IN CONTRAST TO (sitä vastoin kuin, jhk. verrattuna)

Use "in contrast to" to compare the differences between two similar things.

Beginning of sentence:

In contrast to the difficulties of controlling CO₂, other kinds of greenhouse gases can already be captured or eliminated using existing technologies.

Within sentence:

The melting and growth of sea ice, in contrast to land ice, does not affect sea level, because the sea ice is floating on the ocean already and is in equilibrium with it.

End of sentence:

Climate experts who predict that global warming will raise serious health problems have been supported by a study which says higher temperatures have already triggered a surge of tick-borne disease in Finland. Cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) have risen dramatically in the 1990s following a succession of mild winters and early springs, in contrast to the long, freezing winters that previously kept the tick population under control.

CONTRARY TO (vastoin jtk)

Use the preposition "contrary to" to emphasize that something is true, even though it is the opposite of what other people think. In academic writing, "contrary to" tends to occur with words meaning beliefs or expectations. The main clause that comes after this preposition usually expresses a negative evaluation or contains a negative form (no, not, never).

Contrary to the impression given by some news reports, global warming is not like a light switch that can be turned off if we simply stop burning so much oil, coal and gas.

UNLIKE (päinvastoin kuin, toisin kuin)

Use the preposition "unlike" followed by a noun or noun phrase to compare the differences between two similar things. Other adversative connectors equivalent to "unlike" include in contrast to, in contrast, while / whereas

Unlike the electricity generated from fossil fuels, wind power produces no greenhouse gases.

In the 1970s, the temperatures dropped, unlike the temperature rises experienced in the 1990s.

DESPITE / IN SPITE OF (jstk huolimatta)

The prepositions "despite" and "in spite of" are concessive connectors that express the same meaning. "Despite" is more formal than "in spite of" and thus more likely to be used in academic writing. Use these two prepositions to introduce a fact which makes the other part of the sentence seem surprising.

Despite lower carbon dioxide emissions, diesel cars may promote more global warming than gasoline cars.

The United States is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, contributing approximately 23 percent of global emissions, despite having only 5 percent of the world’s population.

In spite of the cooling tend that has been observed for Antarctica as a whole, one region of the continent has actually contradicted the mean trend and warmed over the same time period: the Bellingshausen Sea region.

INSTEAD OF (jnk sijasta t. asemasta)

Similar to the sentence connector "instead", use "instead of" to replace or substitute one thing with another.

Many industrialised countries have abandoned the goal of meeting their Kyoto Protocol targets by reducing emissions. Instead of lowering its greenhouse gas emissions by 7% by the year 2012, as specified in the Protocol, the United States is likely to increase them by 25-30%.

New computer models that look at ocean temperatures instead of the atmosphere show the clearest signal yet that global warming is well underway.

NOTWITHSTANDING (huolimatta t. välittämättä jstk)

This preposition can often be interchanged with despite and in spite of. They differ primarily in strength, with notwithstanding being weaker than either despite (Formal) or in spite of (informal). Use the concessive preposition "notwithstanding" to indicate that one thing is true even though another thing (or obstacle) is also true.

"Notwithstanding" can also be placed both in beginning and middle and end positions within the sentence:

Beginning of sentence:

Notwithstanding some role for natural variability, human-created greenhouse gas emissions could, if left unchecked, raise global average temperatures by as much as 5.8 degrees Celsius by the year 2100.

Within sentence:

The greenhouse effect, notwithstanding all of the controversy that surrounds the term, is not a scientifically controversial subject. In fact, it is one of the best, most well-established theories in the atmospheric sciences.

End of sentence:

The safety of nuclear energy has been well demonstrated, notwithstanding the continued operation of a small number of reactors which are, by western standards, distinctly unsatisfactory. These include two old Soviet designs, one of which - before some very extensive modifications to the type - precipitated the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Unlike the other contrastive prepositions, "notwithstanding" can also be placed after its noun object:

After noun object:

When scientists examined temperature records to see if higher global temperatures correlated with urban heat waves, they found no evidence of a link, environmentalist claims notwithstanding.

Before noun object:

When scientists examined temperature records to see if higher global temperatures correlated with urban heat waves, they found no evidence of a link, notwithstanding environmentalist claims.