Finnish greenhouse gas emissions fall below Kyoto level

Recession cuts carbon dioxide output by nearly 20 per cent

print this

Finland is reaching the goals for emissions of greenhouse gases set in the Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997. As delegates from around the world were in the Mexican resort of Cancún hammering out a deal on new efforts to reduce emissions blamed for global warming, Statistics Finland reported that emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for causing global warming went down by six per cent last year, thereby falling below the goal set in Kyoto.
      The decline is attributed mainly to the reduction in emissions from industry, as the recession caused a sharp decline in industrial output at the end of 2008.
     
“The recession can clearly be seen, as the reduction in industrial output is directly reflected in emissions”, says Timo Kareinen of Statistics Finland.
      “From the Kyoto level, Finland now is in a good situation. What comes next depends on how industrial emissions develop.”
      According to advance data on 2009 released by Statistics Finland, Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions were equivalent to 66.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The goal set for Finland under the Kyoto Protocol was 71 million tonnes.
     
The emissions come from the energy sector, industrial processes, transport, and agriculture. Households and services cause less than ten per cent of Finland’s climate emissions.
      Last year’s biggest reductions were in the use of energy by industry and construction, which went down by 23 per cent because of reduced economic activity.
      The overwhelmingly greatest source of emissions is energy production, especially the production of electricity. It is also the most variable source of emissions, causing sudden fluctuations. The decline in the whole sector was 3.5 per cent. However, emissions from electricity production grew because of the poor availability of hydroelectric power, which was replaced by coal.
      Emissions in waste management and agriculture have declined. Emissions from transport are also moderate.
     
The Kyoto Protocol aimed at slowing climate change took effect in 2005. It calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least five per cent from the 1990 level by 2012.
      Although the recession can be seen in Finland’s emissions, on a global scale, the recession has not had a similar effect on the level of emissions. The latest measurements by the World Meteorological Organisation indicate that greenhouse gas levels are at a record high. For instance, the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere has grown by about 40 per cent from the pre-industrial era.
     

More on this subject:
 COMMENTARY: A victory for reason in Cancún

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish men unwilling to reduce climate change through personal choices (20.9.2010)
  Poll shows waning concern about climate change (15.9.2010)

Helsingin Sanomat