Finland: Ministry of the Environment and Sámi Parliament negotiate on the Climate Change Act

NordenBladet — The negotiations on the Climate Change Act between the Ministry of the Environment and the Sámi Parliament under section 9 of the Act on the Sámi Parliament were held on Tuesday 27 October. The Government proposal for the reformed Climate Change Act should be ready in spring 2021.In the negotiations the representatives of the Sámi Parliament presented their views on how the rights of the Sámi people should be taken into account in the Climate Change Act.“Climate change is a very serious threat especially to the Sámi culture and its traditional nature-based livelihoods. In the reform of the Climate Change Act we want to strengthen the rights of the Sámi as an indigenous people and their opportunities to participate in climate policy,” says Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen, who also took part in the negotiations.The topics raised included the importance of climate change adaptation and support for this, and the need to create a knowledge base, expert assessments and monitoring related to the impacts of climate change from the perspective of the Sámi people.“I wish to thank Minister Mikkonen for participating in the negotiations with the Sámi Parliament in person, which is quite exceptional. For developing a climate policy of and for the Sámi people, it is important to include a climate panel and climate change adaptation programme of the Sámi people in the Climate Change Act. Taking the rights of the Sámi people more broadly into account in the Climate Change Act is most welcome, as well as highly necessary,” says Tuomas Aslak Juuso, President of the Sámi Parliament.Online survey on citizens’ views concerning the Climate Change ActA public online consultation is currently open to collect the citizens’ views. The consultation consists of two surveys, and in one of these the key focus is on how the rights of the Sámi people should be incorporated into the Climate Change Act.The surveys are available on the Otakantaa website, also in the Sámi languages. They will be open until 12 November 2020. A summary of the replies will be compiled and delivered to the working group tasked with preparing the new Act and published on the Ministry of the Environment website.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi