This week, Finland will vote in 15 MEPs to represent the country in the European Parliament.
These MEPs will play a key role in deciding and shaping the EU's climate policy during the next parliamentary term, but discussion about the topic of climate change has been almost non-existent in the run up to polling day.
In order to find out why, Yle asked three experts on climate and politics: researcher Paavo Järvensivu of the Bios Research Unit, research professor Antto Vihma of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, and political researcher Johanna Vuorelma of the University of Helsinki.
Järvensivu studies climate policy and economic reconstruction, Vihma's research focuses on climate policy and security, while Vuorelma carries out extensive research on domestic and international political phenomena.
All the scientific data points towards the fact that the world is facing a climate emergency.
More carbon is being released into the atmosphere than ever before, and global temperatures have been setting new heat records on a monthly basis. Many climate scientists have even lost faith that global warming will remain between 1.5 and 2.0 degrees Celsius.
A survey of 400 climate scientists, carried out by the Guardian newspaper earlier this year, found that 80 percent of respondents believed that temperatures would rise by at least 2.5 degrees Celsius, with only 6 percent predicting it would be less than 1.5 degrees.
Last year, the average global temperature was about 1.2 degrees Celsius above the long-term average.
"This report underlines just how overwhelming the scientific evidence is now: helping politicians to understand that climate change presents very serious global risks, to life, health and wealth," Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Institute, said in March.
1. Security, economy dominate pre-election debate
The first reason why climate change has not been prominent on the pre-election discussion agenda is obvious: it has been overshadowed by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as issues related to the economy.
"We have two dominant issues in the political debate: the economy and security. There is not much room for other themes and issues," Johanna Vuorelma said.
She added that the debate is dominated by "securitisation", meaning how even issues not directly linked to security are viewed through that prism, noting that even climate change has been discussed in the context of security of supply.
Both Vihma and Järvensivu agree with this observation.
"We as a nation are now focused on cutting and saving. It's really that simple," Järvensivu said.
The rise of far-right parties ahead of the EU election has also taken attention away from other issues.
2. The unseen threat
This focus on security and the economy is short-sighted, Vihma said, especially as the effects on the climate are long-term.
"Climate is directly linked to security," Vihma pointed out, citing examples such as hurricanes in Germany and Belgium as well as extensive flooding across Europe during the summer of 2021.
Such extreme weather events are predicted to become more frequent as the effects of climate change increase.
More than 10,000 people died in Libya last September when a tropical storm caused two dams to burst, submerging the historic coastal town of Derna.
"The Derna disaster had a clear climate link. There are fragile societies on Europe's borders that are increasingly facing the effects of climate change," Vihma said.
In Vuorelma's view, this has become a difficult area for climate scientists and the media: how to make people aware of the acute threat that climate change poses.
"It's an abstract issue for many of us and difficult to tell a story about," she said.
This is not the case however with topics such as economic crises or border security, as people understand these issues much better as they see their effects more tangibly.
3. Politicians lack will and skill
Paavo Järvensivu noted that climate change has become a political identity issue.
"Much of the green transition could be managed without going into identities. It is largely a question of upgrading energy, transport and other infrastructure," he said, adding that Finnish politicians do not have a strong enough grip on the climate issue.
"It is understandable that security concerns are pressing, but they should be combined with climate security. This is where politicians demonstrate their lack of know-how," Järvensivu said.
According to Antto Vihma, economic concerns such as rising living costs and interest rates tend to get politicians talking more than climate change does.
"It is not necessarily politically attractive to explain in depth what is the cause of what. That also requires expertise. This plays into the hands of populists, who are quick to fire back against climate policy," Vihma said.
4. Climate-skeptics are few, but loud
Polls regularly show that people across Europe are in favour of tougher climate action.
A recent Euronews survey garnered the views of 26,000 EU citizens, and found that 52 percent think climate action should be a priority for the EU while less than a third said the EU has had a positive impact on environmental protection. Last year's Eurobarometer survey revealed that 77 percent of respondents considered climate change to be a very serious issue.
In Finland, a poll carried out last year by the Uutissuomalainen news group found that 50 percent of people were in favour of tougher climate policies even if everyday life became more expensive. Only 33 percent were against the idea, mainly supporters of the Finns Party and the traditionally rurally-backed Centre Party.
Meanwhile, a recent poll by WWF Finland showed that 74 percent of people in Finland are concerned about climate change.
Studies have also noted that the number of people who say they are climate-skeptic or opposed to climate action has remained relatively steady over recent years.
Certain people will resist certain climate policies, Vuorelma said, because different measures affect different groups in varying ways. This puts the emphasis on politicians, she added as they have a good deal of influence over the public.
"A politician skilled in rhetoric can influence people's opinions very effectively," she said.
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