Climate Policy Council's Vice Chair: Government's Climate Policy Insufficient

The Swedish Climate Policy Council is an independent expert body that annually reviews the government's climate policy and provides recommendations to help Sweden achieve its goal of no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. This year's report criticizes the government's climate policy as insufficient to meet Sweden's climate targets and EU commitments by 2030. The report shows that Sweden's greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2024 due to lower taxes on fossil fuels and reduced requirements for fossil-free fuels. 

As vice chair of the council, how do you think the government is performing?
– We do not give grades to the government. However, we note that with the current policies, Sweden is not on track to meet either its short-term or long-term climate goals.

What measures does the council consider most urgent for Sweden to reach its climate goals?
– In terms of the short-term goals for 2030, the key areas are transportation and forestry. For transportation, it is crucial to increase the reduction obligation and fuel taxes on gasoline and diesel. For forestry, measures to increase carbon sequestration are necessary. 

What obstacles exist in implementing your recommendations, and how can they be overcome?
– The primary challenge is political will, as there are naturally different interests and conflicting goals.

Temat för rapporten är ”Jordbrukets bidrag till klimatomställningen”. Vad beror detta på, och vad hoppas ni uppnå genom att fokusera på jordbruket i år?
– Det finns flera skäl. Ett är att det är förhållandevis svårt att minska utsläppen i denna sektor och ska vi nå nettonoll till 2045 måste alla sektorer bidra. Ett annat är att denna sektor står totalt för större utsläpp än man kanske tror om man också beaktar nettoutsläppen från mark, som till stor del handlar om utsläpp från mulljordar. 

The theme of this year's report is "Agriculture's contribution to the climate transition." Why was this chosen, and what do you hope to achieve by focusing on agriculture this year?
– There are several reasons. One is that reducing emissions in this sector is relatively difficult, yet all sectors must contribute if we are to reach net zero by 2045. Another is that this sector accounts for greater total emissions than one might think when considering net emissions from land use, particularly emissions from peat soils.

What are your hopes now that the report has been presented, and what measures do you consider realistic to expect?
– It is difficult to say, but our dialogue with the government suggests that they were not particularly surprised by most of what we wrote.
 

The text is an edited AI translation of the original Swedish text.