HS Environment According to Jussi Halla-aho, giving up fossil fuels is now “both necessary and possible” because of the Russian invasion – “You have to update your thinking in this regard”

Policy|HS Environment

One One of Finland’s most popular politicians is changing its position on the urgency of the green transition and the abandonment of fossil fuels. The reason is Russia’s ever-expanding invasion of Ukraine.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and former chairman of Basic Finns Jussi Halla-aho wrote on Tuesday On his Facebook pagethat Russia’s actions are forcing many things to be rethought and that “there won’t be very many stones left in the old world”.

In his article, Halla-aho thanks the world, the Finnish people and Finnish leaders for their unity and speed in pushing for sanctions against Russia. According to Halla-aho, the implementation of isolation in Russia “forces us to do things quickly, many of which would have been ahead or at least necessary in any case”.

“The most important thing is to cut off energy dependency, ie to disconnect hoses from Russia,” Halla-aho writes.

Europe is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels supplied by Russia for its energy supply. For example, 40 percent of imported gas, which is important for industry and heating in Central European homes, still comes from Russia, and the share has not fallen since Russia took over the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Read more: Putin’s violence is also explained by fear of a fossil-free future – “For Russia, this may or may not be a moment,” says the researcher.

Now in Europe, the demands that this dependency must be overcome and that it would make the most sense to break free by tackling another major problem, climate change, are gaining ground. Halla-aho is now taking the same line.

“Substitute suppliers of fossil energy will, of course, be found when it is forced to be found, but if a‘ green transition ’is to take place, then let it happen at this point, in the face of compulsion,” he writes.

The issue is topical this week, not least because of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report on Monday, describing the effects of climate change and the need for rapid adaptation measures.

Halla-ahon according to the Russian invasion, the “turning point in history where it is both necessary and politically possible to get rid of oil, coal and gas” is at hand.

“We also need to update our own thinking on this,” he says.

At the same time, Halla-aho points out that the transition will hit many people’s wallets hard and that she believes that the rise in prices must be offset by taxation.

“The salary for the job must be enough to live in the new conditions.”