The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency reported on Wednesday that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased by two percent in 2023. This news came despite experts’ worries that the government’s climate policies may soon lead to a rise in short-term emissions.
An independent group of specialists entrusted with examining climate policy declared in March that the government’s proposals will cause short-term rises in emissions in 2024 and cause it to veer off course from its reduction target for emissions by 2030.
According to preliminary figures, the Nordic nation’s emissions in 2023 were 44.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, down roughly one tonne from 2022, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency stated in a statement.
The two percent decline was consistent with a late-May announcement by Statistics Sweden of a 1.6 percent decline.
According to the EPA, the 2023 value was 38% lower than the 1990 level.
The Swedish economic recession caused a reduction in production in the cement, iron, and steel industries, which in turn led to a decline in emissions year over year. The EPA principally ascribed the year-over-year drop in emissions to reduced pricing for energy in the electric and district heating sector.
“Emissions have continued to decrease, not least in industry and electric and district heating, which form part of the EU’s emissions trading system,” Anna-Karin Nystrom, the head of the EPA’s climate target division said.
“The pace has slowed compared to the year before, when above all domestic transport and (fuel-based) work machinery contributed to a sharp reduction.”
The Swedish Climate Policy Council, an expert panel, stated in a report released in March that “policy adopted in 2023 will increase emissions and does not lead towards the fulfilment of Sweden’s climate goals and EU commitments by 2030.”
The council claimed that a number of policies, like a lower gasoline tax, jeopardized efforts to combat climate change.
However, the government’s “climate policy action plan,” which it is mandated by law to produce every four years, was found to be devoid of specific actions.
Romina Pourmokhtari, Sweden’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, expressed her lack of concern regarding the review’s findings.
“They are based on the government’s policy announcements during 2023, and there are several measures that have been added since then,” Pourmokhtari said.
