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Members sought for Sámi Climate Council

Ministry of the Environment
Publication date 21.4.2023 8.37
News item

The Ministry of the Environment invites the Sámi Parliament, universities, research institutes and the Finnish Climate Change Panel to propose members to the Sámi Climate Council. The processes to appoint members to the Finnish Climate Change Panel and Finnish Nature Panel will start later.

The Sámi Climate Council will be appointed for the first time by virtue of the new Climate Act and the Government Decree on the Sámi Climate Council. The purpose of the Council is to bring the knowledge and perspectives of the Sámi people into the processes to prepare climate policy.

The Council has a chair and vice-chair, and the maximum number of members is ten. At least half of the members must be holders of traditional Sámi knowledge. The other members represent environmental sciences and other relevant fields of science.

The Ministry of the Environment has requested proposals for members from the Sámi Parliament, universities, state research institutes, universities of applied sciences representing fields that are relevant in terms of the Council’s tasks, and the Finnish Climate Change Panel. The Sámi Parliament will propose holders of traditional Sámi knowledge and the universities and research institutes will propose representatives of different fields of science to the Council.

The organisations are to submit their proposals for members of the Sámi Climate Council to the Ministry of the Environment by 2 June 2023. The Government will make the appointment decision based on the proposal of the Ministry of the Environment. The aim is to appoint the Sámi Climate Council during summer 2023. 

Process to appoint members to Climate Change Panel and Nature Panel opens soon

In addition to the Sámi Climate Council, the Ministry of the Environment will publish requests for proposals for members to be appointed to the Finnish Climate Change Panel and Finnish Nature Panel during the spring and summer. The four-year term of both panels will end at the end of this year.

The request to propose candidates for the Finnish Climate Change Panel will be sent to the universities and research institutes during May and the request concerning the Finnish Nature Panel will be sent to the research institutes in August at the latest.

The universities and research institutes may propose several candidates at a time. Those interested in becoming members of the Sámi Climate Council, Finnish Climate Change Panel and Finnish Nature Panel may request the documents related to the application process from the registry of their own organisation.

The Finnish Climate Change Panel and Finnish Nature Panel will be appointed for a new term by the end of 2023.

Inquiries:

Karin Cederlöf (Sámi Climate Council) 
Senior Officer, Legal Affairs
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 295 250 010
[email protected]

Heta-Elena Heiskanen (Finnish Climate Change Panel)
Senior Specialist
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 295 250 380
[email protected]

Suvi Borgström (Finnish Nature Panel)
Senior Specialist
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 295 250 342
[email protected]