Climate policy

The threat of the already ongoing climate change is taken very seriously all over the world. Sweden has a strategy for reducing national emissions of greenhouse gases. At the same time, Sweden´s efforts in the negotiations around climate change are largely channelled through the EU.

Most of the world's climate researchers agree that the Earths climate systems are changing. They also agree that the consequences may be dramatic. Therefore the threat of climate change is taken very seriously all over the world. Climate change could have serious negative effects for agriculture, community planning, economies and ecosystems.

Climate objectives and strategy

The Swedish Parliament has endorsed the goal of reducing national emissions of greenhouse gases by at least four per cent on average below 1990 levels by 2008 - 2010. Moreover, the environmental quality objective of reduced climate impact implies that Swedish emissions of greenhouse gases should decline by up to 50 per cent from present levels by 2050 or emissions below 4.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per person per year. The current national average for emissions per Swedish resident is about eight tonnes per year.

In order to reach its objectives, the former Government has drew up a strategy with guidelines for Swedish climate policy (Government Bill 2001/02:55, Swedens climate strategy), which the was adopted by the Swedish Parliament. The strategy includes the following:

• Continued green tax reform including higher carbon dioxide taxes in exchange for lower taxes on labour. In the Fiscal Policy Bill of 2005 Government proposes that this tax shift should amount to a total of SEK 3,6 billion for the year 2006
• Measures in the transport policy sector, including tax relief for environmentally friendly cars and biofuels. There is a tax relief for cars classified as a taxable benefit using environmentally-friendly fuels or environmentally-friendly technology. In the Fiscal Policy Bill of 2005 Government suggests that the tax exemption for carbon dioxide neutral propellants should be extended until 2013.
• Information to increase awareness of climate change.
• Climate investment programmes enabling municipalities, companies and others to apply for grants to take measures reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For 2006 Government has proposed extended allocation for climate investments by SEK 200 million for 2006 and SEK 320 million for 2007 and 2008.
• Preparations for implementing the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. In accordance with the climate strategy, the Government is at present carrying out a review of progress and will a new climate bill during the autumn of 2005.

Greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden are going down

Swedish emissions of greenhouse gases declined by 3.5 per cent between 1990 and 2002, according to the annual report to the EU Commission and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that Sweden delivered in March-April 2004. Emissions from heating in smaller plants and single furnaces, for example, have fallen by 38 per cent since 1990. This is due to a reduction in the use of oil-fired heating and greater use of alternative heating methods. District heating has been extended and at the same time the use of biofuels has increased. The tax on carbon dioxide has probably played an important role.
Emissions from traffic, however, are increasing. Carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector rose by about 10 per cent between 1990 and 2002.

Swedish climate action through the EU

Since climate is a global issue, it must be addressed by the international community. International climate cooperation is organised via the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. The regulatory framework developed under the Kyoto Protocol is the result of very extensive international negotiations over a period of years. Sweden and the EU have consistently taken a proactive part in this work.

Swedish action in the climate area is largely channelled via the EU, which has given Swedish efforts considerable weight in the international negotiations. The EU takes concerted action for the Member States within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, though the EU countries individually are parties to the Convention. The EU countries coordinate their work, e.g. by presenting their negotiating positions jointly. The EU is also a proactive force in the international negotiations.

Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol highest priority

The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is a matter of the highest priority for Sweden and the EU. Work on implementation falls into two areas. Firstly, the EU must take steps to ensure that the Member States can meet their commitments. Secondly, the EU must introduce and develop the regulatory system that has been agreed internationally so as to show that it does actually lead, in a cost-effective manner, to global, fair emissions reductions.

Over the past years, the EU has taken a number of decisions that prove that the EU is determined to fulfil the ambitious targets set. In this regard the start of a European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which was launched in January 2005, is an important step. Moreover, an amendment to the directive linking the project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol with the emissions trading system is currently being implemented. Further, a decision on monitoring of greenhouse gases, as required by the Kyoto Protocol, has been adopted.