I have decided to resign from the post of vice-chairman of the National Coalition Party at the next party congress in June. I have several good reasons for my resignation, such as my own time management and my belief that the party would benefit from the job rotation. But to be really honest, the most important reason is the current energy and climate policy. I have a rather different stance than the government, and I don’t want the “official” National Coalition Party to suffer from my too radical opinions. And, on the other hand, I don’t want be politically responsible for some decisions that are difficult for me to accept. The political price of these decisions will be hard, especially as the National Coalition Party is a mere paymaster here and not the initiator of the matter.
The energy package upon which the government agreed yesterday is a mistake and the National Coalition Party is being led around by the other ruling parties, which both have their own agenda in the matter. The Centre Party runs its own pork barrel politics emerging from the regional policy within the energy discussion and the promotion of renewables with respective feed-in tariffs falls perfectly into this scheme. The Greens support renewables for religious reasons. Renewables are considered to exclude any dangers, as they are apparently fundamentally of good cause. However, the destruction of the landscape in Finland’s archipelago and the running down of the sustainable forest policy are being carried out on the pretext of renewables. To say nothing of the economy.
As a vice-chairman of the National Coalition Party, I was the government negotiator in 2007. At that time, the National Coalition Party objected to the feed-in tariffs as a distortion factor in the electric market, as these could easily lull the electricity production towards inefficiency.
The Centre Party’s regional politics driven by Pekkarinen seem to force the National Coalition Party to accept this oversized support package for bio-energy, which puts the development of Finland’s forestry industry in danger. The practice, which guarantees the producers of wood-fired electricity the “wood paying capability” directs the forestry industry towards the burning of raw material. The danger is that Finland will shift from being the manufacturer country of high value added paper products to a twig or even to a log burning country. Those forest owners and farmers who are loyal supporters of the Centre Party of Finland will really make profit out of this, whereas the costs ensuing from this venture will be paid by salary earners in the cities and other central areas. The financial support and funding for bio-energies are all paid from the state budget, which means new tax targets and increases in the tax burden of consumers.
The oversized feed-in tariff of wind power will also become costly for Finnish tax payers. In 2020, the state will support, with tax payers’ money, the occasionally functioning wind power by some 200 million euro every year.
Yes, I actually support the development of renewable energies, but with our present tools we will not achieve any results. Therefore, the target which the EU has set for itself, to increase the share of renewable energies to 20% by 2020, is not such a good idea. If we reach that goal with this timeline, it means that the implementation was performed in a costly and inefficient way through wind power and the overlogging of forests. Only solar and fusion energy will guarantee a cost-efficient renewable and sustainable energy economy on a larger scale.
The government assures that its energy decision will create more jobs, but does not mention that, based on European experiences, the jobs created by renewable energy will cannibalise traditional careers. The net effect is therefore negative. We can’t afford to build a sustainable economy on this.
Quite another worry is what we now see in projects such as the Inkoo wind power plant that will be implemented in our archipelago idyll. One of the largest destruction projects of European nature will take place when Helsingin Energia erects 60 – 150-metre high wind machines right in front of the Grundsö isle. Whereas Sweden will not allow the tampering of its islands, everything seems to be just fine for our planning authorities. This is only possible, because the National Coalition Party has been so weak when confronted with the Green’s demands. Economically, it will be an expensive project for each Helsinki-based taxpayer and from the point of view of the climate, the effect will be almost insignificant. But, the Greens will get their idyll.
My fellow Finns, if you ever become mad about how these things have worked out, please try to remember that it was entirely the fault of the Centre Party and the Greens. The only sin of the National Coalition Party was its weakness. And this is why I will wash my hands of the matter.