Coal-free Finland
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.
Lue lisää “Fortum defends coal power at their AGM by emphasising emissions trading”
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”
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.
Read more about the campaign and energy issues in Finland: Coal-free Finland in English.