Total energy consumption in 2020 amounted to 1.28 million terajoules (TJ). The trends in the energy sector
driving greenhouse gas emissions are described in Section 2.6 of Finland's Eight National communication.
In 2020, the energy sector's emissions were about 36 per cent below the 1990 level and half the emission
level in 2003, which was the year of the greatest emissions from the energy sector between 1990 and 2020.
At the end of the 1990s, total energy consumption increased, but emissions changed very little. The reasons
for this were the increased use of wood fuels, nuclear energy, and net imports of electricity, which reduced
the condensing power production and thus emissions. Net imports of electricity declined at the beginning of
the 2000s, and energy sector emissions were at their peak in 2003. In 1990, the share of renewable energy in
total energy consumption was just 18 per cent, since when it has grown steadily. The share of renewable
energy sources from the final energy consumption grew to 44.6 per cent in 2020. In addition, the net import
of electricity has been at a high level since 2012 (Figures 2.7 and 2.8). The increased use of renewable ener-
gy sources compared to the situation in 1990 has increasingly replaced fossil fuels and is the main reason for
the decreased emissions despite the growth in energy consumption.
The ban on the use of hard coal for energy production, which will enter into force in 2029, is already de-
creacing coal consumption For example the total consumption of coal which in addition to hard coal in