The municipality of Sipoo needed information on the current emissions of its community structure and the carbon sinks within the municipality as a basis for comparing the structural model options of the general plan. We prepared a report that presents an overall calculation of the essential greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sinks of the community structure for a period of one year. In addition, the report includes a carbon balance calculation of the current state of the municipality's community structure, a quantitative and regional assessment of carbon sinks, and a description of the factors affecting the development of the sinks.
The calculation of the report has been produced in a way that enables regular repetition and monitoring of developments by updating the starting values of the calculation tool. The calculation tool is based on grid-based presentation and classification of calculation results and can be used to illustrate region-specific emissions and carbon sinks. Along with the report, a browser-based map visualization was also produced to support analysis and reporting.
The input data was derived from the national urban structure monitoring system (YKR data), the area's traffic model, and locally produced information on the building stock and energy production emission factors. In terms of traffic, the evaluation also used the zoning of the community structure prepared by the Finnish Environment Agency.
The calculation showed that the urban structure of Sipoo municipality is a source of carbon emissions and in the current situation, the total emissions in one year, based on 2020 and 2021 data, were about 123 kt CO2-eq, i.e. 5.7 t CO2-eq per inhabitant. The quantitative share of carbon sinks in the greenhouse gas emissions of the community structure was about 17%. Sipoonkorpi is one of the core areas of the carbon sink, but its trees are old, on average, which reduces the carbon sink effect. The survey identified key variables and phenomena that should be taken into account when planning future changes in land use, with which it is possible to develop the community structure in pursuit of carbon neutrality.
