Greenhouse gas emissions in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area
HSY promotes work to combat climate change in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and monitors greenhouse gas emission trends. The aggregate greenhouse gas emissions of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen) in 2010 amounted to 6.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), which was slightly higher than in 1990, but somewhat lower than the average for the 2000s. Although emissions from district heating were lower, transport and electricity consumption increased compared to the preceding year. Total emissions grew by about one per cent. Just under half of the emissions of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area are due to heating, one quarter result from electricity consumption and the remaining quarter come from transport. The review excludes aviation and indirect emissions due to food production and consumer goods manufacturing.
The per capita emissions of 5.5 tCO2e in Helsinki and 6.8 tCO2e in Vantaa were 1 and 2 % higher respectively than in the preceding year. The per capita emissions of Espoo and Kauniainen fell by 4 % and 6 % respectively to 5.4 and 6.0 tCO2e. The combined per capita emission figure for these cities was 5.7 tCO2e, which is clearly lower than the figure of 7.0 tCO2e reached in 1990. This decrease in per capita emissions reflects a significant rise in population over the same period. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area climate strategy seeks to cut per capita emissions by 39 % of the 1990 level, reaching 4.3 tCO2e by the year 2030. A 19 % fall in per capita emissions had already been achieved by the year 2010.
Fluctuations in Helsinki Metropolitan Area greenhouse gas emissions from year to year are adjusted by applying the annual heating requirement and a five-year average of the national emission factor for electric power. While the emissions of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area increased slightly with the 2010 economic recovery, growth was much greater without trend adjustments. Reckoned in this way, the emissions of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area totalled 6.2 million tCO2e, which was about 9 % higher than the preceding year and the 1990 level.
2010 was colder than 2009, and consumption of district heating in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area rose to an all-time record level of 11.4 TWh. Despite a fall in the heating requirement-adjusted greenhouse gas emissions of district heating, this item clearly remained the Area’s single largest source of emissions. The proportion of heavy fuel oil and coal combustion was lower than in the preceding year. This was chiefly due to commissioning of a new natural gas-fired power plant in Espoo.
Electricity consumption similarly reached a new record level in 2010, with a particular increase in household consumption. The specific emissions of electric power consumed in Finland and in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area increased due to the power requirements of industry and higher output of combustion-based and cogenerated electricity. As in previous years, the availability of hydroelectric power was poor in the Nordic countries.
A slight increase began again in the greenhouse gas emissions of transport in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, despite increased use of zero-emission-rated biofuels and a fall in the specific emissions of passenger motor vehicles due to emission-based taxation. The greenhouse gas emissions of heavy vehicles rose by 7 % after two years of economic recession, but passenger motor vehicle mileages and fuel consumption also increased. There was a fall in emissions from shipping.
While greenhouse gas emissions from district heating, oil-fired heating, waste management and use of fuels in industry have fallen substantially compared to the reference year of 1990, there has been considerable growth in emissions from transport and electric power consumption.
Climate report from previous year in English:
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Report - Emission trends in 2009 (pdf, 2,5Mt)