ClimaGen at Estonia's Arvamus Opinion Festival: bringing local climate work into the national conversation
Every August, Paide in Järva County hosts Arvamusfestival (the Opinion Festival) Estonia's largest public debate platform. Founded in 2013, it's grown into a two-day programme of panels, workshops and discussions that brings together the country's most prominent voices in politics, business, academia and civil society, all in the name of strengthening democratic debate and civic education.
This year's edition (7–8 August) featured a panel organised by the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre (KIK), titled "Environmental protection in the face of headwinds: are environmental projects just a cost or also a value for people and businesses?" The discussion tackled a question that increasingly shapes public debate: are environmental and nature-based projects a burden on people and companies, or do they create genuine value?
Photos: Anton Laidmets, Liisi Brett and Matilda Manju Mody on Flickr
Among the panellists was Tartu Deputy Mayor Kertu Vuks, joined by Tarmo Soomere of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Martti Talgre, CEO of Infortar AS, and Robert Kitt, board member at Utilitas Eesti, moderated by Andrus Treier.
As part of the conversation, Kertu shared insights from #ClimaGen's work in Tartu, bringing the project's community-led, nature-based approach in Annelinn directly into one of Estonia's most visible public forums, a reminder of how local, neighbourhood-level work can feed directly into national conversations on climate policy and the real-world value of environmental investment.
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