Finnish Emissions Dropped Below Kyoto Level in '08

And now for some good news: Finland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 dropped by 10 percent compared with the year before, reports Statistics Finland. That exceeds its Kyoto Protocol 'assigned amount' commitment by 1.2 percent.

Last year marked the beginning of the official five-year commitment period for industrialized countries that signed the pact, including most of Europe as well as North America and Japan.
By far Finland's biggest producer of greenhouse gases is the energy sector, which accounts for three-quarters of emissions. Its greenhouse gas output fell by 13 percent last year compared to 2007. The largest drop within this sector was the energy industry itself, which posted a dramatic 21 percent reduction. Emissions from energy production within the industrial and construction sectors were down by six percent.
Gasses produced by the Finnish energy sector fluctuate significantly from year to year, impacted by consumption and availability of hydroelectric power -- both of which are in turn affected by the weather -- as well as the level of electricity imports.
In Finland, agriculture and forestry act as a net sink, i.e. removals from atmosphere exceed emissions. Their ability to absorb carbon rose by 15 percent. The key factor in this was tree growth, as logging dropped significantly from the previous year.
The waste sector cut its emissions by seven percent. Compared with 1990, the benchmark year for the Kyoto treaty, it has slashed its greenhouse gas output by 45 percent. The most effective tool for doing this has been capturing landfill gases such as methane, which are being used to generate heating in some Finnish towns.
Transport emissions declined for the first time this century, edging down by four percent.
On the flipside, emissions from industrial processes grew by five percent.