Climate Minister appoints Aveliina Helm as science advisor
Professor Aveliina Helm, a biologist and conservation scientist, is resigning from her position as a board member of the Estonian Fund for Nature (ELF) due to her new role as the science advisor to Climate Minister Kristen Michal (Reform).
The environment ministry said Helm, who will assume the position of part-time scientific advisor on July 1, will advise the minister on policy formulation and the drafting of climate legislation.
"Aveliina Helm will help bring together the facts and knowledge of Estonia's experts so that quality decisions can be made in an open debate," Michal said.
In addition to developing a climate law, the Ministry of Climate is preparing a number of significant changes, including a transition to renewable energy, a shift to ecological transport, waste management reform, biodiversity enhancement and nature restoration.
Aveliina Helm, commenting on her new position, said she hoped to provide the climate minister's staff with a comprehensive scientific understanding of the field's challenges and potential solutions. "I hope to contribute to the well-being of Estonia's nature, environment and its people," she said.
Aveliina Helm is a professor of restoration ecology at the University of Tartu, a member of the board of the SER Europe, a chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, an expert of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) under the auspices of the United Nations.
Helm is also the current chairperson of the board of the Estonian Fund for Nature. He is resigning as a member of the Estonian Fund for Nature's Board of Directors. Aveliina Helm will resume her studies at Tartu University.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Kristina Kersa