Timanttiteko award for 2018 granted to National Climate Change Adaptation Plan implementation group

The Security Committee has granted its 2018 Timanttiteko (Diamond Act) award to the group in charge of implementing the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan for 2022. The award was presented on 21 March 2019 at the Erve Forum, an annual cooperation event for security professionals organised by the State Security Networks Group.

The objective of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, approved in 2014, is to ensure the country’s capacity to manage the weather and climate risks associated with climate change and adapt to changes in the climate. The implementation of the plan is coordinated by a broad-based coordination group established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

“We must work to mitigate climate change and adapt to the changes quickly. Preparation for climate change is a critical action that affects all of society. The project highlights the impact of climate change on the security of society and its ability to function, and its implementation is an excellent model of collaboration between a wide-ranging group of operators. Security is built through cooperation – and this work is a prime example,” says Timo Lehtimäki, Chief Executive Officer of the State Security Networks Group.

The approval of the Adaptation Plan has already led to the emergence of dozens of innovative tools and projects that have strengthened Finland’s capacity to withstand climate change and boosted our ability to predict and prepare for changes. One example of a concrete outcome of the cooperation has been the development of municipal flood maps that are used actively in the planning of land use and rescue operations.

There to receive the award was Saara Lilja-Rothsten, Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, who chairs the coordination group in charge of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan. She was accompanied by representatives from the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the Finnish National Rescue Association SPEK, the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE and the Ministry of the Environment, whom she had invited to the event.

“The Adaptation Plan issued as a Government resolution, and the implementation of the plan through collaboration between authorities, researchers and a variety of other operators, has significantly increased awareness about the effects of climate change and the measures needed to adapt to the resulting changes. The collaboration within the coordination group has been excellent. I am especially pleased that the weather and climate risks associated with climate change were taken into account in the National Risk Assessment for the first time this past year,” says Lilja-Rothsten.

The Security Committee grants its Timanttiteko award based on a proposal made at the meeting of the ministries’ Heads of Preparedness. This was the 12th time the award was granted for exemplary actions, development work or innovation promoting security in society.

Inquiries about the Timanttiteko award:
Jari Kielenniva, General Secretary, Secretariat of the Security Committee, tel. +358 295 140 702, 
firstname.lastname@turvallisuuskomitea.fi or tk(at)turvallisuuskomitea.fi;
see also: https://www.erillisverkot.fi/yhteiskunnallinen_merkitys (link in Finnish)

Inquiries about preparation for climate change: 
Saara Lilja-Rothsten, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, tel. +358 29 516 2060, firstname.lastname@mmm.fi