At the end of 2015, world leaders gathered in Paris to agree that global warming must be stopped at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. That was supposed to be the final limit. Not a single rich country has taken the target seriously.

Now, nine years later, the 1.5°C limit has been exceeded and the Paris Agreement has been broken. Warming has accelerated dramatically, and these nine years have been the hottest on record.

The reality of the climate crisis is being felt around the world right now in the form of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and food and water shortages. According to the UN Environment Programme, we are heading towards three degrees of warming and a planet unfit for human habitation.

Every fractional increase in temperature increases the risks. We are running a strong likelihood of irreversible tipping points that will shake the climate system once the 1.5°C limit is crossed. We have a global emergency on our hands.

And that’s not all. Climate is just one of nine processes that regulate the state of the planet. All are essential for human life, but we have already exceeded the sustainable limits of five other processes in addition to climate. The systems that sustain human life are collapsing.

While the world is burning, the Finnish government squanders at least 4 billion euros a year on environmentally harmful subsidies. Such policies of destruction and suffering are unacceptable!

The nine planetary boundaries identified in the study represent the different environmental domains and processes that regulate the Earth system and thus the viability of life for humans. A footnote explains what the sector headings in the graph mean.³ (Photo: Azote / Stockholm Resilience Centre)

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government programme paints a grandiose picture of how Finland’s climate policy will leave a huge handprint on the world. But the imprint is not green, it is carbon black. Finland’s “progressive climate policy” is a farce.

When our planet is on fire and environmental action is a matter of life and death, the Finnish government is fueling the fire by slashing carbon sinks and cutting fuel taxes, among other things.

The government is violating both international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and Finland’s own climate law. The law obliges the government to continuously monitor and update its climate plans. Finland’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2035 and carbon negative thereafter. However, the government’s actions run counter to these targets.

The Orpo government is pursuing a short-sighted debt policy backed by neoliberal ideology, bowing to capital and violating human rights. It is the societies of the Global South⁴ and indigenous peoples who will suffer most from the consequences of our emissions.

It is high time for the Finnish government to take responsibility. They must begin to implement an ambitious environmental policy in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Rich countries must abandon the idea of GDP as the main measure of the economy and move towards safeguarding people’s needs and well-being. The economy must be returned to being a means, not an end.

The Finnish government has deliberately got itself into a situation where it is financially supporting activities that are eroding the foundations of our living environment and preventing investment in a cleaner future.

At least 4 billion euros a year are spent on environmentally harmful subsidies. This is more than the amount paid out in housing or unemployment benefits in our country.

This money is made up of tax breaks and direct subsidies that wreak havoc on our natural environment by promoting air travel, traffic congestion, intensive forestry, and so on. Our outdated agricultural subsidy system favours environmentally damaging practices rather than directing subsidies towards the major changes needed for the ecological transition.

There are not even clear statistics on environmentally harmful subsidies. So the true scale of this disastrous distribution of money remains hidden. Nor is it possible to measure much of the destruction these policies cause. How can we put a price tag on, for example, the felling of old-growth forests and extinct species? What about the cost of the marshes that are irreversibly destroyed by mining?

Statistical subsidies harmful to the environment vs. basic welfare components, € million

Elokapina refuses to stand by while Finland’s nature is destroyed by irrational policies. Environmentally harmful subsidies must be stopped!

We demand that a Citizens’ Forum be involved in deciding how the money freed from harmful subsidies should be spent. Only by expanding democracy can we reverse Finland’s course to bring forth a fairer future and save our homes together. Examples from around the world prove that citizens’ forums are effective in politically difficult situations. Read more about the Citizens’ Forum on our website at this link.

We demand fair change. Consumption-based emissions must immediately be included in Finland’s emission reduction targets. Emissions from consumption in Finland are now being outsourced to others. This is simply not working!

Our current way of life is not sustainable, because it is based on tacit oppression through the international market economy and ineffective climate policy. For example, the environmentally harmful subsidies handed out by our governments cause the most suffering to those who have been oppressed by our colonial market system for centuries.

The wealth of Finland and other rich countries is based on the poverty of poor countries. We are part of a global economic system created by colonialism, where rich and poor countries are governed by different rules. This system is maintained in part by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, which do not operate democratically⁵.

The countries of the Global South pay around USD 200 billion a year in interest on loans⁶, while the wealthy Western countries and large corporations export the resources they need at a price of their own choosing in the name of the ‘green transition’. The effects of overconsumption in Finland, such as the pollution of land and water and the social cost of worker exploitation, will be borne by the Global South.

It is estimated that the Global North takes over from the South every year

• around 12 billion tonnes of material raw materials
• 820 million hectares of land
• over 5 trillion kilowatt hours of energy, and
• more than 180 million person-years.

The value of the exploitation is more than 10 trillion (10 thousand billion) dollars. This amount of money could end extreme poverty 70 times over. Development aid to the global South is about $200 billion, a fraction of the wealth that is being extracted.

Achieving equitable change requires cancelling the debts of the countries of the Global South and allocating debt-free climate finance to these societies.

Human and environmental exploitation are intertwined. Oppression must be resisted everywhere for the sake of environmental justice. The colonialist and exploitative mindset is pervasive in the current fossil economy and exploitation of natural resources, which is strongly linked to today’s wars. The brutal settler colonialism in Palestine, for example, is partly driven by the desire to control fossil fuel reserves. (For more on the colonial greenwashing and Finland’s involvement in the occupation, read our blog on this link.)

We oppose colonialism in all its forms – even when it takes place within our borders. We demand transparency about the exploitation of natural resources in Sápmi land and respect for Sámi self-determination. Why has Finland still not ratified the ILO 169 Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples⁶?

Rich countries and the fossil fuel industries they create are destroying the planet. Making the earth uninhabitable is leading to large numbers of people becoming climate refugees, heat waves are killing thousands, and the lack of fresh water is making extreme weather events even deadlier. At the same time, the elite are out to save only themselves.

But we will not let the fossil fuel industry destroy everything we love. That’s why we are rising up for a fairer world and are inviting everyone to join us!

We are turning our eyes to where the mistakes that are heating up the climate are being made. We call to account the institutions that hand out environmentally harmful subsidies, the politicians that shirk responsibility and the corporations that profit from promoting suffering. Fighting the ecological crisis and bringing forth environmental justice must take precedence over everything else. The government must begin the immediate dismantling of all environmentally harmful subsidies.

Elokapina acts for love. Our actions are non-violent and peaceful, and we take responsibility for our actions. But we are not afraid to act big and cause a disturbance: we will return to protest again and again. We do not give up.

Do we want to be remembered as the generation that destroyed everything, or as the generation that changed everything? With thousands of us in the streets, those in power have no choice but to listen. We need you to join us!

Later is too late – the future of the planet is being determined now. So become part of a wave of change with power! ⧖

Endnotes

1. At the local level, ways to ensure people’s livelihoods and reduce inequalities are needed to promote a fair transition. In the transition towards a more sustainable society, economic security should be increased, and inequalities reduced through a basic income financed by savings from business taxes and additional funding raised through environmental and property taxes. 
2. To enable rapid and fair change on a sufficiently large scale, our democratic decision-making system must be expanded. Let citizens decide; convene a citizens’ assembly with the responsibility to take indicative decisions on socially just ways to accelerate emission reductions, halt the loss of nature and end overconsumption. The citizens’ assembly will also decide on the fair use of funds released from harmful corporate taxes. The citizens’ assembly, made up of randomly selected members, will receive information from experts and stakeholders, hold debates based on research and then make proposals to Parliament. (Read more about the citizens’ assembly here.)
3. Clarifications to the headings of the sectors of the image showing planetary boundaries:
   • Ecosystem functional integrity refers to the ability of ecosystems to sustain species interactions that support the necessities for ecosystem existence (https://www.somewhatgreener.com/feed/biosphere-integrity-it-underpins-our-survival/).
   • Land system change, or socio-ecological system change, is a consequence of human interaction with the natural environment (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213305415300151).
   • Freshwater change is human-induced changes to the Earth’s freshwater resources. (https://helmholtz-klima.de/en/planetary-boundaries-fresh-water)
   • Biogeochemical cycles are the pathways along which elements and compounds such as carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, sulphur or water flow between living organisms and the environment. (https://www.planetaryhealthalliance.org/changing-biogeochemical-flows)
   • Ozone protects the planet’s biota and as the ozone layer thins, the risk of cancer, for example, increases (https://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/uv-radiation/)
   • The study defines ‘Novel Entities’ as entities that would not exist on Earth without the existence of humans. These include synthetic chemicals and substances such as microplastics, endocrine disruptors and organic pollutants. Similarly, the definition includes man-made radioactive substances such as nuclear waste and nuclear weapons. It also includes human-induced evolutionary modification, genetically modified organisms and other direct human interventions in evolutionary processes. The new dossiers also serve as geological markers of the Anthropocene. (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458)
   • Radiative forcing is a measure of the change in energy balance. Forcing is the result of the action of forcing agents. These include greenhouse gases, aerosols, clouds and the albedo of the ground (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/radiative-forcing).
4. The Global South usually refers to countries outside the so-called Western world, but not Russia and North Korea. Western countries include North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
5. For an explanation of the role of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, see Elokapina’s blog post, to be published this autumn, at blogi.elokapina.fi
6. ILO 169 requires the party states to take specific measures to protect indigenous peoples’ members, institutions, property, cultures, and environment. There is also competition in Sámi homeland to increase Finns’ use of land for wind power construction and the exploration of minerals needed for electrification. Finland must recognise the Sámi people’s land and water use rights and respect their right to self-determination.

Sources

(1) 2023 is the hottest year in 100,000 years: ddnews.gov.in/en/2023-is-the-hottest-year-on-record-warmest-in-100000-years/ (2) In 2024, the hottest average temperatures on record for the Earth: climate.copernicus.eu/new-record-daily-global-average-temperature-reached-july-2024 (3) Hottest ocean temperatures on record: wired.com/story/ocean-temperatures-keep-shattering-records-and-stunning-scientists/ (4) Australia’s Great Barrier Reef at risk of extinction: yle.fi/a/74-20103774 (5): On civil disobedience and research: jstor.org/stable/40207100 ; also jmkorhonen.fi/2021/09/29/abuse-and-activism-mita-research-sanoo/ (6): the UN Environment Programme says we are heading towards three degrees of warming: unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023 (7) Over 2 degrees warming will kill at least a billion people: mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6074). (8): Tipping points are very likely to be exceeded after the 1.5 degree limit: science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7950 (9): Six of the nine planetary boundaries have already been crossed: aalto.fi/en/news/research-the-world-boundaries-have-just-crossed-six-of-the-nine-planetary-boundaries. (10): More on the Citizens’ Forum: elokapina.fi/system-change/ (11): The Global South pays around $200 billion a year in interest on loans: Hickel, J. 2017. The Divide: A brief guide to global inequality and its solutions, Penguin Random House UK; also https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2023/12/new-data-show-global-south-is-in-worst-debt-crisis-ever-with-another-lost-decade-looming/
(12): More than $10 trillion worth of resources are exploited annually from the global South: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095937802200005X
(13): Development aid to the Global South worth around $200 billion: data.one.org/topics/official-development-assistance/ (14): Two-thirds of the wealth created in the 2020s will go into the pockets of the richest 1%: oxfam.org/en/press-releases/richest-1-bag-nearly-twice-much-wealth-rest-world-put-together-over-past-two-years (15): on the drive behind the occupation of Palestine to control fossil fuel reserves: debtforclimatefinland.substack.com/p/israel-occupation-unwinding-on ; and blogi.elokapina.fi/finland-is-complicit-in-israels-occupation-of-palestine/