MARIA OHISALO (Greens), the Minister of the Interior, has hinted at the possibility of amending the upcoming money collection act if it remains an obstacle to the operations of Compensate, a non-profit foundation headed by Antero Vartia.
The Finnish Gambling Administration, a department of the National Police Board, in June ruled that the foundation engages in unremunerated activity and therefore requires a money collection permit.
Compensate has set out to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by offering people an opportunity to make compensation payments, which it will use fully for purchasing emission reduction units.
“The law mustn’t be an obstacle to good work to prevent climate change,” Ohisalo outlined on Twitter on Thursday.
“Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s (Centre) government drafted a new money collection act that will come into effect in March. If also the new act and its interpretation form an obstacle to credible and voluntary compensation of emissions, we must weigh up the need to rectify the act,” she added.
Vartia, an ex-lawmaker for the Green League, thanked Ohisalo for her support but argued that this particular issue should be resolved outside the Finnish Parliament.
“The Gambling Administration didn’t hear a single expert, nor does it even understand how the emission compensation system works. It can’t be that the right way to solve this problem is to demand legislative amendments from the Parliament,” he explained.
Vartia has appealed against the ruling to the Chancellor of Justice.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: Uusi Suomi
