Emissions in energy supply, transportation up in 2016

Greenhouse gas emissions produced by Finnish residents in Finland and abroad amounted to 62.7 million tonnes, which was 6.5 per cent more than in the previous year, according to Statistics Finland.

Carbon dioxide emissions from biomass grew by 2.9 per cent from the previous year, being 39.8 million tonnes in 2016. Particulate matter emissions also grew, up by 3.4 per cent to 33.6 thousand tonnes. Other emissions into air except for ammonia emissions and sulphur dioxide emissions grew from the previous year.

The growth was biggest in greenhouse gas emissions in transportation and storage, where emissions grew by 13.5 per cent from the previous year. Emissions in energy supply also increased by 12.6 per cent from the previous year.

The biggest reason for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions was the fall in the share of biofuels in transport fuels. This is particularly visible in the industry of land transport, where emissions grew by 20 per cent from the previous year and in households where emissions increased by 5.1 per cent compared to 2015. Households grew particularly due to emissions generated in heating of dwellings. The growth in emissions in energy supply was mainly caused by increased hard coal combustion.

Carbon dioxide emissions from biomass grew for households by 5.6 per cent from the previous year, which was primarily due to increased wood combustion in heating of dwellings. The use of biofuels, such as wood, also grew in energy supply, which increased carbon dioxide emissions from biomass by 8.1 per cent from the previous year. Carbon dioxide emissions from biomass are generated from combustion of biomass.

In particulate matter emissions, the growth was biggest in households, where emissions grew by 6.5 per cent from the previous year. The growth was particularly caused by increased used of wood in heating of buildings. Particulate matter emissions in energy supply also grew by 6.2 per cent from the previous year, which was due to increased combustion of hard coal and wood.