Estonian carbon foot print (per capita) is one of the largest in the whole European Union.


Main causes in Estonia

Estonia’s energy sector has been based on the burning of fossil fuels for decades – in 2017, nearly 70% of Estonia’s CO2 emissions came from the energy sector. Estonia is one of one Europe’s largest CO2 emitters per capita. During 2019 oil shale electricity production declined as a result of rising CO2 prices in the EU and the promotion of green energy. At the same time, up to four new shale oil plants and pre-refinery are under discussion.

Also Estonia´s emissions are caused by agriculture, transportation, industry, drainage of  wetlands and intensive forestry.




Possible solutions

Estonian environmental NGOs (Estonian Fund for Nature, Estonian Environmental Law Center, Estonian Green Movement) stand for renewable energy sources such as sun and wind.  Also good electricity sharing connections to other countries are important. 

There are of course a lot of different measures that can be put into practice on the fields of agriculture, transportation, forestry etc.

The NGOs are actively working on the possibilities of just transition in Estonia together with different parties. Think tank Praxis made an analysis on just transition possibilities in Estonia. Find a summary in English here.