News

Nordea’s new climate policy allows oil and gas expansion

After a number of reports, including Banking on Thin Ice and ShareAction’s Countdown to COP showed significant problems with Nordea’s guidelines for financing the fossil fuel sector, Nordea has developed a new policy. Nordea proudly announced that it is “increasing pressure on [the] fossil fuel sector” and the new policy indeed places stronger limitations on financing for the sector by the Nordic region’s largest bank. The policy still has serious gaps, however, which means that it will have limited effect on Nordea’s financing for some key heavy polluters like the Finnish coal company Fortum and companies exploring for more oil and gas in the Arctic. Despite IEA’s new Net Zero by 2050 report that there can be no more investments in new fossil fuels, the policy allows Nordea to continue to finance companies developing new oil and gas projects.

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Joint Press Release: Fortum/Uniper’s partner Pieridae attempts to silence activists

/ Ansku Holstila
Goldboron työmaa
Goldboron työmaa. Kuva Ken Summers.

Canadian company threatens to take legal action against Campaigners Reaction on letter to Trudeau and other politicians on LNG subsidies Energy utilities Fortum and Uniper involved in Pieridae‘s LNG business Lue lisää “Joint Press Release: Fortum/Uniper’s partner Pieridae attempts to silence activists” →

Fortum/Uniper leave Finnish government red-faced due to Paris-incompatible strategy

Hiilivapaan aktiiveja Fortumin plogging tapahtumassa "Unohtuiko omat roskat" kyltin kanssa.
Hiilivapaan aktiiveja Fortumin plogging-tapahtumassa.

Finnish majority state-owned energy company Fortum/Uniper has confirmed in its new strategy released today that it does not intend to align its business with the goals of the UN Paris climate agreement, opting instead to track inadequate national government coal phase-out plans, in defiance of the requirements of its majority shareholder.

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Fortum defends coal power at their AGM by emphasising emissions trading

Pekka Lundmark
Fortumin toimitusjohtaja Pekka Lundmark liioitteli päästökaupan roolia hiilen alasajossa. Kuva: Arno Mikkor CC BY 2.0.

Fortum failed yet again to address the concerns of civil society and environmental organisations in this year’s AGM. The Finnish state-owned company did not properly comment on its subsidiary Uniper’s new coal plant, its emissions in Russia or other fossil fuel investments, which will lock Fortum and Uniper into polluting energy production for a decades.

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Fortum’s Annual General Meeting did not signal willingness to close Uniper’s coal plants

/ Eve Nieminen
Coal power plan in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

While Finland is gearing up to the national elections (taking place 14.4.) that are finally dominated by climate change, it is important to ensure we do not ignore the developments in the Finnish corporate world right under our noses. The slowly unveiling corporate takeover on Uniper by the Finnish majority state-owned company Fortum is important to follow vigilantly. And, in particular, how Fortum intends to tackle the elephant in the room: Uniper’s enormous emissions. Lue lisää “Fortum’s Annual General Meeting did not signal willingness to close Uniper’s coal plants” →

Voting for coal-free Finland – here’s how

/ Hanna Hakko

Finland will hold municipal elections on 9.4. The new council members will, among other things, be responsible for decisions on climate change mitigation and energy production. In many Finnish cities the energy production companies are owned by the municipality, giving the council members a chance to guide them to exchange coal, peat and other fossil fuels for renewable energy and energy effiency and savings. With the climate crisis at hand, big decisions must be made during the upcoming council period.

Coal-free Finland campaign has asked candidates in six major cities – Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku and Jyväskylä – to commit to steering their city free of coal and peat use. Several candidates in different parties have responded positively. Now it’s the time for voters to show their support for candidates dedicated to sustainable climate policies.

Here’s how you can help:

  1. Check your eligibility to vote on the official election site. In Finland it is possible to vote in municipal elections even if you are not a Finnish citizen, if certain criteria are met.
  2. Pick a candidate who has made a commitment to advocate against coal and peat. You can find such candidates in our six campaign cities here. On that page, 1) pick the mucipality, 2) optionally, choose the party whose candidates you want to see, 3) click ”Hae ehdokkaita”.
  3. Discuss elections with friends and family, and encourage them to use their right to vote. Let them know about candidates who support the Coal-free Finland campaign goals.
  4. If needed, check the official voting instructions.
  5. Cast your vote on Sunday 9th!

Thank you for helping move Finland beyond coal!

Read more about the campaign and energy issues in Finland: Coal-free Finland in English.