Climate · emissions beyond borders
Finland cut its emissions at home by 37 percent, and abroad by 6 to 23 percent.
Emissions from Finnish consumption are falling, as long as they happen in Finland. The emissions in factories, power plants and fields elsewhere, for goods, food and buildings, are falling too, but more slowly. Finland's Climate Act doesn't count them.
- The footprint of Finland is 27–45 percent higher than official emissions according to the national inventory (via Eurostat). Exactly how much depends on the model.
- 51–54 percent of the footprint arises abroad (2022), against 44–46 percent in 2010.
- Official emissions fell by 40 percent between 2010 and 2022; the footprint only by 24–31 percent.
- Per person, Finland causes 9.4 tonnes, more than the EU average of 9.0 tonnes (rank 11 of 27, Eurostat 2023). Between 2010 and 2019 the footprint fell by 23 percent, faster than in most EU countries; between 2019 and 2023 it fell by 22 percent, faster than in most EU countries.
- Outside Finland, most emissions for Finnish consumption are released in China, Russia and Germany.
- Finland imports more emissions than it exports: 12–18 megatonnes net in 2022. Since 2010, what it earns from foreign demand grew by 14 percent (real); the emissions for it fell by 42 percent.
- Satellites see less methane over Finland than the country reports: 0.4× the reported amount (2023).
In short
Emissions caused by Finnish consumption and investment, by location
The official figure falls faster than the footprint
The figure in the news is emissions on Finnish territory, according to the national inventory (via Eurostat). It fell by 40 percent between 2010 and 2022. The footprint fell by 24–31 percent over the same years. The official figure counts emissions for what is exported, but not for what is imported.
Finland compared with the other EU countries
Per person, Finland causes 9.4 tonnes of greenhouse gas (Eurostat, 2023), more than the EU average of 9.0 tonnes, rank 11 of 27.
Checked from space
Satellites measure how much methane hangs in the air. From that, scientists can work back to how much a country emits. That puts an independent measurement next to the official figures.
Where the emissions occur
For Finnish consumption, most emissions abroad occur in China, followed by Russia, Germany and India. Pick a year or play the timeline. Click a country to see how it changed since 2010.
Who Finland emits for
In 2022, 18–19 megatonnes of greenhouse gases were released in Finland for consumption and investment in other countries. Meanwhile, 31–36 megatonnes were released elsewhere for Finnish consumption. That makes Finland a net importer of emissions: 12–18 megatonnes more are released elsewhere for Finland than the other way round.
How we calculate
A footprint follows every euro that households, government and companies spend on final products back through the supply chain, to the country where the emissions occur. So-called input-output models do this, built on trade statistics and emission inventories from dozens of countries.