Mining project in the Arctic Circle: Like Greta Thunberg, only completely different

AOn a frosty spring morning above the Arctic Circle, Riikka Karppinen prepares to climb over a locked fence gate in a pine forest. She is 29 years old and Finland’s most famous environmentalist. Shortly after her 15th birthday, she began a fight against London-based mining company Anglo American, which wants to extract copper, nickel and cobalt from her home in the Arctic north. She quickly became known as the fearless student who takes on the all-powerful stock company.

The comparison with Greta Thunberg is obvious, except that the Swede is eight years younger than Karppinen. Additionally, Thunberg only started a school strike for climate in 2018. By then, Karppinen had already established a remarkable career as a local politician and was campaigning for the support of the Finnish Greens. She went on a hike in the forest with makeup on, as if she was going to appear on television – she’s a professional, after all. The risk of being stopped by a simple fence is small.