Changes in the structure of electricity production enabled a substantial fall in greenhouse gas emissions in 2023

Considerable decrease in energy sector emissions

According to the instant preliminary data, total emissions without the land use sector fell by 11 per cent in 2023 from the previous year. Emissions have fallen by 43 per cent from the comparison year 1990 and by 52 per cent from 2003, when emissions were at their highest during the 1990 to 2023 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 2023 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 70 per cent (28.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions in 2023. The sector's emissions decreased by 4.6 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent from the previous year. This was especially due to decreased use of hard coal and peat: emissions from hard coal combustion decreased by 2.1 million tonnes and emissions from peat combustion by 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent from the year before. This was mainly due to the change in the structure of electricity production as the production of nuclear and wind power increased. The production of hydro power also grew from the year before. More information on the development of energy consumption can be found in the review of the energy statistics released on 18 April 2024.

Emissions from transport diminished by 0.4 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent mainly as a result of fallen transport performance in road transport and slight growth in the biofuel share of transport fuels.

Emissions from industrial processes and product use (incl. F-gases) made up around 12 per cent (4.7 million tonnes of CO₂ eq.) of total emissions in 2023 and they fell by nearly six per cent (0.3 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 mineral industry (0.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent), which resulted from decreased clinker production. The fall in emissions from the production of nitric acid caused by process changes continued, as emissions were 60 per cent lower in 2023 than in 2021 and 25 per cent lower than in 2022.

Emissions of F-gases formed close on two per cent (0.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions in 2023 and they fell by eight per cent compared to 2022. Emissions from the use of refrigeration and cooling equipment in retail trade and from air conditioning equipment in vehicles fell most. In particular, the transition to natural or alternative refrigerants has decreased F-gas emissions in the past ten years. Emissions from the use of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment account for around 90 per cent of the emissions of F-gases.

Emissions from agriculture accounted for around 15 per cent (6.0 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions calculated without the land use sector in 2023. Total emissions from agriculture fell by around one per cent from the previous year's level. The small decrease in the number of animals lowered emissions from livestock enteric fermentation and manure management, and weaker yield levels lowered emissions from agricultural soils originating from agricultural residues.

The share of emissions from the waste sector was close on four per cent (1.6 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) of total emissions without the land use sector in 2023. 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 sum of emissions and removals in the land use, land-use change and forestry sector, or the LULUCF sector was -1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, which means that it was a net sink in 2023.

The transformation of the sector from a net emission source of 4.4 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in the previous year into a net sink was affected by the nine per cent lower felling volumes compared to 2022 taken into account in the calculation of the instant preliminary data (Natural Resources Institute Finland's release of preliminary statistics on total roundwood removals and drain). The net sink of forest land biomass was 9.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide bigger than in 2022. The combined net emissions of mineral and peat soil in forest land grew by around 2.7 million carbon dioxide tonnes, because reduced fellings decreased the forest litter input to the soil and the ever warming climate trend increased the decomposition of organic matter. The sum of emissions and removals in the forest land category, or the net sink, was around −11.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, or about 2.5-fold compared to the year before.

Net emissions in the cropland category amounted to 8.9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2023, which is one per cent more than in 2022. For cropland, changes in carbon stocks were calculated for mineral soils, while emission estimates based on the surface areas of the previous year were used for organic soils, that is, peat soils. The increase in emissions on mineral soils was due to the weather, i.e. the ever warming climate trend, but also to yield levels and thus the amount of carbon input to the soil not increasing to such an extent that they would compensate for the carbon loss resulting from faster decomposition under warm conditions.

The net sink of harvested wood products in 2023 (-2.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) fell by 31 per cent from the previous year due to decreased demand for forest industry products and through that, decreased production.

In the calculation of the instant preliminary data (in Finnish), instant preliminary estimates for 2023 were calculated for forest land, cropland and harvested wood products while the figures for 2022 were used for the other land use categories. 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 surface areas, growing stock, fellings and use of domestic wood by the forest industry will be included in 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. According to the instant preliminary data, emissions in the effort sharing sector amounted to around 25.1 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2023, and they fell by five per cent from the previous year. Emissions included in the EU's Emissions Trading System fell by 19 per cent from the previous year, being 15.4 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 2023 on Finland's emissions in the effort sharing sector are 1.5 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 2023 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 2024 and official data in March 2025. More detailed information about the calculation methods of the instant preliminary data can be found in the methodological description.

Greenhouse gas inventory

Statistics Finland is the national responsible unit of the greenhouse gas inventory. Statistics Finland guides the inventory work and compiles and submits the data to the UN and the European 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.