More than half of consumers in Finland are shopping less for climate reasons, new surveys have found.

Over 2,000 people from across different parts of the country were asked a series of questions about topics like biodiversity loss, emissions cuts and personal responsibility. The 2025 ‘Climate and Nature Barometers’ were carried out by four government ministries in partnership with a wide array of agencies and organisations.

The pair of surveys found that people in Finland are highly aware of climate change and nature loss. More than 85 per cent said they had seen the effects of climate change and 88 per cent the impacts of disappearing nature around the world.

Biodiversity loss in particular, according to 86 per cent of those surveyed, will have impacts on issues such as food production, public health, security of supply and the economy.

Most Finns said they had already experienced the impact of climate change in their daily lives with 62 per cent feeling that recent winters have been milder. More than half of respondents (55 per cent) have observed biodiversity loss in their local environments.

People in Finland cut consumption to tackle emissions

In Finland, this concern for nature and climate change is reflected in people’s behaviour. Just over 40 per cent of respondents said that they have changed their lifestyles – including transport, housing and food choices – to mitigate their climate impacts.

More than half (53 per cent) reported having reduced how much they buy – a major increase from the 43 per cent seen just two years ago in a previous survey. And nearly everyone surveyed (91 per cent) agreed that products should be designed to last longer, even if it means they cost more.

People in Finland were more divided on their eating habits, however. New national nutritional recommendations were recently released in the country, calling for people to lower their meat consumption. Most people (69 per cent) believe that a climate-sustainable, plant-dominant diet should cost less than one with higher emissions.

But half of the respondents were opposed to societal efforts to promote a plant-based diet.

Who do people in Finland believe should take action?

Clean nature is an important part of the Finnish identity, according to 96 per cent of respondents. But opinions are divided almost exactly in half over whether it is being adequately protected.

Public discussions in Finland are currently focused on reaching the carbon neutrality target set as part of its Climate Act and on increasing forest carbon sinks.

Of the respondents, 62 per cent believe that Finland should take adequate climate actions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. 75 per cent of the respondents say more attention should be paid to forest felling and management practices in order to preserve carbon sinks.

And a clear majority of people (80 per cent) believe that companies should also be required to take action on reducing emissions. When it comes to nature, less than half, 41 per cent of people, believe Finnish companies and sectors adequately account for biodiversity in their activities.