Expert warns that Google’s Finnish logging projects may proceed despite regulator pause

Professor Kai Kokko of the University of Helsinki reviewed Google’s logging operations in Kajaani and Muhos after the Finnish Safety and Supervisory Authority (LVV) ordered a suspension, citing work that started before the environmental impact assessment (YVA) was finished. Kokko expects the projects to survive the pause, but the unfinished assessments are delaying related permits. He points out that Google submitted several small forest-use notices, each below the size that triggers a YVA, but collectively they form a large area that should require a full assessment.

The lack of communication between the Forest Centre and LVV is a key concern, and Kokko suggests legal changes to require YVA for such aggregated projects and to grant the Forest Centre authority to impose usage bans until procedures are completed. He stresses that the situation appears to stem from misunderstanding of Finnish law rather than deliberate evasion, though responsibility for compliance remains.