Sweden’s Climate Act and Climate Policy Framework

The purpose of the framework is to create a clear and coherent climate policy to ensure long-term signals to the market and other actors. Set up to withstand political shifts, the framework was adopted by the Parliament with a broad majority of the political parties. The climate policy framework is an important climate reform in Sweden and a key component of Sweden’s efforts to comply with the Paris Agreement. 

Entered into force on the first of January 2018, the Climate Act establishes that the Government’s climate policy must be based on the climate targets and specifies the forms of the implementation.  

According to the Climate Act, the Government shall: 

• present a climate report in its budget bill each year
• present a climate policy action plan every fourth year to describe how the climate targets are to be achieved
• make sure that climate policy goals and budget policy goals work together. 

The overall climate targets are divided into a long-term target and three milestone targets. 

The long-term target for Sweden is zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 at the latest. After 2045 Sweden is to achieve negative net emissions, which means that we will remove more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than we emit. 

Achieving zero net emissions of greenhouse gases is an ambitious goal. Concretely, it means that the emissions of greenhouse gases from activities in Sweden must be at least 85 per cent lower in 2045 compared to 1990. The remaining reductions down to zero, and even further, can be achieved through supplementary measures. 

The milestone targets towards the long-term goal include emissions covered by the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation, ESR. Emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, EU ETS, are not included.  

The milestone targets state the following reduction of emissions compared to 1990: 

• 40 per cent lower emissions by 2020 
• 63 per cent lower emissions by 2030
• 75 per cent lower emissions by 2040 

Note that these targets do not include emissions and uptake in the land use and forest sector. 

Similar to the long-term target, supplementary measures can be used for reaching the milestone targets – up to 8 per cent of the 2030 target and 2 per cent of the 2040 target. 

The emissions from domestic transport, with the exception of domestic flights, are to be reduced by at least 70 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010. 

To achieve the long-term target by 2045 and the milestone targets by 2030 and 2040, supplementary measures may be utilised, such as: 

• increased uptake of carbon dioxide by forests as the result of additional measures
• verified emission reductions carried out outside the Swedish borders
• carbon capture and storage based on the combustion of biomass, known as bio-CCS. 

The Climate Policy Council is an independent, interdisciplinary expert body tasked with evaluating how well the Government’s overall policy is aligned with the climate goals established by the Parliament and the Government. The Council consists of members with high scientific competence in the fields of climate, climate policy, economics, social sciences, and behavioural sciences. 

Within the framework of the overarching mandate, the Climate Policy Council shall: 

• Evaluate whether the focus of different relevant policy areas contributes to achieving the climate goals
• Highlight the effects of agreed, proposed instruments from a broad societal perspective
• Identify policy areas that require further action
• Analyse how to achieve targets, both short- and long-term, in a cost-effective way
• Evaluate the bases and models on which the Government builds its policy
• Foster more debate in society on climate policy 

You can also read more on the Website of the Climate Policy Council 

Every fourth year, the Government presents a climate policy action plan for how to achieve the national climate goals. The plan shall also include descriptions of planned policies and measures and how they are expected to contribute to the achievement of the national climate goals. The Swedish EPA supports the government with data and analysis for both the climate policy action plan and the report that is presented in the Budget Bill that is presented each year. The second climate policy action plan will be presented by the Government in 2023. 

If you would like to know more about the Swedish climate policy framework, send an email to swedishclimatepolicy@swedishepa.se.