Google felled 300 hectares of Finnish forest without required environmental assessment
Finland's regulator is investigating whether Google's subsidiary ignored mandatory environmental review requirements before clearing land for a data centre.
What to know
- Google's subsidiary cleared 300+ hectares of forest and bulldozed four protected nature sites starting March 2026, despite Finland's regulator ruling in May that environmental assessment was legally mandatory before permanent clearing above 200 hectares.
- Google claims full legal compliance under Finnish forestry and building law; Muhos municipality contradicts this, stating it has not issued any permit for the project, creating a dispute over what regulatory authority Google relied upon.
- Finland's Licensing and Supervisory Authority is examining enforcement measures, while the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation calls for the regulator to use its powers to halt the project—an unprecedented case in the conservation group's 86-year history.
The dispute Whether Google had legal authority to fell the forest: Google and local officials argue private forest clearing needs no municipal permit, while the regulator insists environmental assessment was mandatory by law and the regulator now claims a landscape work permit is required. · positions read across 1 posts and comments
Google violated environmental law and showed either gross incompetence or deliberate disregard for Finnish regulation.
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“Either this is gross incompetence from Google's Finnish project company, Tuike Finland Oy, or gross disregard for Finnish legislation, or at worst both”
Hanna Halmeenpää · Wood Central article ↗
Google followed the law; felling by a private landowner is a forestry matter, not requiring the permits the regulator claims were needed.
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“Trees have been felled on Google-owned land in Muhos and Kajaani in full compliance with the requirements of the Forest Act”
Michiel Sallaets · Wood Central article ↗
Google (via Michiel Sallaets) Data centre developerFinland's Licensing and Supervisory Authority (Sari Myllyoja) Environmental regulatorFinnish Association for Nature Conservation (Hanna Halmeenpää) Environmental advocacy groupMuhos municipality Local government
The record 3 articles and posts · last 30 days
What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · verbatim
- Oct 7
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Google allegedly cut down over 300 hectares of Finnish forest to make way for a huge AI data center, without waiting for an environmental assessment the law required The company denied breaking any rules, and Finland's regulator is now looking into it