Summary:
On 18 February 2026, a climate case was filed against the government of Finland challenging its 2025 climate action plan in light of alleged failures to present an adequate emissions reductions pathway in line with its 2035 net neutrality target. The plaintiffs, NGOs Greenpeace Finland and Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, sought judicial review by the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court of the government’s plans for implementing climate targets under the 2022 Climate Act. These plans are detailed in the Government Report on the National Energy and Climate Strategy and Medium-Term Climate Plan, both of which were issued in December 2025. The plaintiffs argue that the measures envisaged by the government are insufficient to achieve the targets set out in the Climate Act, and alternative pathways towards the achievement of the targets have not been assessed, and thus the government is in breach of its statutory duty.
Invoking the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen & Others v. Switzerland judgment by the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the climate advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, the plaintiffs allege that the shortcomings of the plan are unlawful, do not take into account the best available science and rely excessively on technological methods of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, without adequately protecting carbon sinks. The current climate plan was published in December 2025, and is required under the Finnish Climate Act to present different options for how emissions and carbon sinks will develop over the next 30 years, as well as sector-specific measures.
The plaintiffs have approached the highest administrative court in Finland directly (rather than via the appellate route), arguing that the impugned government decisions implicate civil rights and obligations as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights in the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen & Others v. Switzerland judgment.
Further information:
A press release on the case is available here; the present summary will be updated once more information becomes available.
Suggested citation:
Finnish Supreme Administrative Court, Greenpeace Nordic and Finnish Association for Nature Conservation v. Finland, case filed on 18 February 2026 (pending).
Last updated:
13 March 2026.