Greenhouse emission falls by 9% in 2020

The total emissions of greenhouse gases in 2020 corresponded with 48.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2 equivalent), according to Statistics Finland.

Emissions fell by nine per cent (4.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) from the previous year and 32 per cent (23.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) from 1990..

The fall in emissions was affected by the warm winter, recent changes in the production structure of electricity and the decrease in transport performance.

Especially the decrease from the previous year increased the net sink of the LULUCF sector, i.e. land use, land-use change and forestry, which was -17.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Emissions and removals in the LULUCF sector are not included in the total emissions described above.

On the basis of the data so far, Finland is meeting its emission reduction commitments under the EU and the Kyoto Protocol concerning the entire period 2013 to 2020.

The data to be published are based on the preliminary report to be submitted by Statistics Finland to the European Commission by 15 January 2022 concerning emissions in 2020.

The energy sector is Finland's largest source of emissions, significantly affecting the annual variation of total emissions as well.

According to the preliminary calculation, the energy sector’s emissions totalled 34.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is 11 per cent lower than in the previous year and 50 per cent less than in the peak year of 2003.

Emissions from industrial processes and product use (incl. F-gases) amounted to 5.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2020 and they decreased by five per cent from the year before. Emissions from the waste sector went down by three per cent from 2019 to 2020, being 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Emissions from agriculture amounted to 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and remained on level with the previous year: Preliminary data for 2020 were 0.03 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is under half a per cent less than in the previous year.