Policy landscape

Helsinki has set the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. To achieve this, the city must cut its direct emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by at least 80% compared to 1990 levels, with the remaining 20% – around 700 ktCO₂e – allowed to be offset beyond city boundaries. Looking further ahead, Helsinki aims to reach “carbon zero” by 2040, meaning that emissions and carbon sequestration must be fully balanced within the city limits. Beyond 2040, the city targets carbon negativity, where emissions generated within Helsinki are lower than the amount of carbon it can remove through its own actions.

While these long-term goals imply a role for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), the city has yet to articulate a concrete approach to achieving them. Notably, Helsinki’s primary strategic document—the Carbon-neutral Helsinki Action Plan—does not include any measures aimed specifically at increasing carbon removals, nor does it clarify how the allowed 20% offset for 2030 will be sourced or verified. Discussions around CDR remain exploratory, with biochar identified as a potential pathway, particularly through waste-to-soil applications. Moreover, increasing natural sinks within city limits is recognised as a major challenge due to Helsinki’s high level of urbanisation and limited greenfield space.

While the city has acknowledged the need for some form of compensation mechanism for residual emissions, it has not yet defined whether this would involve external offsetting, engineered removals, or in-city nature-based solutions. Financial mechanisms to support such efforts are also lacking, such as deployment incentives, tax agreements with CDR providers and grant funding.  While city-owned enterprises like Helen Oy and HSY could play a role in piloting CDR solutions, no dedicated funding streams or incentives currently exist to scale them. Overall, CDR is implied in Helsinki’s net-zero and carbon-negative framing, but remains absent from formal policies and underdeveloped in terms of actionable planning and finance.

Governance landscape

The Climate Unit coordinates Helsinki’s climate governance within the Urban Environment Division, which is responsible for implementing the Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2030 Action Plan. While there is currently no dedicated department for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), the Climate Unit is well-positioned to integrate CDR into city planning given its thematic focus, particularly as the city transitions toward carbon negativity.

Strategic direction comes from the Ambitious Climate Responsibility Programme Group, chaired by the Mayor and composed of senior city executives. This group guides climate policy implementation across departments and provides a platform for cross-sectoral coordination. Political leadership is anchored in the office of the Deputy Mayor for Urban Environment, which oversees planning, housing, construction, and environmental issues—key enablers for potential CDR integration in the built and green environments.

City-owned enterprises—such as Helen Oy (energy), Heka (housing), Stara (construction), and the jointly owned HSY (waste and water services)—cover much of the operational ground where CDR could be deployed. While each of these actors has relevant technical capabilities, no single entity is yet tasked with driving a city-wide CDR agenda. Helen Oy is aiming to switch away from bioenergy by 2040 as per its long-term organisational strategy to phase out combustion-based energy production, therefore, the business case to conduct BECCS on their bioenergy plants is limited.

Overall, the governance structure provides the institutional capacity for coordinated action. However, without a clear lead or mandate on CDR, there is a risk that it could fall between the cracks.

Gaps and opportunities

• Helsinki lacks a dedicated CDR strategy, creating uncertainty around how carbon removals will contribute to the 2030 climate neutrality target and longer-term goals. This also puts the achievement of the city’s climate neutrality target at risk.
• The 20% of residual emissions allowed to be compensated outside city limits lacks guidance on how it will be met and guardrails on permanence or quality. This lack of guidance poses both a risk and an opportunity for Helsinki to be a global leader in CDR procurement at the city level.
• Rapid construction growth could become a carbon sink through the lifecycle emissions cap introduced in 2023, yet CDR-linked materials and methods, such as mineralisation, remain underutilised.
• HSY’s wastewater treatment operations are a major emissions source and a promising site for biochar production using sewage sludge, as well as wastewater alkalinity enhancement.
• A 2022 study estimates 35,000–50,000 tonnes/year of biochar could be produced locally—this technical potential is not yet matched by policy or investment.
• Facilities owned by Vantaa Energy could be transformed into BECCS facility (generating around 250,000–300,000 tCO₂/year of CDR) that could anchor regional removals if aligned with Helsinki’s climate planning.

Core recommendations

1

Develop a CDR Action Plan and integrate sector-specific pathways (e.g. waste, construction, land use) and link to Helsinki’s 2030 and 2040 targets. Embed in the next update of the Carbon-neutral Helsinki Action Plan.

 

2

Co-finance a biochar pilot with HSY and national actors and use sludge from wastewater treatment to produce biochar at scale. Seek support via Finland’s climate investment platforms and circular economy funding to provide both a grant for a pilot and other types of financial support, such as free land or tax rebates.

 

3

Clarify criteria for the 20% residual emissions compensation and prioritise permanent and high-durability CDR methods. Define principles through a city-level position paper or procurement standard.

 

4

Leverage the CDR potential of the construction sector and use this as a new strategic growth sector for the city of Helsinki. Collaborate with local companies, such as Carbonaide and apply the findings from the “CO₂ncrete Solution” studies existing building stocks’, in practise concrete structures” project.

 

5

Leverage the Vantaa CCS plans as part of a regional CDR corridor and position Helsinki as a municipal buyer or logistics partner. Initiate a joint feasibility study with Vantaa Energy and the Helsinki-Uusimaa regional council as part of the region’s climate neutrality objective by 2030. Efforts to develop and scale technological CDR solutions have been highlighted in the region’s 2022-2025 priority programme.

 

6

Develop clear and robust accounting frameworks for tracking and financing CDR activities. This could be done in collaboration with other cities in Finland and the Nordics.

In collaboration with: