Data showing the land use sector in Finland is now a source of greenhouse gas emissions rather than a sink has now been confirmed by Statistics Finland and the Natural Resources Institute of Finland.
The reversal occurred because of increased logging in Finnish forests in 2021, and slower tree growth.
Preliminary data had already indicated that land use in Finland had become a source of climate-altering emissions, prompting a lawsuit from environmentalists demanding the government lay out compensatory measures.
The government's response had been that the figures were preliminary and unconfirmed.
Now the confirmed figures show that land in Finland emitted some 0.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2021, which is less than the preliminary estimate of 2.1 million tonnes but still confirms that Finnish forests no longer compensate for emissions in agriculture.
Logging was a prime reason for the change, with 11 percent more trees harvested by forestry companies.
In 2021 total greenhouse gas emissions excluding the land use sector increased by 0.3 percent, compared to 2020.
Emissions have dropped 33 percent from the comparison year of 1990, and by 44 percent from 2003, when emissions peaked in the 1990-2021 period.