Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4 per cent from the year before in 2022

Emissions fell in the energy sector and in industrial processes

According to the instant preliminary data, total emissions without the land use sector fell by four per cent in 2022 from the previous year. Emissions have fallen by 36 per cent from the comparison year 1990 and by 47 per cent from 2003, when emissions were at their highest during the 1990 to 2022 time series. According to the UNFCCC reporting practice, total emissions do not include land-use sector emissions and removals, unless separately mentioned. In the instant preliminary data, the data on emissions and removals for 2022 are calculated at a less detailed level and with less detailed methods (in Finnish) than data for previous years.

The energy sector was the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Finland, accounting for 72 per cent (33.0 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions in 2022. The sector's emissions decreased by 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent from the previous year. The decrease was particularly due to the fallen consumption of natural gas, which was caused by the high price of natural gas and the ending of imports from Russia. This decreased emissions by 2.1 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. On the other hand, the growth in the consumption of hard coal increased emissions by 0.8 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. Emissions from transport remained on level with the previous year. More information on the development of energy consumption can be found in the review of the energy statistics released on 18 April 2023.

Emissions from industrial processes and product use (incl. F-gases) made up around 10 per cent (4.7 million tonnes of CO₂ eq.) of total emissions in 2022 and they fell by nearly 12 per cent (0.6 million tonnes of CO₂ eq.) from the previous year. The main reason for the decrease in emissions was the nearly one-fifth fall in emissions from the metal industry (0.4 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent), which resulted from decreased steel production. Other factors influencing the decrease in emissions from industrial processes included the renewal of the production process of nitric acid and the decline in production in the mineral industry.

Emissions of F-gases formed close on two per cent (0.8 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions in 2022 and they fell by nine per cent compared to 2021. Emissions from the use of refrigeration and cooling equipment in retail trade and from air conditioning equipment in vehicles fell most. The reduction in emissions in recent years is affected by the transition to natural or alternative refrigerants. Emissions from the use of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment account for over 90 per cent of the emissions of F-gases.

Emissions from agriculture accounted for around 14 per cent (6.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions calculated without the land use sector in 2022. The small decrease in the number of bovines and pigs lowered emissions from livestock enteric fermentation and manure management, but higher yield levels raised emissions from agricultural soils originating from agricultural residues so that total emissions from agriculture remained on level with the previous year.

The share of emissions from the waste sector was close on four per cent (1.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions without the land use sector in 2022. The falling trend of the waste sector continued as emissions decreased by five per cent from the previous year.

Land use sector

According to the instant preliminary data, the land use, land-use change and forestry sector, or the LULUCF sector, was a net sink of -1.0 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2022. The transformation of the sector from low net emissions in the previous year (0.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) into a net sink was affected by the two per cent lower felling volumes compared to 2021 taken into account in the calculation of the instant preliminary data (Natural Resources Institute Finland's release of statistics on roundwood removals and drain of the growing stock). Thus, three million tonnes of forest tree biomass were removed as carbon dioxide, which is 2.5 per cent less than in the year before. The combined net emissions of mineral and peat soil in forest land grew by around 1.2 million carbon dioxide tonnes, because reduced fellings decreased the forest litter yield of the growing stock in the soil and the warmer year than usual in 2022 (Finnish Meteorological Institute 2023, only in Finnish) increased the decomposition of organic matter. The sum of emissions and removals in the forest land use category, or the net sink, was around −10.1 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, which was 21 per cent higher than in the year before.

Net emissions in the cropland category amounted to 8.9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2022, which was four per cent more than in 2021. Although the crop was average, the lower than average amount of agricultural residues ending up in the soil during the preceding weak crop years increased emissions from soil in 2022. Warmer than usual summer months also increased emissions. More information on the instant preliminary data of the land use sector in Natural Resources Institute Finland's news (in Finnish).

In the calculation of the instant preliminary data (in Finnish), instant preliminary estimates for 2022 were calculated for forest land and cropland, while the figures for 2021 were used for the other land use categories and carbon stock changes of wood products. The estimate of the sum of emissions and removals in the land use sector, that is, of the size of the sector's sink or source of emissions, will become more accurate in the following release when updated data on the wood product stock, surface areas and growing stock become available for the calculation.

Emissions in the effort sharing sector

Total emissions (excl. land use sector) are divided in EU reporting into emissions from the EU's Emissions Trading System and in the effort sharing sector. Emissions in the effort sharing sector amounted to around 26.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2022, and they fell by three per cent from the previous year. Emissions included in the EU's Emissions Trading System grew by six per cent from the previous year, being 19.0 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

The EU's Effort Sharing Regulation defines the emission reduction targets for emissions outside the emissions trading sector. Annual emission allocations have been set for all Member States. The instant preliminary data for 2022 on Finland's emissions in the effort sharing sector are 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent lower than the annual emission allocation set for the year in question.

Instant preliminary data will be revised in future

In the instant preliminary data, the emissions and removals for 2022 are calculated at a less detailed level and with less detailed methods than the data for previous years. They will be specified as all data used in the calculation are completed. Preliminary data of the statistics on greenhouse gases will be released in December 2023 and official data in March 2024. More detailed information about the calculation methods of the instant preliminary data can be found in the methodological description (in Finnish).

Greenhouse gas inventory

Statistics Finland is the national responsible unit of the greenhouse gas inventory. Statistics Finland guides the inventory work and compiles and sends the data to the UNFCCC and the EU Commission. Statistics Finland, the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke, in Finnish) and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland participate in the production of the statistical data for the greenhouse gas inventory.