• Energy Research

AbstractEnvironmental problems related to agricultural land use require better functioning solutions. Pressing problems include the increasing nutrient load in water bodies, caused by fertilization and erosion, and carbon emissions caused by various agricultural practices, for example. At a policy level, these issues are tackled via agri-environmental measures, but at farm level, these measures have not attracted as wide support as hoped for. Instead, farmers feel that many agri-environmental measures are incoherent in relation to their practices and goals, and the goals of agricultural policies in general. This type of policy problem can be called experienced policy coherence and it results in poor functioning of the policies. This paper connects practice theory and policy coherence analysis and suggests that a more systematic focus on the practices which the policies aim at influencing is needed in order to design better policies and to approach the problem of policy incoherence experienced by grass-roo...

Biogas presents an increasing energy production form in municipalities and rural locations, and it is also a feasible waste management option. In terms of environmental life cycle assessments (LCA), biogas production seems to offer a unique opportunity to combine nutrient recycling with energy production using various underutilised resources such as municipal biowastes or manure. LCAs of biogas production suggest benefits related to CO2 emission savings and the replacement of chemical fertilisers, for example. Existing biogas plants have varying practices related to biogas production and actualisation of the life cycle benefits is influenced by policies, local contexts, and the purposes of the biogas production activity. This paper identifies and explores critical points related to biogas production by reviewing LCA studies and comparing them to actual choices made at Finnish biogas plants based on stakeholder interviews. The most critical points related to biogas production involve the end use of the biogas and the end use of the digestate. The practical implementation and site-specific conditions of biogas plants can lead to significant differences between life cycle impacts. Therefore, we emphasise the importance of site-specific LCA studies for reliable impact assessments. In addition, we suggest the incorporation of stakeholder interviews to support LCA at different phases and better implementation of life cycle thinking in policy design.

Agriculture is a contributing force to climate change due to unsustainable changes in land use with the usage of peatlands for food production in Finland. The use of organic soils in food production is a complex and politically driven issue, thus multistakeholder and participatory approaches to policy development, implementation and evaluation are essential. This study is integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in an iterative process to produce action-oriented knowledge for supporting actions to sustainably manage peatlands and reduce the enormous greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peatlands. This study has engaged inter-disciplinary researchers and transdisciplinary actors in the Finnish food system via farmers, regional and ministry officials, food industry representatives along with education and research representatives to produce action-oriented knowledge for sustainability. The results indicate that actions are needed to develop a shared understanding between relevant actors and stakeholders in the food system to create activities and effective policy measures to remove peatlands from active production in Finland. Therefore, there is a necessity to identify and define incentives from both the public and private sectors to remove peatlands from food production, and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Interventions that account for local, regional, and national perspectives should be co-created among the inter-disciplinary researchers and transdisciplinary actors in the food system to generate transformative and system-wide change in the transition towards a low-carbon society.

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Abstract Policies governing forest ecosystems can mitigate climate change in many ways, making use of various ecosystem services. Although identification of ecosystem service trade-offs has received increasing analytical attention, the policies and mixes of policies generating the trade-offs have remained outside the focus. To advance the policy relevance of ecosystem service trade-off analysis, we analyse the coherence of Finnish policies affecting forest bioenergy and carbon sequestration, two contrasting means to use forests for climate change mitigation. In particular, we focus on the interactions that different policy outputs have with respect to these two ecosystem services. The analysed policy outputs represent different foci and levels and rely on different mechanisms. We identify the direct and indirect impacts that the policy outputs have on the supply and demand of the services by utilizing natural science and policy assessment approaches. We find forest bioenergy, representing a tangible ecosystem service exchanged in the market, to be governed more positively and with more explicit instruments compared to carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration policies remain at a higher level of abstraction, stating merely strategic objectives, possibly because these markets are only emerging and remain political and highly uncertain. Our analysis shows that trade-offs between the two ecosystem services are generated by policies supporting bioenergy, whilst general policies advance both services. The entire mix of policy outputs and its differentiated impacts on ecosystem services should be thoroughly considered when assessing the strategies for mitigating climate change and designing new policy instruments.

Abstract The use of biomass in Finland and Sweden has steadily increased over the past 25 years, up to approximately 20% of the primary energy supply in 2001. In both countries most biomass originates from forests. Forest biomass is now an integral part of modern energy systems, although primarily in industry and in the heating sector. For example, biomass accounts for 7.9% and 53% of the fuel mix in district heating in Finland and Sweden, respectively. The general energy policy of both countries has supported biomass for energy over the entire period, although specific policies have changed with time. Research, development and demonstration has been continuously supported, and some subsidy schemes have been applied, in particular, for district heating systems (DHS) and combined heat and power. Heavy taxation of competing fossil fuels seems to have been the most effective policy instrument, although this has been directed mainly at the heat and transportation fuel markets. Electricity taxes are imposed on consumption (industry is largely exempt), and do not discriminate significantly between the sources of electricity. Starting in 2003, Sweden will have a quota-based system, a renewable portfolio standard, which is expected to increase biomass-based electricity production. Both countries possess vast and not fully exploited biomass resources in the form of forests, and have a history of rational and large-scale forestry. Strong actors exist both with regard to forest ownership and the industrial processing of forest products. The user side, in particular, represented by DHS, can also be characterised by strong and professional management. Over time, structures have developed that facilitate an increased use of biomass for energy, for example, the forest industry infrastructure and extensive district heating. Actors within these structures have had the ability to react to policies, resulting in a stable growth in biomass use.

We analyze how metaphors are used in presenting and debating novel technologies that could influence the climate and thereby also future climate change policies. We show that metaphors strengthen a policy-related storyline, while metaphors are rarer in purely descriptive accounts. The choice of metaphor frames the technologies. War metaphors are used equally in arguments that are for, against and neutral with respect to the further development of geoengineering, but differences arise in the use of metaphors related to controllability, health and mechanisms. Controllability metaphors are often used in justifying further research and development of good governance practices, whereas health metaphors tend to be used against the very idea of geoengineering by portraying technological interventions in the climate as an emblematic case of an unacceptable development. These findings suggest that metaphors are early indications of restrictions in the interpretative flexibility that influences future governance of geoengineering and geoengineering research.

AbstractShared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), developed at global scale, comprise narrative descriptions and quantifications of future world developments that are intended for climate change scenario analysis. However, their extension to national and regional scales can be challenging. Here, we present SSP narratives co-developed with stakeholders for the agriculture and food sector in Finland. These are derived from intensive discussions at a workshop attended by approximately 39 participants offering a range of sectoral perspectives. Using general background descriptions of the SSPs for Europe, facilitated discussions were held in parallel for each of four SSPs reflecting very different contexts for the development of the sector up to 2050 and beyond. Discussions focused on five themes from the perspectives of consumers, producers and policy-makers, included a joint final session and allowed for post-workshop feedback. Results reflect careful sector-based, national-level interpretations of the global SSPs from which we have constructed consensus narratives. Our results also show important critical remarks and minority viewpoints. Interesting features of the Finnish narratives compared to the global SSP narratives include greater emphasis on environmental quality; significant land abandonment in SSPs with reduced livestock production and increased plant-based diets; continued need for some farm subsidies across all SSPs and opportunities for diversifying domestic production under scenarios of restricted trade. Our results can contribute to the development of more detailed national long-term scenarios for food and agriculture that are both relevant for local stakeholders and researchers as well as being consistent with global scenarios being applied internationally.