Greenhouse gas emissions in from residents, services and industry decreased by 16% in Helsinki in 2024 from the previous year, according to the environmental report published by the City of Helsinki.
The new draft city strategy raises Helsinki's emissions reduction target, said the city in a press release on Friday referring to the report.
"The Environmental Report 2024 shows that Helsinki is taking responsibility for the environmental impact of the city's growth through its determined environmental protection programmes and practical actions,” said Head of Environmental Affairs of the City of Helsinki Miira Riipinen.
Riipinen said that Helsinki’s medium- and long-term environmental protection objectives were updated during 2024, in addition to which the Baltic Sea Action Plan and Helsinki’s Air Quality and Noise Abatement Plan were also renewed.
Five new nature reserves were established in Helsinki in 2024. In future, Helsinki aims to significantly increase the number of nature reserves established each year.
The city aims to protect 10% of both Helsinki’s land and water areas by 2038.
“Helsinki has also started to pay more attention to the quality of local nature. Reconciling construction activities with both nature conservation and a smaller carbon foot is a major challenge that the city is determined to address,” Riipinen added.
Helsinki also achieved its strategic goal of being the most sustainable tourist destination in the world by ranking first in the international Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index, said the press release.
The biggest reason for the strong decrease in emissions in 2024 was the cessation of coal burning in the Hanasaari power plant in spring 2023.
Following the closure of the Salmisaari power plant in spring 2025, the use of coal ceased completely. This resulted in transport becoming the biggest source of emissions in Helsinki.
In 2024, the reduction in the use of coal and the shift to new solutions in heat production, such as heat pumps, reduced district heat emissions by 27% compared to the previous year.
Emissions from electricity consumption decreased by 14%, even though electricity consumption itself increased by 5% from the previous year.
Emissions from transport increased by 3% from the previous year. This is mainly due to a decrease in the bio share of transport fuels when compared to the previous year.
“With the use of coal for energy production coming to an end, Helsinki's climate work has reached a stage where transport is the biggest source of emissions. The City will continue to invest heavily in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, rail transport and the development of pedestrian and cycling environments,” said Climate Director of the City of Helsinki Hanna Wesslin.
Public transport passenger volumes increased compared to the previous year, but did not recover to pre-COVID levels yet.
Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) commissioned approximately 120 new electric buses, and nearly 42 per cent of kilometres driven on public transport buses were driven by electric buses. The number of electric cars continued to increase, with battery-powered cars accounting for 20.7% of all cars in traffic use (16.7% in 2023).
- Emission
- Reduces
- Helsinki
- 2024
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
