Policies

Methane Action Plan

Source: International Energy Agency
Last updated: 7 February 2023

The Finnish government submitted their National Methane Action Plan to the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in April 2022. The Plan reviews the current state of methane emissions in the country as well as existing international and national policy measures that apply to methane. The document is organised around five building blocks: 

  1. Inventories: The Methane Emissions Profile of Finland demonstrates emission trends in 4 sectors: agriculture (49%), waste (31%), land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) (15%) and energy (5%). Total emissions have nearly been cut in half since 1990 due to prior policy intervention. As Finland is not an oil or gas producing country, methane emissions in the energy sector come entirely from the distribution network and end use. 
  2. Mitigation Measures: This section reviews the integration of methane mitigation measures into sectoral strategies for the energy, transport and agricultural sectors, as well as in economy-wide policies like the Finnish Climate Change Act. Finland is also part of several international initiatives concerning methane, including the CCAC, the Global Methane Pledge, and the Global Methane Initiative. 
  3. Methane Mitigation Targets: While Finland does not currently have any specific methane reduction targets, methane is covered under the Climate Change Act, which calls for an economy-wide GHG reduction of 60% by 2030 and 80% by 2040 (compared to 1990 levels). 
  4. Policy Implementation Pathways: This section delineates the responsibilities of various national and local government agencies and academic institutions in tasks concerning methane. Relevant national ministries include the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
  5. Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification: Methane is included under the reporting provisions of the Climate Change Act and the four associated national climate change policy plans: 
    • The Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan,
    • The Climate Change Adaptation Plan,
    • The Long-term Climate Change Policy Plan and
    • The Climate Plan for the Land Use Sector.

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