"My recommendation is to please pause the climate ideology and focus on solving real problems," Ahti Asmann wrote in a recent opinion piece. "Estonia's challenge is to preserve an independent state with a declining population, fund defense, education and healthcare expenditures and keep the country running."

Speaking on ETV's "Esimene stuudio" on Thursday, Asmann acknowledged that his earlier comments drew some angry responses but reassured his critics by saying that climate policy remains a relevant issue and is not going away.

"Climate policy has been on Europe's agenda for a long time. At some point, politicians must have sensed their arguments weren't convincing enough for the broader public — or they decided it was time to educate people. That's when they chose to enshrine the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 into law, giving it legal power. That law still exists, the instruments and emissions trading systems are still in effect. But it's foolish to ignore what's happening in the world. Right now, we need to take stock of where we are and take a deep breath," Asmann said.

In his view, Estonia currently has three priorities: security, the welfare state and climate policy.

"I would say the problem is that all three of these priorities are financially in the red — they take money out instead of bringing it in," said the oil shale chemistry company head.

According to Asmann, Estonia's priority should be balanced development, meaning the ability to sustain itself domestically.

"To do that, we have to create value for the world — export goods and services so that money flows into Estonia — and then use that money to develop culture, language, literature, education and to ensure national security. If the question is whether we've rushed too far ahead with climate policy, then absolutely. Writing net-zero emissions by 2050 into law — in my opinion, that was radicalism. In reality, I don't think the average politician today even believes that's achievable. Everyone sees it more as a signal," Asmann said.

He added that what's unfortunate is how the initial calculations and regulatory changes ignored physics and other sciences.

"We even discussed when reality would start to set in — would it be when the money runs out or when electricity prices spike? And we were wrong. The money doesn't run out — you can print more, borrow more. But in Spain's case, electricity ran out. I think it's good that it happened in Spain and not here. Now it's time for us to draw some conclusions," Asmann said.

He also noted that the correct approach would be to allow companies to operate as they wish, as long as they stay within defined limits.

"Europe has said that we must have a growing economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. No one has said you can't do this or that. In fact, the right approach would be to let companies operate freely, as long as they stay within those boundaries. If by 2050 we've reached a point where it's possible to invest in this kind of future, then we'll capture the carbon and keep working," said Asmann.

One key point, he said, is that Estonia must not adopt more ambitious targets than those agreed at the European level.

"Europe-wide targets and instruments have been agreed upon and setting stricter national goals or regulations would put Estonia's entire economy at a disadvantage compared to other EU countries," he stated.

Asmann also described as "the most foolish decision" the move to give up Estonia's independent fuel production capacity — namely, oil shale.

"Right now, many are saying we're in the midst of an energy war, with energy carriers being used as weapons. And in this situation, we're giving up our ability to produce fuel independently... There really isn't a more foolish move than that," he said.

Asmann believes that the prime minister — who remains committed to the 2050 net-zero goal — should take a slow and careful approach in setting future targets.

"The green transition is an economic growth policy aimed at achieving growth with net-zero emissions, and the goals for reaching net zero need to be set slowly and thoughtfully. Today, the technologies don't exist. These are still future technologies and the policy should simply state that from 2050 onward, everyone is free to act — as long as they remain within the greenhouse gas emission limits," said VKG CEO Ahti Asmann.

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