Tiina Sanila-Aikio, a former president of the Finnish Sami parliament, has never experienced such a warm summer in Finnish Lapland.
The boreal forests around Inari, usually lush, are now withered, and the reindeer herders are witnessing unprecedented heat and drought.
The vast Taiga, a critical carbon sink stretching through the northern hemisphere, is under threat as Finland’s forests struggle to absorb carbon.
Once considered the backbone of Finland’s 2035 carbon-neutrality plan, these forests have experienced a dramatic decline in their ability to capture carbon.
Finland’s land sector, which absorbed more carbon than it released until 2010, became a net emitter by 2021-22.
Sami reindeer herders face uncertainty as climate change disrupts traditional feeding grounds.Forest sinks have declined by 90% since 2009 due to increased emissions from logging, soil degradation, and peatland destruction.
The Finnish government’s ambitious carbon-neutrality goal is now at risk. Despite significant emissions reductions in other sectors, overall progress has stagnated, leaving net emissions unchanged since the 1990s.
Climate change is amplifying the problem, with rising temperatures accelerating the breakdown of peatlands and increasing tree mortality from drought and heat stress.
The forestry sector is resisting calls to limit logging, citing economic consequences. Meanwhile, climate scientists warn that Finland’s forests are approaching a tipping point.
If current trends persist, some species, like spruce trees, may no longer survive in southern Finland, posing significant challenges to the country’s climate goals.
For the Sami people, whose livelihood depends on reindeer herding, these changes are already impacting their way of life. With food supplies for the reindeer dwindling, the upcoming winter looks increasingly uncertain.