Experts discuss how to give greater attention to sustainable development in the Government’s Budget

Minister of Finance Petteri Orpo opened the Ministry’s ‘Sustainable Development and the Budget’ seminar on Monday 20 November. The aim of the seminar was to examine ways in which greater attention can be given to sustainable development in the Government's Budget and in budgetary preparation.

Minister Orpo and the Ministry of Finance invited Finland’s leading experts in sustainable development and budgetary matters to the House of Science and Letters in Helsinki, to discuss how sustainable development goals can be taken into account in the Government’s Budget and the steps that could be taken in this respect in the preparation of the 2019 budget proposal.

“The focus at the Ministry of Finance is on ensuring a secure future. We wish to build a better and more sustainable world for coming generations. What we don’t want to do is shift the economic and environmental burden onto our children. In the media, these intentions are most clearly seen in our call for robust economic management. We don’t wish to leave a legacy of debt. Besides robust economic management, we aim to ensure a secure future by supporting a reallocation of resources to areas crucial for the future, such as skills development and combating climate change. And what we want to start looking at today is how the Budget can take account of sustainable development goals,” said Minister Orpo in his opening address at the event.

The experts present discussed a number of questions in separate working groups: How can sustainable development needs be better identified and taken into account in the Budget? What are the key sustainable development themes that we should be focusing on in particular? How can we adopt a stronger intersectoral approach?

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was approved two years ago. In a government report issued in spring 2017, the Government set out national priorities for different sectors in regard to implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Agenda’s implementation in Finland is based around two themes, in accordance with the Government’s policies: a non-discriminating, equal and highly skilled Finland, and a carbon-neutral and resource-wise Finland.

Inquiries:

Risto Artjoki, State Secretary, tel. +358 2955 30524, risto.artjoki(at)vm.fi
Johanna von Knorring, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 2955 30232, johanna.vonknorring(at)vm.fi