Who am I?

I’m a 28-year-old Green councillor in the Helsinki City Council and an environmental politics specialist. I currently work for the Green parliamentary group, where my role is that of an environmental expert as well as parliamentary assistant to Maria Ohisalo, the Minister for the Environment and Climate. 

I come from a bilingual home in Maunula and currently live in Vallila. I spend lots of time outdoors, sometimes spotting birds, sometimes cycling or paddling. During wintertime I love to ski, and in summertime my new hobby is sailing. Literature and music are dear to me. I play the piano and sometimes guitar too. I’m a feminist and a vegan.

I got involved in politics since I felt the urge to do something about global warming and biodiversity loss. It’s also why I studied Environmental sciences at the University of Helsinki. I think it’s crucial to find ways to make our society and way of life more sustainable. Even though environmental awareness and a responsible lifestyle have become more common, we are far from a truly sustainable society. This problem needs to be addressed with green politics.

What do I stand for?

The climate crisis and loss of biodiversity are the biggest challenges of our generation. Diverse nature is a prerequisite to life on Earth. Yet, we stand before a sixth mass extinction and climate change that threatens the balance of the Earth. We must not base our well-being on an ecological debt at the expense of younger generations.

I want to find solutions to these sustainability crises with constructive cooperation and based on the newest research findings. Six years in Helsinki city politics and four years in positions of trust within the Green party have taught me that there are seldom simple solutions to complex problems. Biodiversity loss is still not taken seriously enough in Finland and this is something I want to change.

In practice, I want to protect Finnish forests and stop biodiversity loss. For example, we must conserve all old national forests, strengthen environmental protection clauses, adopt ecological compensation, and improve animal rights. In addition, I want to ensure Finland is carbon neutral by 2035, boost the renewable energy transition and set goals for Finland to reach the Paris Climate Agreement targets of 1,5 degrees of warming.

I am advocating for a just transition, meaning that as we move to an ecologically sustainable society, we must also reduce poverty and make sure no one is left behind. Public health and social services must be strengthened and the working conditions in these branches improved. Education must remain free for everyone and of good quality. The arts and scientific research must also be defended.