350 Suomi edistää tieteeseen ja oikeudenmukaisuuteen perustuvia ratkaisuja ilmastonmuutokseen

Fossil Free campaign movie nights in the Helsinki region

Come learn about the global divestment movement and join the Fossil Free Finland campaign! We will organize two movie nights in October, where we will watch a documentary about the subject and have a discussion about the campaign and growing it at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University.

The University of Helsinki movie night will be held on 19 October at 18:00 to 21:00 (6 pm to 9 pm) at Mothership of Work, Pieni Roobertinkatu 9, Helsinki. The event is also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/206538049767058/

The Aalto University movie night will be held on 25 October from 18:00 to 21:00 (6 pm to 9 pm) at Aalto Design Factory, Betonimiehenkuja 5, Espoo. The event is also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/206538049767058/

The film screened will be “Disruption”, a documentary about climate change and the movement that’s determined to prevent it. At Aalto, a short piece of “Do the Math”, a documentary about the terrifying math of the climate crisis, will also be shown.

Fossil Free is a campaign demanding educational and religious institutions, governments, and other organizations that serve the public good to cut their ties to the fossil fuel industry. See more at: https://world.350.org/finland/campaigns/divest-from-fossil-fuels/?lang=en

Welcome!

Even if you can’t make it, you can still participate by, for example, signing our petition calling for the University of Helsinki to divest from fossil fuels: https://world.350.org/finland/kampanjat/rahat-pois-fossiilisista/

 

Disruption – Official Trailer from Disruption on Vimeo.

 …

Investing in the solutions: Introducing GoSol

As awareness to #divest is spreading, practical solutions are needed. After 10 years of work on the ground in Mexico, India, Cuba, Mali, Haiti, Finland and more, the team behind GoSol.org, a Tampere-based startup, is taking practical steps to bring solar energy access to all – including those that currently can’t afford it.

Their technology is a multi-use energy source. It plugs directly into the sun and bundles its heat with mirrors, to produce high temperatures of up to 600°C. These solar ovens, water purifiers, fruit driers, and powerful cooking stoves are not only cheap and sustainable, but GoSol.org is putting together a crowd funding campaign to make this tech available to everyone on the planet for free. To find out more about what GoSol.org does and how you can get involved, visit http://www.GoSol.org

University’s investments matter!

FFE_350F_newcomers_evening

Hi university student, alumni or faculty member!

It is unconscionable for our universities to profit from investments that will condemn the planet to climate disaster. Universities should divest their financial assets from fossil fuel producing companies. Please join us to make the case for this important topic!

We’ll have a newcomers evening on Thursday 15.5. at 18:00 in Kupoli, Uusi ylioppilasto, Mannerheimintie 5 B, 7th floor. Join us!

Finnish universities have investments in fossil fuel producing companies through public equities or commingled funds. Fossil Free / Rahat pois fossiilisista campaign is focused on raising this issue to the discussion and proposing better investment alternatives. According to the climate science, over 80% of known fossil fuel reserves have to be left in the ground if we want to limit global warming under the internationally agreed two degree limit.

We’re gathering students and faculty in order to start campaigns at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. In the newcomers’ evening you will learn what the campaign is all about and how you can start building the campaign together in a group. You don’t have to be an expert in climate science or financial asset management, we’ll arrange trainings so you can easily grasp the required basic knowledge.

Our campaigns in Finland are part of the global student-led Fossil Free campaing that is taking place in hundreds of universities including Harvard, MIT, Yale, Cambridge and Oxford.

Global Fossil Free campaign: http://gofossilfree.org/

Join us!

Best regards,

Saku – [email protected]

Fossil Fuel Divestment FAQ

What is divestment?
The opposite of investment, divestment simply means getting rid of stocks, bonds or funds that are related to unethical or damaging companies, industries or practices.

Why divest?
Divestment in our context isn’t primarily an economic strategy, but rather a moral and political one. Divestment is one of the most powerful statements that an institution can make. It helps to remove the social license that has allowed the fossil fuel industry to pollute the planet at no cost. It’s also financially sensible, as explained later. To have any chance of living on a planet that looks something like our current one, experts agree we must limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. To achieve this means 80% of current fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground. [1] This has been proofed by the Carbon Tracker Initiative. To avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, only 565 gigatons of carbon can be burnt. [2] However, if the fossil fuel industry burns all the fossil fuels currently held in their reserves this will lead to 2795 gigatons of carbon being burnt – five times the safe carbon budget. Two hundred publicly-traded companies hold the vast majority of the world’s proven coal, oil and gas reserves. [3] Since 2001, they have amassed over $1 trillion in profit. [4] Many of these companies, incidentally, are also the largest contributors to politicians globally. They’re the ones influencing legislation, funding deniers and getting billions in government handouts each year. [5]

What is the Carbon Bubble?
As current fossil fuel reserves are valued at $28 trillion, the industry would have to wipe out almost $22 trillion of their value to remain within the carbon budget. This $22 trillion is what is now commonly referred to as the “carbon bubble” (a term closely related to the concept of the property bubble). If the laws of physics are to be obeyed and our planet to remain stable, the carbon bubble will inevitably pop.

What about the risks?
Increasingly, respected authorities such as Lord Stern and experts at HSBC, Citi, [6] the International Energy Agency [7] and Australia’s own Climate Commission [8] are warning us of the financial (not to mention environmental and social) risks of investing in fossil fuel reserves that can never be safely burnt. While it’s undeniable that certain sectors of the fossil fuel industry have raked in record profits over the last …

Global Power Shift

We attended Phase 1 of Global Power Shift in Istanbul this June 2013. Over 500 climate leaders from 135 countries gathered in Turkey to share and develop skills to organise movements and campaigns. In Phase 2 we will partner with existing environmental organisations to organise Global Power Shift Finland in 2014. 

Global Power Shift is the starting point for a new phase in the international climate movement. First, hundreds of climate leaders from around the world gathered in Istanbul to share stories, learn skills, and sharpen strategies. These leaders have now returned to their home countries to spark a wave of convergences, campaigns, and mobilisations for climate action.”

In the photograph below Christiana Figueres UN’s Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and  Greenpeace’s International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo are getting ready to deliver their speeches in Global Power Shift in Istanbul, Turkey.

Global Power Shift

350 Finland Founded

Welcome to 350finland.org! We are working together with 350.org and it’s network organisations on building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. We need more motivated people that want to take action. Our first campaigns are going to take place in the biggest university cities in Finland. If you are a student in one of the Finnish universities and interested in making an impact, please contact us!