Category: 2018

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Article in The Ulkopolitist

Our researcher Sanna Kopra together with Liisa Kauppila published a new article “Suomi ja Kiinan arktisen vallan anatomia: pehmeää, kovaa ja terävää?” (Finland and the anatomy of China’s Arctic power: soft, hard and sharp) in The Ulkopolitist.

China’s interests now extend to every corner of the world, even more to the open Arctic. The rising Great Power tries to influence the development of the Arctic by a multifaceted range of ways, including some of which Finland should be aware.

Read the full article here.

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Aleksanteri Institute seminar on the challenges after Russian elections

Today at the Aleksanteri Institute a seminar “Haasteet Venäjän vaalien jälkeen” (Challenges after Russian elections) is held at 14:00, in Finnish.

Putin does not have a challenger in Russia. Opposition’s boycott can successfully challenge the legitimacy of power – if the turnout is too low, it would be a clear motion of no confidence. However, the biggest challenges for Putin’s current line will be non-opposition: the Russian economy, social and foreign policy issues and ever-increasing environmental problems call for a solution.

Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen was one of the speakers and was talking about Russian energy and climate policy.

Read the articles about the seminar in Swedish at Hufvudstadsbladet web-page and Vasabladet web-page, in Finnish at Iltalehti.

 

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MustRead article

New article on MustRead “Professori: Suomen voimakas riippuvuus Venäjän energiasta on tabu – TEM haluaa sulkea silmänsä riskiltä”  (Professor: Finland’s strong dependence on Russian energy is a taboo – Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment wants to close its eyes to the risk).

Almost half of all Finland’s energy comes from Russia. According to Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, officials and parties do not even want to think about what kind of political leverage the situation gives to Russia. Riku Huttunen from the Ministry does not share researchers’ concern.

Read the full article here.

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Iltalehti article

Read Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen’s comment in Iltalehti article “Itänaapuri vyöryttää etupiiriään energiahankkeilla, myös Suomi kohteena – ”Venäjä on Euroopassa nyt aggressori””  (The Eastern neighbor forces its front-line with energy projects, Finland is one of the targets – “Russia is now an aggressor in Europe”) . You can find the full article here.

 

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HS article

Read the new article co-authored by Sanna Kopra – “Jääsilkkitie sai Kiinan kiinnostumaan Pohjolasta” ( Ice Silk Road Attracted China’s Interest in the North) published on Helsingin Sanomat.

The importance of the North Dimension has been emphasized in China’s strategy, and its interest in the Arctic countries, including Finland, has increased.

As climate change progresses north of Siberia, the seaway that China named the Ice Silk Road is opening. The Ice Silk Road is a strategically important project as it enables the transportation of natural resources through the ice to the Chinese market. By increasing the use of natural gas from the Arctic, China seeks to reduce the pollution from coal burning, especially the smog in large cities. The Ice Silk Road can also significantly speed up the carriage of cargo between China and Europe. Read more on Helsingin Sanomat.

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GLASE Science Cafe

Today GLASE (Multilayered Borders of Global Security) organised a Science cafe event, where Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen took part representing Winland project. The talk was on energy and information management in times of hybridization by Professor of the Russian Environment Studies Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen and Janne “Rysky” Riiheläinen, communications expert of the GLASE research project.

Picture by @TeemuOivo.

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MOT interview

Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen appeared in “Venäläinen sähköisku” (Russian energy shock), MOT (Mikä oli tutkittava) TV-programme episode on Yle TV1 on Monday, 19 of February 2018. In his interview Tynkkynen spoke about Russia’s energy policy. You can watch the full programme here.

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Turun Sanomat article

An article by Sanna Kopra was published in Turun Sanomat. The article titled “Kiina haluaa varmistaa paikkansa Arktiksella” (China Wants to Secure Its Place in the Arctic). The article is available for the TS subscribers here.

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Article on Politiikasta

Sanna Kopra’s article “Kiinan Arktinen diplomatia pyrkii vähentämään uhkakuvia” (China’s Arctic Diplomacy Seeks to Reduce Threats) was published on Politiikasta. The article observes how China’s recent and anticipated Arctic strategy seeks to increase the transparency of the policy by reducing the mistrust that China’s growing interest in the region has created among the Arctic states.

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Arctic Frontiers 2018

On 25th of January Hanna Lempinen gave a presentation “Local resources, international climate policies and salvaging the welfare state: Peat production at the symbolical core of Finnish energy-economy-society interface” at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway.

While much of the debates over the Arctic energyscape are dominated by the pros, cons and prospects of northern oil and gas extraction, this presentation takes a focus on another Arctic non-renewable energy resource that sits uncomfortably between regional economic development and international climate policy priorities: peat. While at the official level the national climate and energy policies have shifted from “peat promotion” to gradually phasing out its use in favor of more climate-friendly energy alternatives, local and industry efforts to define peat as a “slowly renewable biomass fuel” continue.

Although the share of peat in Finland’s national energy mix has gradually decreased to around five percent, the importance it still has in terms of supply security and regional economics and employment, the adverse environmental and climate impacts of peat production, and the colorful lobbying campaigns of peat producer associations make sure that the attention that peat receives in political and popular agendas remains larger than its size. This presentation takes an empirical focus on the most recent public peat promotion campaign in Finland with an aim to highlight the fundamental intertwinements of “the idea of peat” and the Finnish society. As such, it provides a case study approach to the often complex discursive interplay of northern local “realities” and shifting international policy priorities in the era of accelerating global warming.