Flags are flying today for the Finnish Nature Day which is celebrated on the last Saturday of August each year.
People in Finland are encouraged to get out and explore their environment, and eat bilberry pie.
“On the anniversary of nature, we celebrate everything that nature gives us” says Environment Minister Krista Mikkonen (Green).
“Now, in exceptional times, more and more Finns have sought strength and peace of mind from nature. National parks and other hiking areas have attracted even more visitors than usual, which has been a pleasure to follow. However, I also remind you of safe distances when hiking” she says, adding that her plans to mark the day include going out into nature, raising the Finnish flag and “eating a bilberry pie.”
Mikkonen notes that this government has “invested significantly in nature conservation.”
“We increased funding for this year by one hundred million [euros] and impressive deeds have been done all over Finland.”
However while having the Greens in government does put more focus on environmental issues, the government has also been criticised for not taking enough concrete steps to reach a target of carbon neutrality by 2035.
And for some people the Greens haven’t done enough to leverage their position in government to force through bigger, bolder changes.
Finnair, which is partly owned by the state, is one of Europe’s fastest-growing polluter airlines. A series of investigations by News Now Finland revealed that Neste, also partly owned by the state, has a poor track record of supply chain integrity and biodiversity loss near palm oil mills in Indonesia – and continues to market biofuel in Finland that would be illegal in other European countries.
This government remains intransigent too on stamping out peat as a fuel source with resistance coming from the Centre Party in particular.
