Enabling carbon offsetting as a business
Act amending section 1 of the Money Collection Act
The provision of voluntary carbon offsetting services will be exempted from the requirements of the Money Collection Act. Companies and organisations will be able to offer and sell climate emissions compensation services without a money collection permit.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 16 Sep 2021
- Latest event
- 9 Nov 2021
- Votes
- 0
- Speeches
- 16
- Confirmed
- 19 Nov 2021
- Statute
- 945/2021
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The Money Collection Act will be amended by excluding voluntary carbon offsetting services from the scope of application of the act. The exclusion from the scope applies to services in which greenhouse gas emissions are compensated for through verified and calculated emissions reductions, removals or avoidance.
What it means
The amendment removes legal uncertainty and gives companies the right to conduct carbon offsetting operations as a business and develop new services for consumers and corporate customers. The supervisory powers of the National Police Board over compensation services will end, and supervision of marketing aimed at consumers will fall to the Consumer Ombudsman. Non-governmental organisations can continue to fund public-benefit climate work through collections that require a money collection permit. The act will enter into force in autumn 2021.
How Parliament voted
The bill passed without a vote – no MP proposed rejecting or amending it in plenary.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
16 speeches · 12 speakers · 2 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed exempting voluntary carbon offsetting from the Money Collection Act to boost new business activity and climate action. Most parliamentary groups considered clarifying the legislation to be a highly necessary and welcome reform. In individual speeches, however, carbon offsetting was criticised as an ineffective sale of indulgences and as merely buying a clear conscience.
- Is carbon offsetting genuine climate action or an ineffective sale of indulgences?
- How will the quality, reliability and oversight criteria of carbon offsetting services be ensured?
- Centre PartyAgainst
The group's sole speaker strongly opposed carbon offsetting, regarding it as an immoral sale of indulgences for high earners.
”Tämä nykyajan anekauppa on minusta hyvin vastenmielistä.”
— Hannu Hoskonen - GreensIn favour
The group considered the legislative amendment a necessary and long-awaited correction that enables new business activity and brings additional funding to climate action.
”Tämä rahankeräyslain muutos on kauan odotettu. Se tulee tarpeeseen, sillä epäselvän lainsäädännön takia Suomi on jäänyt päästöhyvityksissä jälkeen muita maita.”
— Tiina Elo - National Coalition PartyIn favour
The group considered the proposal a necessary and welcome correction to the prevailing ambiguous situation.
”Tämä on tosiaan tarpeellinen ja hyvä rahankeräyslain muutos, ja toivottavasti myöskin vallitseva tilanne tämän syksyn osalta saadaan korjattua.”
— Mari-Leena Talvitie - Finns PartySplit
The group's speakers took varying approaches to the issue: the committee chair presented a unanimous report and another MP drew attention to the duration of permit processes, but severe criticism was also voiced in the chamber regarding the authenticity of offsetting and the business activity.
”Tämä kuulostaa minun mielestäni vähän niin kuin lahkolaisten touhulta, että ostetaan hyväksyntä.”
— Sheikki Laakso - Christian DemocratsIn favour
The group considered the legislative amendment a very welcome clarification, but expressed concern over the strict interpretations by the National Police Board in supervising fundraising.
”Tämä rahankeräyslain tarkennus, jos näin voisi sanoa, on erittäin tervetullut.”
— Antero Laukkanen
This digest was generated by AI from 16 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin hallintovaliokuntaan.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 124/2021 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 16 Sep 2021Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Sisäministeriö
- 21 Sep 2021Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 21 Oct 2021Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · hallintovaliokunta
- 26 Oct 2021Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 29 Oct 2021Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 1 Nov 2021Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki rahankeräyslain 1 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 945/2021 · 19 Nov 2021
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki rahankeräyslain 1 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan rahankeräyslain (863/2019) 1 §:n 3 momentin 7 kohta ja lisätään 1 §:n 3 momenttiin uusi 8 kohta seuraavasti:
1 §Soveltamisala
Tämän lain soveltamisalaan eivät kuulu:
7) joukkorahoituslain (734/2016) mukainen laina- tai sijoitusmuotoinen joukkorahoitus ja joukkorahoituksen välittäjän toiminta;
8) palvelu, jolla kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä kompensoidaan siten, että todennetulla ja lasketulla tavalla vähennetään tai poistetaan kasvihuonekaasuja ilmakehästä tai vältetään niiden pääsemistä ilmakehään.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 13 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.