CO2-raportti is an independent web newspaper, published since 2008. It provides the readers with the latest news about energy and climate change. CO2-raportti presents also unique weekly greenhouse gas statistics for Finland, including electricity consumption of consumers, heating of buildings and road transportation.

In the news archive the readers can find selected articles about climate and energy since 2005. In the blogs the experts express their views and opinions about hot topics. We are looking forward to lively discussion around news and blogs!

Readers who want to reduce their emissions and optimize their energy consumption can find tips at the page Ilmastovinkit. General information on the causes and impacts of climate change are explained at the Ilmastonmuutos page.

CO2-raportti is compiled in cooperation with The Finnish News Agency (STT), Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Benviroc Ltd and GWP Ltd. The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) provided funding for the development of the emission estimation methodology.

Weekly greenhouse gas statistics

The weekly greenhouse gas statistics of CO2-raportti are based on a calculation tool developed by Benviroc Ltd and GWP Ltd. The weekly statistics aim at concretizing the impact of everyday choices in emissions, by offering nearly real-time information about local greenhouse gas emissions.

The weekly emission statistics are unique in Finland, and even globally there are only few such kind of applications. At the moment we provide the statistics by regions.

In addition, the weekly emission statistics include almost 30 municipalities. Also municipalities which participate in the project Carbon neutral municipalities (Canemu) coordinated by SYKE are included. The municipalities involved Canemu-project are Mynämäki, Parikkala, Uusikaupunki, Kuhmoinen and Padasjoki.

Local emission statistics will developed also for other municipalities as soon as they join the CO2-raportti project.

The weekly statistics consist of three sectors: electricity consumption of the consumers, space heating and road transportation. These sources cause the majority of the direct environmental impact of consumers. Energy consumption of industry and process emissions are excluded. The weekly statistics are based on information provided by Statistics Finland, Finnish Road Administration, Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Finnish Energy Industries (ET).

The weekly statistics include the most important greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). By using global warming potential (GWP) values, also the emissions of CH4 and N2O can be expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents. For example, the GWP value of methane is 21, meaning that one kilogram of methane has the same warming impact as 21 kilograms of carbon dioxide. N2O is an even more potent greenhouse gas: one kilogram of N2O is equivalent to 310 kilograms of carbon dioxide. In the weekly statistics, emissions are expressed as CO2 equivalents.



CO2-raportti also provides the "Emission Window" above to be published at other websites. Please contact us for more information.


PRESS RELEASE 3.12.2009

Finland's greenhouse gas emissions monitored on the internet

Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Benviroc Oy and Finnish News Agency (STT)

It is now possible to follow Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions in almost real time on the internet. The emission monitoring scheme involves all of the provinces in mainland Finland, and more than twenty cities and municipalities around the country. The first participants to pilot the new scheme were the five Finnish municipalities involved in the Carbon Neutral Municipalities Project (CANEMU).

The CO2 Report website provides almost real time data on emissions generated due to electricity consumption, heating and road traffic. These three areas account for the lion’s share of ordinary consumers’ greenhouse gas emissions, so the figures help to illustrate the climate impacts of people’s everyday actions.

This kind of real time emission monitoring is a new phenomenon globally, and only a few similar schemes exist for different localities. The calculation models have been developed by the Finnish energy and environmental consulting firm Benviroc Oy in collaboration with GWP Oy, with funding from the Finnish technology funding agency Tekes. The CO2 emission reporting service is jointly published by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the Finnish News Agency (STT) and Benviroc Oy.

"We aim to describe emissions in ways that everyone can understand, and encourage people ro reduce their energy use and emissions in their everyday lives," says the editor-in-chief of the CO2 Report, Juha Kukko.

"STT has got involved in this project because providing real time information on emissions together with our wider environmental news services will help people to understand climate change, says the Finnish News Agency's editor-in-chief Mika Pettersson.

Aiming to get all Finnish municipalities on board

The experts who compile the CO2 Report have also been developing more detailed local emission monitoring schemes for the five Finnish municipalities involved in the CANEMU project: Kuhmoinen, Mynämäki, Padasjoki, Parikkala and Uusikaupunki. This ambitious project is coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute. The five pilot municipalities are striving to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions rapidly to reach EU targets well ahead of schedule.

Many more Finnish municipalities have shown interest in this issue, and increasing numbers of them are being welcomed to join the emission monitoring scheme. "Our target is to get every single municipality in Finland involved in emission monitoring over the next few years," says Juha Kukko.

"Local actions play a key role in mitigating climate change," says Professor Jyri Seppälä of the Finnish Environment Institute. "By increasing citizens' and local decision-makers' awareness of emissions we can support local initiatives that strive to reduce emissions, and at the same time promote the development of climate-friendly business activities."

Benviroc Oy publishes data from the real time emission monitoring system, together with tips for people who are keen to help combat climate change and related news links, on the website www.co2-raportti.fi. Details of the Carbon Neutral Municipalities Project (CANEMU) and its five participant municipalities can be found on the website of the Finnish environmental administration at www.environment.fi/canemu.