Sweden's climate goals
Long term goals
By 2045 at the latest, Sweden must have no net emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In order to achieve this, a decision has been taken that emissions* of greenhouse gases from Sweden must be at least 85 percent lower in 2045 than they were in 1990. The remaining 15 percent can be achieved through other measures such as:
• Strengthening the absorption of carbon dioxide in forests and land, for example by planting trees on disused agricultural land or restoring old peatlands that had previously been dug out.
• Capture and store carbon dioxide that occurs when biofuels are burned.
• Contribute to reduced emissions in other countries.
After 2045, emissions must be negative – that is, we bind or capture more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than we emit.
*The long-term target for reduced emissions of greenhouse gases does not include emissions from land use, changed land use or forestry.
Milestone targets
• No later than 2030 – emissions should be 63 percent lower than emissions in 1990.
• No later than 2040 – emissions should be 75 percent lower than emissions in 1990.
Greenhouse gas emissions covered by the EU emissions trading system are not included in the milestone targets.
Milestones for domestic transport
Sweden has a special milestone for domestic transport (domestic flights are not included). These emissions must be reduced by at least 70 percent by 2030 at the latest as compared to 2010.
The Climate Act
The Climate Act entered into force on 1 January 2018. Briefly, this means the following:
• Government policy must be based on the stated climate goals.
• Every year, government must present a climate report in its budget bill.
• Every four years, the government must draw up a climate policy action plan. It must report how the climate goals are to be achieved using the policy and what needs to be done if the goals do not appear to be achievable.
Link to the Climate Act on the Riksdag website (In Swedish)
The Climate Policy Council
The Climate Policy Council is tasked with providing an independent evaluation of how well government policy aligns with climate goals. The Council consists of experts in the environment, environmental policy, economics, social science and behavioural sciences.
The Council must submit an annual report on how climate work is progressing with an assessment of whether the climate goals will be achieved applying current government policy.
The Climate Policy Council has its own website.
Read more
Read more about Sweden's climate goals and climate work on the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency website.
Source for this page: The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency