Context:
- After crowing itself the top spot at the World’s Happiness Report and the safest city to travel, Finland has added the most coveted badge of the cleanest air!
- According to the latest report of the World Health Organisation, Finland stood first leaving behind 4 000 cities in 108 countries.
- Finland sits at the top of the list with a score of 90.68 in Environment Performance Index.
- The report, commissioned by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, said: “Finland’s goal of consuming 38 per cent of their final energy from renewable sources by 2020 is legally binding, and they already produce nearly two-thirds of their electricity from renewable or nuclear power sources.”
Here’s a look at five reasons why Finland has the cleanest air in the world
1. No pollutants
The concentration of fine particles in Finland is less than six micrograms per cubic metre, which is less than the lowest level on the globe.
2. No industrial waste
Pia Anttila of the Meteorological Institute told Finish media, the Nordics, Canada and Estonia are all far away from concentrations of polluting industry.
Indeed the easiest way to reduce air pollution is to limit the practice of coal-fired power plants, transportation, deforestation, and waste burning, among other sources.
3. Less population
To your surprise, Finland has as less as 55 people living with an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre.
” There are also few inhabitants and little traffic in Finland, ” Anttila added.
4. Thick forest cover
We cannot take trees for granted. They are life savers!
Finland wins the chart of the cleanest air in the world because it has a thick green cover of forests and trees.
It has more forest in comparison to any European country. Pallas-Ylläs-tunturi National Park is one of the most amazing places.
It has 11th largest green cover in the world. There 73 per cent firs, birches and oaks and 95 per cent of Suriname.
5. Government initiatives
The government invests in renewable energy, protects forests and lakes, and promotes the adoption of electric vehicles.
Discard motor vehicle ownership by 2025
The government has envisaged making the capital city, Helsinki, free from the motor vehicle by 2025, for they are building quality transport system on public demand.
Currently, the city has 2,400 miles of cycle lanes, which have been used by the civilians.
- Use of bioenergy in the forest
- Forest residue is used
- Solar energy and heat pumps are being installed by the government
- Increased use of agricultural waste, biomass and biogass
- Government is supporting the use of wind power
- Increase in the construction of new hydropower
- It is expected that the use of recycled fuels will be increased by 150 per cent in 2020.
Source: India Today
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/5-reasons-why-finland-has-the-cleanest-air-in-the-world-1387540-2018-11-13