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We present regionally aggregated emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from five land cover categories in Finland: artificial surfaces, arable land, forest, waterbodies, and wetlands. Carbon (C) sequestration to managed forests and unmanaged wetlands was also assessed. Models FRES and ALas were applied for emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from artificial surfaces and agriculture, and PREBAS for forest growth and C balance. Empirical emission coefficients were used to estimate emissions from drained forested peatland (CH4, N2O), cropland (CO2), waterbodies (CH4, CO2), peat production sites and undrained mires (CH4, CO2, N2O). We calculated gross emissions of 147.2 ± 6.8 TgCO2eq yr−1 for 18 administrative units covering mainland Finland, using data representative of the period 2017–2025. Emissions from energy production, industrial processes, road traffic and other sources in artificial surfaces amounted to 45.7 ± 2.0 TgCO2eq yr−1. The loss of C in forest harvesting was the largest emission source in the LULUCF sector, in total 59.8 ± 3.3 TgCO2eq yr−1. Emissions from domestic livestock production, field cultivation and organic soils added up to 12.2 ± 3.5 TgCO2eq yr−1 from arable land. Rivers and lakes (13.4 ± 1.9 TgCO2eq yr−1) as well as undrained mires and peat production sites (14.7 ± 1.8 TgCO2eq yr−1) increased the total GHG fluxes. The C sequestration from the atmosphere was 93.2 ± 13.7 TgCO2eq yr−1. with the main sink in forest on mineral soil (79.9 ± 12.2 TgCO2eq yr−1). All sinks compensated 63% of total emissions and thus the net emissions were 53.9 ± 15.3 TgCO2eq yr−1, or a net GHG flux per capita of 9.8 MgCO2eq yr−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU aims at reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and Finland by 2035. We integrated results of three spatially distributed model systems (FRES, PREBAS, Zonation) to evaluate the potential to reach this goal at both national and regional scale in Finland, by simultaneously considering protection targets of the EU biodiversity (BD) strategy. Modelling of both anthropogenic emissions and forestry measures were carried out, and forested areas important for BD protection were identified based on spatial prioritization. We used scenarios until 2050 based on mitigation measures of the national climate and energy strategy, forestry policies and predicted climate change, and evaluated how implementation of these scenarios would affect greenhouse gas fluxes, carbon storages, and the possibility to reach the carbon neutrality target. Potential new forested areas for BD protection according to the EU 10% protection target provided a significant carbon storage (426–452 TgC) and sequestration potential (− 12 to − 17.5 TgCO2eq a−1) by 2050, indicating complementarity of emission mitigation and conservation measures. The results of the study can be utilized for integrating climate and BD policies, accounting of ecosystem services for climate regulation, and delimitation of areas for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For short-lived climate forcers such as black carbon (BC), the atmospheric concentrations, radiative forcing (RF), and, ultimately, the subsequent effects on climate, depend on the location and timing of the emissions. Here, we employ the NorESM1-Happi version of the Norwegian Earth System Model to systematically study how the RF associated with BC emissions depends on the latitude, longitude, and seasonality of the emissions. The model aerosol scheme is run in an offline mode to allow for an essentially noise-free evaluation of the RF associated with even minor changes in emissions. A total of 960 experiments were run to evaluate the BC direct RF (dirRF) and the RF associated with BC in snow/ice (snowRF) for emissions in 192 latitude–longitude boxes covering the globe, both for seasonally uniform emissions and for emissions in each of the four seasons separately. We also calculate a rough estimate of the global temperature response to regional emissions and provide a Fortran-based tool to facilitate the further use of our results. Overall, the results demonstrate that the BC RFs strongly depend on the latitude, longitude, and season of the emissions. In particular, the global mean dirRF normalized by emissions (direct specific forcing; dirSF) depends much more strongly on the emission location than suggested by previous studies that have considered emissions from continental-/subcontinental-scale regions. Even for seasonally uniform emissions, dirSF varies by more than a factor of 10, depending on the emission location. These variations correlate strongly with BC lifetime, which varies from less than 2 to 11 d. BC dirSF is largest for emissions in tropical convective regions and in subtropical and midlatitude continents in summer, both due to the abundant solar radiation and strong convective transport, which increases BC lifetime and the amount of BC above clouds. The dirSF is also relatively large for emissions in high-albedo, high-latitude regions such as Antarctica and Greenland. The dependence of snow specific forcing (snowSF) on the emission location is even larger. While BC emissions originating from most low-latitude regions result in negligible snowSF, the maxima of snowSF for emissions in polar regions greatly exceed the largest values of dirSF for low-latitude emissions. The large magnitude of snowSF for high-latitude BC emissions suggests that, for a given mass of BC emitted, the climate impacts are also largest for high-latitude emissions. The additivity of the RFs resulting from BC emissions in different regions and seasons is also investigated. It is found that dirRF is almost additive for current-day emissions, so that summing the RFs computed for individual regions/seasons without considering BC emissions from elsewhere overestimates dirRF by less than 10 %. For snowRF, the overestimate is somewhat larger, at ∼ 20 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For short-lived climate forcers such as black carbon (BC), the atmospheric concentrations, radiative forcing (RF) and, ultimately, the subsequent effects on climate, depend on the location and timing of the emissions. Here, we employ the NorESM1-Happi version of Norwegian Earth System Model to systematically study how the RF associated with BC emissions depends on the latitude, longitude and seasonality of the emissions. The model aerosol scheme is run in an offline mode, to allow for an essentially noise-free evaluation of the RF associated with even minor changes in emissions. Both the BC direct RF (dirRF) and the RF associated with BC in snow/ice (snowRF) are calculated for emissions in 192 latitude-longitude boxes covering the globe, both for seasonally uniform emissions and for emissions in each of the four seasons separately. We also calculate a rough estimate of the global temperature response to regional emissions, and provide a fortran-based tool to facilitate the further use of our results. Overall, the results demonstrate that the BC RFs strongly depend on the latitude, longitude and season of the emissions. In particular, the global-mean dirRF normalized by emissions (direct specific forcing; dirSF) depends much more strongly on the emission location than suggested by previous studies that have considered emissions from continental/subcontinental-scale regions. Even for seasonally uniform emissions, dirSF varies by more than a factor of ten depending on emission location. These variations correlate strongly with BC lifetime, which varies from less than 2 days to 11 days. BC dirSF is largest for emissions in tropical convective regions and in subtropical and midlatitude continents in summer, both due to the abundant solar radiation and strong convective transport, which increases BC lifetime and the amount of BC above clouds. The dirSF is also relatively large for emissions in high-albedo high-latitude regions such as Antarctica and Greenland. The dependence of snow specific forcing (snowSF) on the emission location is even larger. While BC emissions originating from most low-latitude regions result in negligible snowSF, the maxima of snowSF for emissions in polar regions greatly exceed the largest values of dirSF for low-latitude emissions. The large magnitude of snowSF for high-latitude BC emissions suggests that, for a given mass of BC emitted, also the climate impacts are largest for high-latitude emissions. The additivity of the RFs resulting from BC emissions in different regions and seasons is also investigated. It is found that dirRF is almost additive for current-day emissions: summing the RFs computed for individual regions/seasons without considering BC emissions from elsewhere 25 overestimates dirRF by less than 10%. For snowRF, the overestimate is somewhat larger, ~20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed an integrated assessment tool that can be used for evaluating the public health costs caused by the concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air. The model can be used to assess the impacts of various alternative air quality abatement measures, policies and strategies. The model has been applied to evaluate the costs of the domestic emissions that influence the concentrations of PM2.5 in Finland in 2015. The model includes the impacts on human health; however, it does not address the impacts on climate change or the state of the environment. First, the national Finnish emissions were evaluated using the Finnish Regional Emission Scenarios (FRESs) model on a resolution of 250×250m2 for the whole of Finland. Second, the atmospheric dispersion was analysed by using the chemical transport model, namely the System for Integrated modeLling of Atmospheric coMposition (SILAM) model, and the source receptor matrices contained in the FRES model. Third, the health impacts were assessed by combining the spatially resolved concentration and population data sets and by analysing the impacts for various health outcomes. Fourth, the economic impacts of the health outcomes were evaluated. The model can be used to evaluate the costs of the health damages for various emission source categories and for a unit of emissions of PM2.5. It was found that the economic benefits, in terms of avoided public health costs, were largest for measures that will reduce the emissions of (i) road transport, (ii) non-road vehicles and machinery, and (iii) residential wood combustion. The reduction in the precursor emissions of PM2.5 resulted in clearly lower benefits when compared with directly reducing the emissions of PM2.5. We have also designed a user-friendly, web-based assessment tool that is open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed an integrated tool of assessment that can be used for evaluating the public health costs caused by the concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air. The model can be used in assessing the impacts of various alternative air quality abatement measures, policies and strategies. The model has been applied for the evaluation of the costs of the domestic emissions that influence the concentrations of PM2.5 in Finland in 2015. The model includes the impacts on human health; however, it does not address the impacts on climate change or the state of the environment. First, the national Finnish emissions were evaluated using the Finnish Regional Emission Scenarios model (FRES) on a resolution of 250 × 250 m² for the whole of Finland. Second, the atmospheric dispersion was analyzed by using the chemical transport model SILAM and the source-receptor matrices contained in the FRES model. Third, the health impacts were assessed by combining the spatially resolved concentration and population datasets, and by analyzing the impacts for various health outcomes. Fourth, the economic impacts for the health outcomes were evaluated. The model can be used to evaluate the costs of the health damages for various emission source categories, for a unit of emissions of PM2.5. It was found that economically the most effective measures would be the reduction of the emissions in urban areas of (i) road transport, (ii) non-road vehicles and machinery, and (iii) residential wood combustion. The reduction of the precursor emissions of PM2.5 was clearly less effective, compared with reducing directly the emissions of PM2.5. We have also designed a user-friendly web-based tool of assessment that is available open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a case study where emission metric values from different studies are applied to estimate global and Arctic temperature impacts of emissions from a northern European country. This study assesses the climate impact of Finnish air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2010, as well as future emissions until 2030. We consider both emission pulses and emission scenarios. The pollutants included are SO2 , NOx , NH3 , non-methane volatile organic compound (NMVOC), black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), CO, CO2 , CH4 and N2O , and our study is the first one for Finland to include all of them in one coherent dataset. These pollutants have different atmospheric lifetimes and influence the climate differently; hence, we look at different climate metrics and time horizons. The study uses the global warming potential (GWP and GWP *), the global temperature change potential (GTP) and the regional temperature change potential (RTP) with different timescales for estimating the climate impacts by species and sectors globally and in the Arctic. We compare the climate impacts of emissions occurring in winter and summer. This assessment is an example of how the climate impact of emissions from small countries and sources can be estimated, as it is challenging to use climate models to study the climate effect of national policies in a multi-pollutant situation. Our methods are applicable to other countries and regions and present a practical tool to analyze the climate impacts in multiple dimensions, such as assessing different sectors and mitigation measures. While our study focuses on short-lived climate forcers, we found that the CO2 emissions have the most significant climate impact, and the significance increases over longer time horizons. In the short term, emissions of especially CH4 and BC played an important role as well. The warming impact of BC emissions is enhanced during winter. Many metric choices are available, but our findings hold for most choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a case study where emission metric values from different studies are applied to estimate global and Arctic temperature impacts of emissions from a Northern European country. This study assesses the climate impact of Finnish air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions in 2000-2010 as well as future emissions until 2030. The pollutants included are SO2, NOX, NH3, NMVOC, BC, OC and CO as well as CO2, CH4 and N2O, and our study is the first one for Finland to include all of them in one coherent dataset. These pollutants have different atmospheric lifetimes and influence the climate differently; hence, we look at different climate metrics and time horizons. The study uses the Global Warming Potential (GWP), the Global Temperature change Potential (GTP) and the Regional Temperature change Potential (RTP) with different time scales for estimating the climate impacts by species and sectors globally and in the Arctic. We compare the climate impacts of emissions occurring in winter and summer. This assessment is an example of how the climate impact of emissions from small countries and sources can be estimated, as it is challenging to use climate models to study the climate effect of national policies in a multi-pollutant situation. Our methods are applicable to other countries and regions and present a practical tool to analyse the climate impacts in multiple dimensions, such as assessing different sectors and mitigation measures. While our study focuses on short-lived climate forcers, we find that the CO2 emissions have the most significant climate impact, and the significance increases with longer time horizons. In the short term, emissions of especially CH4 and BC played an important role as well. The warming impact of BC emissions is enhanced during winter. There can be relatively large differences between results from studies using different metrics, which can partly be explained by different study setup and inherent uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sauna Stoves (SS) are simple wood combustion appliances used mainly in Nordic countries. They generate emissions that have an impact on air quality and climate. In this study, a new measurement concept for comparing the operation, thermal efficiency, and real-life fine particle and gaseous emissions of SS was utilized. In addition, a novel, simple, and universal emission calculation procedure for the determination of nominal emission factors was developed for which the equations are presented for the first time. Fine particle and gaseous concentrations from 10 different types of SS were investigated. It was found that each SS model was an individual in relation to stove performance: stove heating time, air-to-fuel ratio, thermal efficiency, and emissions. Nine-fold differences in fine particle mass (PM1) concentrations, and about 90-fold differences in concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were found between the SS, when dry (11% moisture content) birch wood was used. By using moist (18%) wood, particle number and carbon monoxide concentrations increased, but interestingly, PM1, PAH, and black carbon (BC) concentrations clearly decreased, when comparing to dry wood. E.g., PAH concentrations were 5.5–9.6 times higher with dry wood than with moist wood. Between wood species, 2–3-fold maximum differences in the emissions were found, whereas about 1.5-fold differences were observed between bark-containing and debarked wood logs. On average, the emissions measured in this study were considerably lower than in previous studies and emission inventories. This suggests that overall the designs of sauna stoves available on the market have improved during the 2010s. The findings of this study were used to update the calculation scheme behind the inventories, causing the estimates for total PM emissions from SS in Finland to decrease. However, wood-fired sauna stoves are still estimated to be the highest individual emission source of fine particles and black carbon in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]