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Environmental information systems
The Estonia country profile provides a concise overview of key trends across three dimensions: environment and climate; socio-economic change; and system change (energy, mobility and food) in the country. It highlights the main developments and challenges in these areas, including measures to support progress towards sustainability in Estonia. An assessment for each of the three dimensions was prepared by national experts from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) in Estonia, based on 20 established indicators from the EEA or Eurostat.
The Environmental Performance Index 2024 produced by Yale University and Columbia University reveals Estonia as the global leader in environmental progress, and also as one of five nations reducing emissions at a rate sufficient to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Based on the assessment of the World Energy Council, Estonia ranks among the top 10 countries globally in energy security and sustainability, with a strong focus on renewable energy, particularly bioenergy-based heat and power production and wind energy.
Moving towards a green economy brings both challenges and opportunities. Aligning with EU climate targets also calls for significant changes in energy production and consumption patterns. Estonia’s past reliance on oil shale means that a significant transition is needed, requiring investments in renewable energy, workforce retraining and managing short-term economic impacts. As a small country, Estonia must also find smart, efficient solutions that fit its scale.
Estonia’s commitment to digital innovation can facilitate the development of smart grids, renewable energy management systems and digital solutions for the real-time economy, all of which support a green and circular economy. Estonia’s forests support the bioeconomy and sequester carbon, while coastal access offers offshore wind potential. A vibrant start-up scene and a focus on education and research foster green innovation. Despite the challenges, Estonia’s natural assets and digital leadership position it well to thrive in the green transition.
Key trends and assessments
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Summary assessment
As the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems, Estonian soils are diverse in their origin, and their condition is considered good. This is at least partly attributable to low artificial surface coverage (less than 2% of the land area) and sustainable agricultural practices.
About half of Estonia is covered by forests, with an increasing share of multispecies stands, indicating increasing biodiversity. The conservation status of species under the EU Habitats Directive has improved, with 56% of these species being in favourable condition during the latest assessment. The populations of large carnivores such as wolves, lynxes and bears are increasing in Estonia. However, the rising numbers have also led to an increase in damages.
Estonia’s freshwater resources are generally sufficient for both the population and the economy, owing to favourable climatic conditions and a small population – 52% of surface waterbodies and 74% of groundwater bodies in Estonia are in good condition.
To gain better knowledge about human exposure to chemicals and to assess environment-related health risks, Estonia has initiated the development of a biomonitoring system. The focus is on biomonitoring communities exposed to the oil shale sector and reducing related risks in the future.
Estonia’s resource productivity remains below the EU average, highlighting the need to improve material efficiency. Enhancing resource efficiency can be achieved through circular policies and the transition to renewable energy.
Overall, Estonia is progressing towards its environmental and climate goals through a combination of policy initiatives, technological advancements and community engagement, but funding remains the greatest challenge.
Estonia’s transformation into a digitally advanced, innovative and sustainable nation demonstrates the potential of education, technology and creativity. Education has been central to Estonia’s success – its students lead in Programme for International Student Assessment rankings in Europe. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics and IT skills, along with problem-solving and creativity, are core priorities. Over 43% of adults have a tertiary education.
The Estonian economy is undergoing a transformation, with an increasing share of economic activity being accounted for by the services sector. IT services now make up 11% of GDP, double the share of a decade ago. Nearly 44% of private research and development spending is in the IT sector, which employs a third of Estonia’s scientists and engineers.
A strong startup ecosystem, with deeptech accounting for 63% of investments, drives this change, replacing older, polluting industries with competitive sectors. Significant progress has been made with large infrastructure investments like Rail Baltic (due to be completed in 2030) to support connectivity.
Estonia was an excellent economic performer from the beginning of the century until Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Estonia saw strong growth from 2000 to 2020, with GDP per capita rising from 42% to 85% of the EU average. Starting with the energy crisis in 2021, the Estonian economy has faced difficulties due to its past dependence on raw materials from Russia – such as wood, metals, fertilisers and energy products. Costs rose as imports halted. The country’s main trading partners also faced downturns, especially in construction, affecting Estonia’s wood and furniture sectors.
Despite challenges, the labour market has remained resilient. Job losses have hit manufacturing, construction and transport, but education, healthcare and a recovering hotels, restaurants and catering sector have supported overall employment. Exports are expected to recover in 2025, and, after a two-year GDP decline, growth is now forecast. The IT and renewable energy sectors are expanding, and falling interest rates are boosting the real estate sector. Yet, global trade policy uncertainty remains a risk.
Estonia’s economic transformation would be supported by the green transition. Supply-side policies and investments in research and development can enhance productivity. Forestry, a key export sector, also supports climate objectives through its function as a carbon sink. Estonia is advancing its circular economy by focusing on sustainable resource use and digital solutions for the real-time economy. Future priorities include fostering environmental awareness to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness.
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The food system
Total GHG emissions from the Estonian agricultural sector in 2023 amounted to 1 534.73 kt CO₂eq, which was 14.1% of Estonia’s total emissions that year. According to forecasts, existing emissions reduction measures will be insufficient to decrease the GHG emissions of the agricultural sector by 2030, and it will therefore be necessary to implement additional measures. To set sectoral targets for reducing GHG emissions and achieving national climate targets by 2030, 2040 and 2050, the Estonian Climate Resilient Economy Act will be developed during 2025.
The level of use of chemical fertilisers and plant protection products in Estonia is one of the lowest in the EU, and the country is already close to its goal of 25% of agricultural land being used for organic agriculture. In order to slow down the intensification of agriculture, it will be important to continue to encourage the adoption of climate-friendly and environmentally sustainable management practices and technologies, to promote agricultural knowledge and innovation systems and knowledge transfer.
In 2023–2024, a digital solution for farmers called the 'e-Field Book' was developed, enabling precision fertilization, nutrient balancing, and farm-level animal welfare monitoring. Estonia also finalised the first version of a carbon footprint measurement tool for agricultural enterprises, which was fine-tuned in 2024 and will be used to conduct carbon footprint audits. These kinds of public services are developed with application programming interface access, enabling data exchange between the public and private sectors.
To support the green transition and achieve the long-term environmental and climate goals of the green transition roadmap in the agricultural and food sectors,the national circular bioeconomy roadmap of Estonia and the 2023–2025 horizontal green reform action plan, which include goals related to sustainable food systems, were developed.
Estonia has developed several healthy nutrition policies. The document setting out dietary and nutritional recommendations for Estonia is currently in the process of being updated to take into account the latest scientific evidence and sustainability practices. In addition, a food reformulation plan is under negotiation with the food industry, with the aim of reducing saturated fat, sugar and salt in food. Healthy eating campaigns directed towards consumers are also being run. Estonia has developed a set of good practices for food label design, with the aim of improving the quality of food labelling. Estonia is beginning to develop a front-of-pack labelling system to promote healthy eating and to develop mandatory procurement criteria for sustainable public procurement. Estonia has a national plan to prevent food waste, which covers data collection, legislation, enhanced cooperation, innovation and research and development, food donation and awareness raising.
In the veterinary field, Estonia has an action plan for the management of antimicrobial resistance, which aims to reduce the use of antibiotics in farm and pet animals by improving animal health and welfare, thereby reducing antimicrobial resistance levels. The use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine in Estonia decreased from 115 mg/PCU in 2010 to 46 mg/PCU in 2022, a reduction of 59.5%.
The energy system
Globally, Estonia is currently doing well in terms of its energy system: in 2023, it ranked 7th in the world with regard to the sustainability of its energy system and 10th with regard to its energy transition. Estonia is also in 15th place globally in terms of achieving the sustainable development goals, having achieved 17.
Estonia met its targets with regard to energy savings and renewable energy for 2020. It plans to become a climate-neutral country by 2050 in accordance with the Estonian 2035 development strategy, and new energy savings and renewable energy targets entered into force in 2022, with the target of transitioning Estonia’s electricity consumption to 100% renewable electricity by 2030. Already, half of Estonia’s local authorities and major cities have energy and climate plans for reducing GHG emissions and promoting energy savings and renewable energy.
To achieve its ambitious targets, Estonia will need to accelerate the deployment of renewables, increase electrification and phase out oil shale generation, while also ensuring a just transition that maintains energy affordability and supports economic development in the oil shale region. Estonia is preparing a Climate Resilient Economy Act, which will set legally binding targets for carbon neutrality and intermediate emissions reductions, allocate responsibilities for implementation and set clear targets for phasing out oil shale and other fossil fuels. Estonia’s 2035 energy management development plan, which will set out activities for the transition to a climate-neutral energy system, is also in preparation.
A major electricity system transformation is needed to achieve the 100% renewable electricity target and put Estonia on the path to climate neutrality. The Estonian recovery and resilience plan fosters the development of Estonia’s system for spatial planning and issuing permits in relation to renewable energy and the strengthening of its infrastructure to ensure that projects can be deployed at the pace needed.
As electricity production from oil shale decreases (by phasing out direct combustion), new generation capacities and interconnections with neighbouring countries will ensure the security of electricity supply. The Baltic system operators plan has established a common electricity system reserve market to ensure the functioning of the electricity system and the security of supply following the February 2025 synchronisation of the Baltic electricity systems with the continental European synchronous area.
Estonia is working to decarbonise its gas supply, and it has successfully boosted biomethane production. Natural gas plays a relatively minor role in Estonia’s energy system and is used mostly for heating. In Estonia, imports of natural gas from Russia have been banned since 1 January 2023. In 2022, Estonia took swift actions to end its reliance on Russian gas and secure the regional gas supply, and in doing so it reduced gas demand to 5.8% of total energy supply. This involved cooperation to open a new supply route from Finland’s liquefied natural gas terminal through the Balticconnector pipeline. However, gas consumption recovered in 2024 and increased by 12.6% compared with 2023.
The mobility system
Estonia has a national energy and climate plan that guides mobility and transport towards more environmentally friendly solutions. Public transport needs to become more accessible and convenient for users. Estonia is making several infrastructure investments, including constructing new tram lines in Tallinn, creating multimodal public transport hubs in Tallinn and Tartu, and improving public transport accessibility nationwide. Railways will be reconstructed and lines made more direct to decrease connection times. Railway lines on the Tallinn–Tartu and Tapa–Narva routes will be electrified. In addition, 16 new electric trains were launched in 2024, which increased the number of train connections.
Different modes of public transport will be connected by developing a single ticketing system (with a regionally uniform pricing structure and a mobility-as-a-service X-Road platform for connecting different service providers) to ensure that the inhabitants of all areas (including those in less well-connected areas) have access to the services, education and jobs necessary for everyday life. Similarly, transport poverty is being addressed.
The short-term rental of cars, (electric) bicycles and scooters can help reduce the number of cars on the roads and promote a collaborative economy.
The expansion of the network of cycle paths may make cycling a more popular alternative to cars or public transport. Estonia is planning to invest more than EUR 60 million in the construction of bicycle lanes with the help of the EU, of which about EUR 40 million will go to the urban areas of Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu, which have the highest carbon emissions and the biggest mobility problems. The goal of the Estonian cycling strategy is to significantly increase the shares of bicycle use and the use of other active modes of transport by unlocking the potential for inclusive, affordable and healthy mobility.
The Finest Twins smart-city initiative for smart urban solutions, autonomous vehicles and other pilot projects such as smart traffic management and a data-driven approach to mobility can help improve mobility in cities and reduce congestion and pollution. Although autonomous vehicles are still in the development phase, Estonian companies and scientists are monitoring the development of these technologies. Smart traffic management systems that use sensors and real-time data can improve traffic flow and safety. Smart solutions are also being implemented to optimise public transport and reduce traffic congestion.
The popularity of electric vehicles is growing in Estonia. In turn, support programmes such as subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles contribute to the growing share of electric vehicles in the transport sector. At the same time, Estonia is striving to improve the infrastructure for electric cars, which includes increasing the number of charging stations, including near apartment buildings. Fast charging stations are strategically positioned across the country. Innovations in charging technology, such as faster charging times and universal charging standards, also encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in Estonia.
In addition to electricity, alternative fuels such as hydrogen are also being explored in Estonia. Estonian scientists and companies are working on projects that are studying hydrogen-based solutions in transport and energy systems.
Estonia is currently preparing a Climate Resilient Economy Act, which will create the basis for a climate-proof economy by setting GHG emissions targets (including for the transport sector).
Estonia plans to introduce a car tax from 2025, with a focus on taxing the environmental impact of owning a car. This means that people who own larger vehicles with higher carbon emissions will have to pay more. The purpose of the tax is to reduce the environmental impact and the number of cars on the roads.
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