The Finnish forest industry has invested heavily in bioenergy, energy-efficiency and energy conservation. These measures have decreased sector’s CO2 emissions by 47% per tonne compared to 1990 level.

Finland is the EU’s clear leader in wood energy use

About a fifth of Finland’s energy is generated from wood. This is five times the EU average and places Finland at the clear lead of industrialised countries in the energy use of wood.

The forest industry is the largest producer of wood energy and bioenergy in Finland and accounts for about 80% of the bioenergy production and consumption in the country. Some 40% of the wood raw materials received by the industry’s production facilities are used to generate energy in different process phases, which makes the production and consumption of bioenergy a fundamental operating requirement for the forest industry. 

A moderate, long-term energy policy promotes the production of bioenergy because large volumes of output automatically translate into large bioenergy production volumes. Obligation-based, overlapping bioenergy subsidy systems can easily lead to an increase in the price of wood, making raw material supply for the forest industry more difficult.