Pushing for Zero Emissions Energy Production

If the global temperature rise is to be limited to 2°C compared with the pre-industrial temperature level, global greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced by 50–85% from the current levels by 2050, according to the IPCC. Furthermore, the industrial countries will have to cut their emissions by 80–95% by 2050 and by 25–40% by 2020 to achieve this warming limit.

The EU has unilaterally undertaken the commitment to reduce emissions by 20% by 2020, and has also proposed indicatively to cut its emissions by 60–80% by 2050. Finland is a part of European Union and the policies of the EU play a very crucial role also in the Finnish energy economy.

In Finland, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 60–66% from 1990 to 2050 according to the scenario study presented in this publication, if the emission rights price rises no higher than 80 €/tCO2-eq. Increased energy efficiency becomes an important factor in emission reductions. The most important energy production technologies which reduce emissions are bioenergy technologies, nuclear power and wind power. The latest technological developments, as well as the possibilities and the role of different energy production technologies in climate change mitigation are described in this publication.