St1 founder calls Paris climate accord a path to “ideological deadlock”

The Paris Agreement has trapped global climate policy in an “ideological deadlock” by assuming solutions already exist when they do not, Mika Anttonen, founder and majority owner of energy company St1, told Finnish broadcaster Yle.

Anttonen, whose fortune was built on fossil fuel sales, has since invested hundreds of millions in renewable alternatives—only to confront repeated failures. St1’s abandoned bioethanol plants in Kajaani, Lahti, and Vantaa, designed to convert sawdust and food waste into fuel, proved unprofitable at scale. A €100 million geothermal project in Otaniemi, featuring two 6 km-deep wells, was written off after failing to deliver viable heat production.

“Risk-taking here means a single pilot project could wipe out a year’s profits,” Anttonen said. “We don’t want that to happen—but if it does, it does. The only option is to push forward.”

Today, St1 pledged €3 million to Aalto University’s new House of Energy Transition research hub, part of a €9 million donation with ABB, Fortum, and the Walter Ahlström Foundation to fund four energy professorships. The center aims to model clean-energy supply chains, identify bottlenecks, and bridge gaps between researchers, industry, and policymakers.

Anttonen warned that political and scientific rhetoric often ignores the sheer scale of the transition. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates nearly half the innovations needed for net-zero emissions remain undeveloped, while fossil fuels still supply over 80% of global primary energy.

“Replacing that 80% with wind and solar alone isn’t feasible—we lack the raw materials, from copper to rare earths,” he said. “Even labor is a constraint.” Citing IRENA data, he noted the energy sector would need 140 million workers by 2030 to meet climate targets, a figure far beyond current capacity.

The core problem, Anttonen argued, is a collective refusal to acknowledge physical limits. “As long as we pretend this is just a matter of political will, we’re closing our eyes to reality.”