23.5.2007

Energy choices affect climate change

The worldwide climate change is the most serious environmental threat of our time, a fact that has been almost unanimously acknowledged in the science community. As a result of human activities, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased.

The most important greenhouse gas resulting from human activities is carbon dioxide. It is mainly produced by traffic and energy production. Burning of non-renewable energy sources, such as, coal, natural gas and petroleum, produces carbon dioxide, which, in turn, increases the average temperature of the earth's climate. The probability of extreme weather phenomena occurring also increases. Carbon dioxide resulting from the burning of renewable resources is absorbed by the growth of new biomass, and so they are considered carbon neutral.

Additional information

Climate change on the website of Finland's environmental administration
Ilmastonmuutos.info (The Finnish Climate Change Communications Programme)
Ilmasto.org (in Finnish)