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Roadmap for a sustainable energy transition

Era of crises and preparedness (2026–2035)

Era of sustainable transition (2036–2045)

Era of a sustainable energy system (2046–2055)

Transition to a sustainable energy system

Kestävä energiasiirtymä on lähivuosien ja vuosikymmenten aikana välttämätön A sustainable energy transition will be essential to achieve our climate goals over the coming years and decades. Implementing this transition will require significant action across all sectors of the economy and at every level of society.

The roadmap for a sustainable energy transition brings together a vision and the key elements shaping the transition towards it up to 2055. The vision describes the state towards which society and the energy system are intended to develop. The roadmap is structured into three consecutive time periods, which describe the evolution of the energy transition over different time horizons:

Within these periods, the transition is analysed using a consistent framework based on the questions why, what and how. Additionally, the roadmap includes fictive future news that make its key messages more tangible by describing possible future scenarios at different points along the roadmap’s timeline.

Infographic illustrating a roadmap towards a secure and sustainable energy system from the current state to a target state by 2055. The timeline highlights three phases: Era of crises and preparedness (around 2026–2035), Era of sustainable transition (2035–2045), and Era of a sustainable energy system (2045–2055). Above the timeline, climate milestones show progress from towards carbon neutrality, to carbon negativity is achieved, and finally carbon negativity strengthens. Below the timeline, key transition actions include a managed transition away from fossil energy, large-scale adoption of sustainable new technologies and operating models, and ecological and social sustainability guiding decision-making. Throughout the roadmap, evidence-based knowledge and impact assessments underpin decision-making. The overall outcome is that ecological sustainability, justice, and energy security are strengthened, leading to the target state of a secure and sustainable energy system.

Vision 2055: Finland as a model country for a sustainable energy system enhancing comprehensive security

  • Finland has phased out fossil fuels successfully and in a managed manner.
  • National medium-term (2035) and long-term (2050) climate targets have been achieved without significantly compromising biodiversity, the condition of water bodies, or other aspects of the environment.
  • The energy system is efficient, flexible, and based on multiple technologies, enhancing resilience to crises and strengthening overall security.
  • Finland has transitioned to a circular economy and resource-efficient use of raw materials, including in the mining sector.
  • The sustainability assessment of the energy transition is grounded in broad expertise and reliable data, while the active participation of stakeholders fosters trust.
  • The acceptability of the energy transition has been ensured through evidence-based decision-making and policy instruments perceived as fair.
  • A sustainable economy is founded on social justice, moderate consumption, and safeguarding the functioning of natural ecosystems.

Key elements of a sustainable energy transition

Technologies and solutions

  • Wind power
  • Solar power
  • Heat pumps and geothermal energy
  • Bioenergy and biofuels
  • Electrofuels (e-fuels)
  • Small-scale nuclear technologies
  • Energy efficiency and energy-saving technologies
  • Carbon capture and storage
  • Energy storage technologies
  • Fossil-free technologies for transport, buildings, services, and industry
  • Smart solutions and sector integration to enhance system flexibility

Nature and climate objectives

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the transition to clean energy
  • Restoring the land-use sector as a significant carbon sink
  • Expanding protected areas
  • Reducing the intensity of forest use

Prerequisites for a sustainable transition

  • Considering environmental, economic, and social impacts
  • Minimising negative impacts and ensuring a fair distribution of benefits and costs
  • Incorporating sustainable growth, comprehensive security, equity, and cost-effectiveness into policies and investments
  • Evidence-based governance and impact assessment in decision-making

Enablers of implementation

  • Commitment and participation across society
  • International cooperation
  • Recognition of different transition pathways (technologies, consumption patterns, economic structures, policy instruments, and energy security)

Purpose of the roadmap

The roadmap brings together research-based key actions through which the transition progresses at different stages. The focus is on the overall set of measures and their combined impacts, through which the energy system can move in a managed way toward a sustainable target state. The roadmap is intended to serve as a foundation for further work, in which its findings can be refined and translated into more concrete, actor-specific, and strategic roadmaps for different aspects of the energy transition.

Infographic showing the structure of a roadmap for the transition to a sustainable and secure energy system. The graphic is organised around three guiding questions: Why is change needed?, What is the objective of the change?, and How will the change be implemented? At the top, the Why section identifies the main drivers of change: political, economic, social, technological and environmental drivers, along with climate targets, which lead to the transition. The central What section presents the transition as three consecutive phases: Era of crises and preparedness (2026–2035), Era of sustainable transition (2036–2045), and Era of a sustainable energy system (2046–2055). An arrow points from these phases to the overall Vision. The bottom How section explains that the transition is enabled through measures including regulation, investments, technology, markets, infrastructure, skills, behaviour and cooperation. It also identifies the main actors involved: the public sector, companies, citizens and research organisations.


This website presents a concise overview of the roadmap’s central content. More detailed descriptions and additional information can be found in the publication Transition to a sustainable energy system: Roadmap and synthesis report (helda.helsinki.fi).
The Roadmap for a Sustainable Energy Transition was developed as part of the Clean energy system transition (REPower-CEST) project. The roadmap process involved a broad group of researchers and experts from the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. The project also included extensive stakeholder engagement, and the roadmap work was carried out in collaboration with the REPower project of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)(you are switching to another service).

Era of crises and preparedness (2026–2035)

Sampo Soimakallio

Development Manager, Finnish Environment Institute

sampo.soimakallio@syke.fi

+358 295 251 803

Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.