{"id":57230,"date":"2024-08-22T11:30:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T08:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/finland\/?p=57230"},"modified":"2024-08-22T11:30:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T08:30:45","slug":"finlands-famous-climate-target-under-threat-ngos-take-the-state-to-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/finland\/tiedotteet\/ilmastonmuutos\/finlands-famous-climate-target-under-threat-ngos-take-the-state-to-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Finland\u2019s famous climate target under threat\u00a0\u2013 NGOs take the state to court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Finnish environmental and human rights organisations and Finnish S\u00e1mi Youth are taking Finland to court for its lack of adequate climate action. The organisations argue that the government\u2019s inaction violates Finland\u2019s national Climate Act, internationally acknowledged for its relatively strong targets, and fails to meet the state\u2019s legal obligations to protect human rights. The case builds on a previous court ruling in Finland, as well as on the recent groundbreaking ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Finland has adopted one of the strongest net zero climate targets among industrialised nations, committing to become climate neutral by 2035 and reach net negative emissions thereafter. These and other science-based targets – supported by Finland\u2019s businesses and trade unions alike – are set in Finland\u2019s revised Climate Act, adopted with a broad majority by the Parliament in 2022.<\/p>\n\n

However, Finland is not on track to meet its targets. This is primarily due to too high levels of wood harvest and lack of sufficient action to curb agricultural and transport emissions. Consequently, Finland is also failing to meet some of its obligations under EU climate legislation. According to the Climate Act, this constitutes a situation where the government should decide on additional climate measures and revise its climate action plans accordingly. Yet, this has not taken place.<\/p>\n\n

In their appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, the claimant NGOs demand that the government swiftly takes sufficient additional measures to meet its climate targets and other obligations laid out in the Climate Act, the Constitution of Finland and the European Convention on Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n

”Finland has an internationally renowned Climate Act, with a target of becoming climate neutral by 2035. And we have all the means to get there. But now our government is failing to enact solutions, cancelling agreed actions and refusing to revise Finland\u2019s outdated climate plan for land use and forestry. This constitutes a violation of the Climate Act, so it\u2019s our duty as NGOs to take legal action”, says Greenpeace Senior Policy Advisor Kaisa Kosonen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Finland\u2019s Climate Act requires Finland to steadily cut its emissions, pursuing -95 % cuts by 2050, while also strengthening carbon removals and meeting its obligations under the EU regulation, including on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry ( LULUCF). While Finland is well on track to achieve needed emission cuts in energy and industry emissions, it is not on track to meet its targets on transport, agriculture and forestry. This is all apparent in the government\u2019s annual climate report submitted to the Parliament in June 2024.<\/p>\n\n

”Finland\u2019s policies have enabled too high levels of logging and harmful land-use practices. This has led to the collapse of our forest carbon sink, just as scientists had warned. For over two years we\u2019ve been waiting for corrective action, receiving many reports and further evidence of the problem and its solutions, but no actual decisions have been made. The measures planned by Prime Minister Orpo\u2019s government do not even remotely meet the obligations under the Climate Act,” says Hanna Aho<\/strong>, climate policy officer at The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.<\/p>\n\n

On human rights, the case builds on the recent landmark ruling by the ECtHR  <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

States have an obligation to ensure the realisation of human rights with adequate and timely climate measures. Building on the recent ground-breaking ruling <\/a>by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland <\/em>in which this was affirmed, the claimant NGOs argue that Finland, as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, must follow suit.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cGovernments\u2019 inaction on climate change endangers the realisation of many human rights, such as the rights to life and health and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The rights of indigenous peoples, children, older people and other vulnerable  groups are especially at risk. To protect these rights, every country must do their fair share. As a country that often claims leadership on these matters, Finland must walk the talk and live up to its commitments and international human rights obligations,” says Elina Mikola<\/strong>, climate and environment advisor at Amnesty Finland.<\/p>\n\n

According to the ECtHR ruling, even if a state’s emissions were only a small contributing cause to climate change, \u201ca drop in the ocean\u201d, this does not absolve States of their responsibility to protect human rights by doing their part in adequate climate action. A single State\u2019s actions contribute substantially to creating the mutual trust necessary for other States to act.<\/p>\n\n

”The historic victory of Swiss senior citizens in the ECtHR illustrates why it is important for us grandparents to be active too, and unite across borders to defend current and future generations. Finland must now take the court\u2019s decision seriously, and take sufficient climate action, so that children\u2019s environmental and human rights can be respected, as established by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,” says Matti Nummelin<\/strong>, secretary of Grandparents for Climate.<\/p>\n\n

”Adults are making decisions about a future that they will never live in. We want future generations to be able to go snow sledding, ice skate on natural ice and live in a world where climate change is under control. That is why it is important that Finland does its part,” says Riku Eskelinen<\/strong>, Executive Director of The Finnish Nature League, an environmental NGO for children and the youth. <\/p>\n\n

Another important element in Finland’s Climate Act is that it recognises the special rights and vulnerabilities of the only designated indigenous people in the European Union, the S\u00e1mi, in the face of a warming climate. In the Arctic region, the homelands of the S\u00e1mi, the climate is warming much faster than in other parts of the world. The revised Climate Act establishes a S\u00e1mi Climate Council, which is a unique national body<\/a> in the global context. The purpose of the Council is to promote the rights of indigenous peoples in the implementation of the Climate Act. By violating its own climate law, Finland is also violating the rights of the S\u00e1mi.<\/p>\n\n

”The government’s reluctance and outright indifference to climate action has a negative impact on the lives of S\u00e1mi youth and hinders the opportunity to influence our future”, says Lotta Hagelin<\/strong>, board member of the Finnish S\u00e1mi Youth. <\/p>\n\n

”S\u00e1mi livelihoods are based on the land and nature. Our livelihoods are not just jobs but a way of life, part of our identity and a prerequisite for the continuation of our culture. We demand that the laws protecting the rights of the S\u00e1mi people are respected,” says Helmi Ljetoff<\/strong>, deputy member of the board of the Finnish S\u00e1mi Youth. <\/p>\n\n

The appeal has been filed by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto), Greenpeace Norden, Amnesty International Finland, Grandparents for Climate (Ilmastoisovanhemmat), the Finnish Nature League (Luontoliitto) and the Finnish S\u00e1mi Youth (Suoma S\u00e1mi Nuorat).<\/p>\n\n

The lawsuit is part of a wider movement of climate litigation, including a pending case<\/a> by Greenpeace Nordic Norway and Nature and Youth and young people currently advancing at the ECtHR. Globally, climate litigation has significantly advanced in recent years, forcing states and corporations to take faster and more ambitious climate action to uphold human rights.<\/p>\n\n

Contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Kaisa Kosonen, Senior Policy Advisor, Greenpeace Norden, tel: +358 50 368 8488, kaisa.kosonen@greenpeace.org<\/p>\n\n

Hanna Aho, Climate Policy Officer, Finnish Association of Nature Conservation,  tel. +358 40 628 9495, hanna.aho@sll.fi<\/p>\n\n

Elina Mikola, Advisor, Climate and Environment, Amnesty International Finnish Section, tel. +358 44 493 8334, elina.mikola@amnesty.fi<\/p>\n\n

 
Notes to Editor<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n