After almost a year of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) governing coalition in office, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat examined the government's environmental policies.
While there was much debate during the coalition formation negotiations, Environment Minister Kai Mykkänen (NCP) summarised the agreed climate policy, focusing on "big exhaust pipes, not small ones''. In other words, the government made assurances that everyday costs would not rise.
HS noted that the government's environmental plans have some short-term pitfalls, but the benefits are mostly long-term.
For example, the government cutting fuel taxes prompts immediate emissions increases, but efforts supporting carbon capture are meant to reduce them sometime in the distant future, HS said.
The government has also opposed or softened EU-level climate actions, such as the Nature Restoration Law.
Responding to the issues brought up by the paper, Mykkänen said he and the government were more interested in "divesting from fossil fuels rather than radical conservation measures".
The green transition — or in the government's words, the clean transition — is about moving the economy away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
According to Mykkänen, the government has promoted this transition both abroad and at home. For example, Finland supported an EU measure to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040.
Domestically, Mykkänen pointed to the government's efforts such as prioritising pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants and easing permits for small-scale nuclear power plants.
Longer school days
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat spoke with Minister of Education Anna-Maja Henriksson (SPP) about the government's planned educational reforms.
"Literacy has declined across the board and we must now focus on ensuring that children and pupils learn to read, write and count better than before," Henriksson told IS, referring to Finland's recent decline in PISA scores.
In order to reverse the downward trend, the government plans to increase the number of weekly lessons, and extending the length of school days at primary schools.
"In practice, this means that the days at primary school will be a little longer. But compared internationally, we have very short school days in Finland," Henriksson said.
Another issue the government's education reforms hope to address is the use of cell phones in schools. The government will strengthen teachers' ability to decide whether or not to allow kids to hold onto their phones.
The education minister urged municipalities and schools to swiftly tackle kids' use of the devices in classrooms. She pointed out that in many schools, pupils leave their mobile phones 'parked' in a collective box, usually on the teacher's desk, from the first grade onwards.
In the wake of Vantaa's school shooting last week, Henriksson said the government hopes to implement new, tested models of addressing bullying nationwide.
Mörkö's last chance
Tabloid Iltalehti covered what might be the last chance for one of Finland's hockey legends to win a club championship.
Marko Anttila boasts an impressive CV with Finland's men's national ice hockey team — an Olympic gold, two IIHF World Championships golds and an IIHF World Championships silver to boot. Anttila, aka 'Mörkö' — named after the Moomin 'Groke' character — retired from the national team after the IIHF World Championship last year.
Despite his impressive international trophy collection, a club championship has eluded the 38-year-old's career.
The right wing player from team Oulun Kärpät has spent much of his hockey career playing in Finland's domestic top-flight league Liiga.
Despite being on the verge of retirement, Anttila has had one of his best professional seasons yet, scoring 27 points during the Liiga regular season.
Anttila's Kärpät are currently down 2-0 against the Lahti Pelicans in the semifinal best-of-seven series of the Liiga playoffs.
"Winning a club championship is a big dream for me. Nothing comes by force, but I'll try to do everything I can and I'm sure every guy in our locker room is trying to do that," Anttila told Iltalehti.
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