Greenpeace files supreme court case accusing Finland of climate inaction

In a statement, the six organizations noted that in 2022, Finland adopted “one of the strongest net-zero climate targets among industrialized countries, committing to becoming climate neutral by 2035 and reaching net negative emissions thereafter.”

In their lawsuit to Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court, the groups alleged that “the lack of sufficient climate action” by Finland’s right-wing government violates the country’s climate law.

“Our government has failed to enact solutions, scrapped agreed measures and refused to review Finland’s outdated climate plan for land use and forestry,” said Kaisa Kosonen, senior policy adviser at Greenpeace.

“This is a violation of climate law, so it is our duty as NGOs to take legal action,” she said.

According to the organizations, Finland is not on track to meet its emissions reduction targets, primarily due to excessive deforestation and a lack of efforts to reduce emissions from the agricultural and transport sectors.

The groups said the case was based on an earlier Finnish court ruling and a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that found Switzerland had violated the human rights of a group of elderly women by not doing enough to combat global warming.

“Governments’ failure to act on climate change puts at risk the realisation of many human rights, such as the right to life, health and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” said Elina Mikkola, Climate and Environment Advisor at Amnesty International Finland.

The lawsuit was filed on August 2 by the Finnish Society for Nature Conservation, Greenpeace Norden, Amnesty International Finland, Grandparents for Climate, the Finnish Association for Nature and Finnish Sámi Youth.

Finland’s first climate trial ended last year with the Supreme Administrative Court ultimately dismissing a complaint against the Finnish state for insufficient climate action.