On 14 March, the Swedish Government presented a bill on a climate policy framework. The bill contains new climate goals, a Climate Act and a climate policy council. The aim is to create order and stability in climate policy. The framework is based on last year’s agreement within the Cross-Party Committee on Environmental Objectives.

“All countries need to actively demonstrate how they are taking responsibility on climate change. Today’s decision shows that Sweden will continue to be a leading country in global efforts to achieve the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement”, says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate Isabella Lövin.

The Climate Act contains provisions on the Government’s climate policy efforts. In its annual Budget Bill, the Government is to submit a climate report to the Riksdag and draw up a climate action plan for each electoral period. This means that each government has an obligation to report on how work to achieve the climate goals is progressing. The first climate report will be presented in the second half of 2018, and the first action plan will be presented in 2019.

As a new long-term climate goal, Sweden will have no net emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2045. The Riksdag has also passed new intermediate targets for the years 2030 and 2040.
The Government has begun the work of establishing a climate policy council to assist it by providing an independent assessment of how the overall policy presented by the Government is compatible with the climate goals. The council will be in place before the Climate Act enters into force on 1 January 2018.

The climate policy framework is based on the agreement presented by the Cross-Party Committee on Environmental Objectives in two interim reports in 2016. The agreement is backed by the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, the Moderate Party, the Liberal Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats, and in some parts also by the Left Party.

Swedish Government