HELSINKI, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Finland's climate emission reduced by 5.5 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, said the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) in a press release on Monday.
The emissions trends of 2019 were encouraging, said Jyri Seppala, Director of the Center for Sustainable Consumption and Production at SYKE, in the press release.
"I hope that this progress will continue in the coming years even after the coronavirus pandemic. There is a great need for ambitious municipal and regional emission reduction measures as Finland needs to achieve its carbon neutrality target and the EU's tightening emission reduction targets," said Seppala.
According to the Government Program in 2019, Finland will be carbon-neutral by 2035, and the world's first fossil-free welfare society. This requires faster emissions reductions in all sectors.
SYKE attributed the reduction in the emissions to increased wind power generation, cleaner electricity production, replacement of oil heating with other heating methods, and reduced use of fossil fuels and peat in district heating.
In 2019, the main sources of emissions in Finland were road transport which accounted for 25 percent of the total emissions, followed by agriculture, district heating, and electricity consumption.
SYKE is both a research institute and a center for environmental expertise, focusing on changes in the environment and seeking ways to control these changes. Every year, SYKE calculates the amount and development of climate emissions for all Finnish municipalities using a standardized calculation method. Enditem
