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Silvia Modig: 'Young People Lack Outlook Like in the 1990s Recession'
🇫🇮 Finland /Economy & Trade

Silvia Modig: 'Young People Lack Outlook Like in the 1990s Recession'

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Silvia Modig, former Member of the European Parliament and Finnish MP, now leads the Nature League as its director.
  • She expresses concern over the current political climate, drawing parallels to the economic downturn of the 1990s, citing eco-crises, war, and AI as sources of youth despair.
  • Modig reflects on her political career, highlighting the European climate law as a key achievement, but notes recent EU rollbacks on environmental regulations with concern.

Silvia Modig, who previously served as a Member of the European Parliament and a two-term Member of Finnish Parliament, now leads the Nature League as its executive director. Reflecting on her transition from high-level politics to environmental advocacy, Modig finds her current role more concrete, allowing her to directly influence children's and youth's relationship with nature.

If someone had told me when I sat on this rock at 16, that you would become a Member of the European Parliament when you grow up, I would have laughed my head off. I wouldn't have thought for a moment that it would ever be possible.

— Silvia ModigRecalling her youth and aspirations.

Modig observes the current political landscape with sadness, noting a pervasive sense of hopelessness among young people, reminiscent of the 1990s recession. She identifies the eco-crisis, ongoing wars, and the rise of artificial intelligence as contributing factors to this despair. "That same desperation and lack of outlook is currently felt by young people like we had back then. And it angers me and makes me very, very sad," Modig stated.

That same desperation and lack of outlook is currently felt by young people like we had back then. And it angers me and makes me very, very sad.

— Silvia ModigDescribing the current mood among youth.

She criticizes what she perceives as a repetition of past mistakes, where austerity measures disproportionately affect the disadvantaged. Modig emphasizes that poverty is often cyclical and should not be exacerbated by cuts. Her work with the Nature League aligns with her long-standing focus on climate issues during her political career.

What must happen for us to wake up to it?

— Silvia ModigQuestioning the lack of urgent action on climate change.

Modig considers the European climate law, which legally enshrined the EU's goal of climate neutrality by 2050, as her most significant achievement. However, she expresses concern over recent rollbacks in EU climate and environmental regulations, such as the easing of the deforestation regulation and the backtracking on stringent car emission standards. Despite these setbacks, Modig believes the EU's established course towards climate goals is deeply embedded and that temporary retreats do not constitute a catastrophe. She finds her current role at the Nature League helps alleviate the climate anxiety she experienced as an MEP, where she felt a lack of direct tools to effect change.

The more we let this go on, the harder and more expensive it will be to act.

— Silvia ModigWarning about the consequences of delayed climate action.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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