Finland's total greenhouse gas emissions for 2020 fell by 9 percent compared to 2019, Statistics Finland revealed in a press release.

The drop can be explained by a mild winter as well as structural changes in electricity production and a decrease in transportation traffic. The country's larger emitter, the energy sector, recorded a reduction of 11 percent in emissions compared to last year.

According to preliminary data, the total amount emitted by Finland in 2020 equates to 48.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂ eq.).

"It is promising, and I would say that nine percent is not huge, it's not unprecedented but it is really good," senior statistician Sini Niinistö at the agency told Yle News, adding that there is a clear downward trend since 2003, despite some fluctuations, as expected.

Finland is likely to succeed in adhering to EU and Kyoto Protocol emission reduction obligations for the years between 2013 and 2020. This will be confirmed once international reviews are completed in autumn 2022.

The total emissions for 2020 are also 32 percent lower than the emissions recorded in 1990. Current national climate change policy aims for a reduction of at least 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

However, the yearly emission allocations under the EU Effort Sharing Decision grow smaller year by year, according to Niinistö, meaning that sticking to goals is becoming progressively more challenging.

"Although the drop was quite good for 2019 and 2020, we still barely made it under the emission reduction targets," she said.

While factors such as weather can largely affect emissions, policy that favours renewables over fossil fuels could go a long way, Niinistö added.