Estonia

The Plan focuses on three areas: reducing negative impact on the environment; shaping a modern, high-quality living environment; and contributing to the development of competitive and environmentally responsible entrepreneurship.
These areas will be addressed in 10 fields: energy; climate policy; the just transition; spatial design and buildings; biodiversity and land use; a sustainable food system; the green economy; transport and mobility; the circular economy and waste; and state governance. Across these fields, the plan features 295 actions to be implemented in the coming years, including legislative drafting, analysis and investments.
The Plan was drafted by the Government Office in dialogue with ministries and stakeholders, guided by the recommendations of an expert group, ministry proposals, development plans, the coalition agreement and feedback from public consultation. More than 80 organisations, agencies, and companies contributed to the plan and submitted close to 1000 proposals.

To benefit from the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility set up by the EU in the aftermath of the COVID-19-induced economic crisis, Member States submit their recovery and resilience plans to the European Commission. Each plan sets out the reforms and investments to be implemented by end-2026 and Member States can receive financing up to a previously agreed allocation. Each plan should effectively address challenges identified in the European Semester, particularly the country-specific recommendations of 2019 and 2020 adopted by the Council. It should also advance the green and digital transitions and make Member States’ economies and societies more resilient. The Commission validates the plan after which it effectively enters in force and EU subsidies can start flowing towards the member state.The European Commission has given a positive assessment to Estonia’s recovery and resilience plan, which will be financed by €969.3 million in grants. 42% of the plan’s total allocation for reforms and investments supports climate objectives.
<ul>
<li>Green transition in business: supporting companies in making the green transition through modernising their business models, fostering the development and uptake of innovative green technologies, and developing green skills. €220 million</li>
<li>Sustainable energy and energy efficiency: facilitating the uptakeof renewable energy and reducing dependency on oil shale in electricity production; investments into grid and storage capacity for renewable energy; measures to facilitate and support energy-efficient renovations of 2,680 dwellings. €92 million</li>
<li>Sustainable mobility: harmonising the Tallinn capital region public transport system and investments into rail and multimodal connections, including the construction of the Rail Baltic terminal in Tallinn. €96 million.</li>
</ul>

The aim of this Development Plan(PõKa 2030) is to contribute to the increase in competitiveness of these areas, food security, sustainable development of rural and coastal areas, good plant and animal health, improvement of soil condition, food safety and preservation of a clean environment and species diversity. In this way, the PõKa 2030 creates the prerequisites for increasing added value in these areas, taking into account the bioeconomy, sustainable development and environmental goals, and creates opportunities for cross-sectoral cooperation. One of the objectives is to decrease the negative impact of agricultural production on climate change and air quality, and in turn increase positive impact.

The National Energy and Climate (ENCP) Plan is a ten-year integrated document <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-strategy/national-energy-climate-plans_en" target="_self">mandated by the European Union</a> to each of its member states in order for the EU to meet its overall greenhouse gases emissions targets. Estonia’s long-term objective is to transition to a low-carbon economy, which means gradually reforming the economy and energy system to be resource-efficient, productive and environmentally-friendly in line with the objectives.The use of fossil fuels will be reduced and CO2 emissions will decrease due to energy savings in transport, agriculture, waste management and industrial processes and small-scale power production where energy is produced by facilities with a rated output of less than 20 MWh.To maintain final energy consumption in the period 2021-2030 requires annual energy savings equivalent to 0.8% of the average final energy consumption in the period 2016-2018 Estonia has the highest primary energy intensity of all the EU Member States. Consumption of primary energy is forecast to drop by a quarter in the period 2017-2030.The share of renewables will be increased by changing fossil fuel boilers to renewable fuels, increasing electricity generation from fuel free sources and increased use of biofuels in transport. In the electricity and heating sector, the plan aims at increasing renewable sources.

Estonia 2020 (approved by the Government in 2011) establishes two major priorities of the Government in moving towards an environmentally sustainable economy and energy sector: - implementing long-term structural changes in the energy sector in harmony with Estonia's energy security and energy efficiency objectives; and - reducing general resource intensity, including the energy intensity of the economy, by increasing energy efficiency.

While a carbon tax has been in effect in Estonia since 2000, the Environmental Charges Act that entered into force in 2006 establishes environmental charges for the emissions of various pollutants, one of which is a charge for carbon dioxide emissions that fall outside of activities with appropriate environmental permits. Activities covered by the Act include: "the regeneration cutting of forest stand; the extraction of mineral resources; water abstraction; fishing; hunting; the emission of pollutants into ambient air, water bodies, groundwater or soil; and waste disposal by way of depositing in landfills or other activities that result in the discharge of waste into the environment". The pollution charge rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) is 2 euros per ton. Estonia's carbon tax rates are set in relation to the framework of the 2003 European Union (EU) Energy Tax Directive, which <a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/taxing-energy-use-estonia.pdf" target="_self">sets minimum rates for the taxation of energy products in EU member states</a>.

Estonia National Inventory Report (NIR). 2025

Estonia Biennial Transparency Report. BTR1

Estonia National Inventory Report (NIR). 2024

Estonia's National Inventory Report submitted in 2023

Reduce GHG emission compared to 1990 emissions levels is 70% by 2030.

No more than 11% emission increase by 2020 compared with a 2005 baseline

80% GHG emission reduction by 2050 compared with a 1990 baseline

Maintain energy consumption per GDP at 20.0TJ per PPP by 2010 against a 2003 baseline

Less than 90% oil and at least 8% renewable of electricity produced by 2015

25% renewables of final energy consumption by 2020, then 50% by 2030

Reduce GHG emissions from transport below 2,157,000 tons CO2e base level and fossil fuels in transport below 387.7 kg per inhabitant

Estonia

Documents

Targets (7)