Coal in Finland

Coal is used as an energy source in Finland. Since Finland has no domestic coal production, it must import all of it from other countries, primarily from Russia. Finland is a peat-producing nation. Peat is classified as coal by the IEA.^[1] In 2016, the Finnish government announced plans to phase out coal by 2030.^[2]

In 2021, the total energy supply (TES) featured a diverse mix of sources. Bioenergy and waste were the largest contributors at 33.6%, followed by oil (20.8%), nuclear energy (18.5%), and coal (6.3%).^[3]

In March 2022, the European Union (EU) introduced sanctions that resulted in a complete ban on importing Russian coal, which became fully operational by August 2022.^[3]

Climate policy

The National Climate and Energy Strategy (NCES) sets out Finland's plan for meeting the EU's energy and climate goals for 2030, along with its own national targets. These commitments involve reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60% by 2030, achieving carbon neutrality by 2035, and phasing out the importation of Russian energy.^[3]

Coal

There is no coal mining or coal tar in Finland, and all coal is imported. According to Finnwatch (27.9.2010) there are 13 coal power plants in Finland. The companies Pohjolan Voima, Fortum, Helsingin Energia and Rautaruukki are the largest coal consumers. According to the Finnwatch inquiry in 2010 none of the Finnish companies had yet a commitment to coal phase out. Energy companies stated following reductions in their future coal use: Helsingin Energia -40% by 2020, Lahti Energia several tens of %^{[clarification needed]} by 2012 and Vantaan Energia -30% by 2014.^[4] In October 2018, the Finnish parliament approved a government proposal to ban the use of coal to produce energy from May 1, 2029.^[5]^[6] According to Statistics Finland, the consumption of hard coal decreased by three percent in 2018 in comparison 2017. The consumption of hard coal as a fuel in the generation of electricity and heat amounted to 3.1 million tonnes, corresponding to 79 petajoules (PJ) in energy content.^[7]

Between 2011 and 2021, Finland saw a notable transformation in its energy mix. The proportion of fossil fuels in the total energy supply (TES) decreased from 53% to 36%, with a decline observed in all fossil fuel types. Notably, the share of coal in the TES fell from 11% to 6.3% over the decade.^[3]

Peat

Finland is a producer of peat, which by the definition of IEA is considered as a form of coal.^[1] Peat is environmentally controversial and disputed domestic soil material. Peat balances the water levels and prevents floods. Peatland plants captures the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and hence, it is said that the peatland ecosystem is an efficient carbon sink. Undisturbed peat soil areas are rich in flora and fauna.

Vapo Oy is the largest peat producer. In 1994 Vapo had 80% of markets in Finland. Vapo was state owned company until 2002. Metsäliitto bought one third in 2002 and 49,9% in 2004. The acquisition was studied by the Finnish competition authorities in 2001 based on dominant position in the peat business. The European Commission accepted the deal. In 2009 Metsäliitto sold its share with 165 million € to Etelä-Pohjanmaan Voima Oy (EPV Oy).^[8] In practice, Vapo is owned by the state, EPV and the major plants using peat, in the way that EPV has the A series stocks.

Peat energy of Vapo is danger to the sustainability of bogs in Finland.^[9]

Between 2011 and 2021, the proportion of peat in the total energy supply (TES) decreased from 5.8% to 2.7%, reflecting the overall trend observed across all fossil fuel types.^[3]

Coal import

Finland imported 18.3 million tons of coal in 2007–2009. The share of coal by country of origin in 2007-2009 was: Russia 72.5%, the United States 7.3%, Canada 6.6%, Australia 5.9%, Poland 3.0%, South Africa 1.4%, Columbia^{[clarification needed]} 1.3%, and Indonesia 1.1%. The majority of Finnish coal is mined in the Kuznetsk Basin of the Kemerovo Oblast, Russia.^[4]

Coal import in Finland^[4]
	2007	2008	2009
Russia	4,824,000	3,770,000	4,683,000
United States	355,000	532,000	443,000
Canada	529,000	393,000	293,000
Australia	559,000	292,000	223,000
Poland	270,000	88,000	189,000
South Africa	-	254,000	-
Columbia	88,000	68,000	74,000
Indonesia	-	194,000	13,000
Norway	17,000	46,000	7,000
Kazakhstan	13,000	33,000	19,000
Others	15,000	1,000	15,000
Total	6,670,000	5,671,000	5,959,000

Carbon dioxide emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions by fuel: coal^[10]
	million ton of CO2					% of fossil total
	Fossil	Hard coal	Other coal	Peat	Coal total	Peat	Coal total
1990	53.0	12	3	6	20.1	10.6	37.9
2000	53.1	9	4	7	19.4	12.2	36.5
2004	64.3	16	4	9	28.7	14.5	44.6
2005	52.8	8	4	7	18.3	13.6	34.7
2006	64.1	15	4	10	28.9	15.3	45.1
2007	61.8	13	4	11	27.4	17.3	44.3
2008	53.7	9	3	9	20.7	15.8	38.5
Other coal: coke, blast furnace gas, coke oven gas, coal tar and other non specified coal

References

^ ^a ^b "Balance definitions". www.iea.org. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
^ "Finland plans to ban coal by 2030 - Climate Action". www.climateaction.org. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Finland 2023 - Energy Policy Review" (PDF). International Energy Agency (IEA). 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Coal from the East and the South, Responsibility in energy company coal purchases, FinnWatch 23.12.2010
^ "Finland approves ban on coal for energy use from 2029". Reuters. 2019-02-28. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
^ "Finland to prohibit energy use of coal on 1 May 2029". www.helsinkitimes.fi. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
^ Sandberg, Aleksi. "Statistics Finland - Consumption of hard coal". www.stat.fi. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
^ Esa Ruuskanen and Vapo: Suosta voimaa ja lämpöä, Turve Suomen energiapolitiikassa (Power and heat from peat, Peat in Finnish energy policy), Vapo 2010 pages157-8, 108-9 (in Finnish)
^ Laiha sopu uppositurvesuohon HS 25.6.2012 A2
^ Energy Statistics Yearbook 2009, Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Fuels Table 11.3.1, Statistics Finland 2010