Finns PartyChairperson Riikka Purra has called for the government to postpone Finland’s deadline for achieving carbon neutrality by 15 years. The current target was set for 2035 during the last electoral term, with all partiesexcept the Finns Party agreeing to the terms. 

Purra said she believes it would be impossible for the country to become carbon neutral within the next 20 years, as it would raise energy prices, in particular the prices of electricity and fossil fuels, to the point that neither citizens nor industries would be able to afford it. 

THE FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE HAS CONFIRMEDthat 2018 was the hottest year in Finland since records began over 150 years ago, fuelling further concerns over the pace of climate change.

In a bulletin released by the Institute this morning, they reveal that overall, 2018 was a full 2 degrees warmer than usual as an average. Meanwhile, the peak temperature of the year, which was recorded as 33.7 degrees Celsius in Vaasa on 18 June, was one of the highest ever reached.

An extensive international study has found that a large majority of people aged 16–25 are suffering from severe anxiety caused by the climate crisis and lack of government action regarding the same. 

Around 75 percent of respondents said they believed the future was “frightening,” and 45 percent felt that distress and anxiety related to climate change areaffecting their daily life. The study surveyed 10,000 people from 10 different countries, including Finland. 

A WEATHER OBSERVATORY STATION IN UTSJOKI has recorded the second-highest temperatures ever seen in Lapland today, with the mercury hitting 33.5 degrees Celsius. The temperature reading is the highest seen in the region since at least 1914, when temperatures hit 34.7 degrees Celsius.