not the minister of climate — the title of this ministerial position has essentially been changed. Is this a form of disguise, given that climate issues are simply no longer as popular?

I believe the title reflects a shift in emphasis. Energy and the environment are certainly two sides of the same coin. However, climate issues have not disappeared in any way — they remain just as important.

Does the fact that Yoko Alender is not continuing in this role indicate a lack of confidence in her?

Definitely not.

Then why is she being replaced?

As I said, the emphasis has shifted — there is now a greater focus on the economy. In that sense, Yoko and I have completely different profiles. My background is in economics and finance, whereas Yoko's has been more focused on environmental issues.

The climate law has been in the works for two years and has faced a lot of criticism. Will it be scrapped?

In its current form, as a single law, the climate law will not be enacted. However, the issues it was meant to address will all be carried forward. There will be amendments to the Earth's Crust Act, the Forest Act and the Nature Conservation Act. All these topics will still be covered.

Has the work done so far and funded by taxpayers been wasted? Will officials now have to start everything from scratch?

No, definitely not — everything will not be started from scratch. As I said, amendments will be made to various laws to modernize them and take into account the direction we are moving in. Ultimately, we are talking about the bigger picture — a clean environment and clean energy. That is what makes life in Estonia good and safe for people. Clean energy is also what motivates companies to invest in Estonia.

Energy is a major issue for us — producers urgently need reasonably priced energy. It seems to me that we have been stuck in a rut on this front. What is your special silver bullet? Where will we get it and how should it be generated?

Let's start with why electricity prices have been high. Primarily, it's because we have too few domestic production capacities. The interconnections we have with foreign countries aren't enough — only Finland has a surplus and even there, one connection is down. Latvia is in a similar situation, sometimes having a surplus, sometimes facing shortages.

So, lowering prices requires building more domestic production capacity. It is clear that the most cost-competitive options are onshore wind energy and solar energy, combined with storage solutions — ideally, all three together.

The faster we move and enable businesses to develop these projects, the better we can bring electricity prices down. A key factor here is ensuring that communication between developers and local communities is a two-way process. Instead of creating divisions in society, we should be working toward greater common ground.

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