Swedish climate policy falls short of national and EU targets, report finds

A government-appointed review has concluded that Sweden’s climate policy over the current term has been inadequate, with neither national climate goals nor EU commitments on track to be met, SVT Nyheter reports.

The Climate Policy Council’s latest assessment, published Wednesday, delivers sharp criticism of the outgoing government’s record. Necessary decisions have been postponed, while existing climate tools for transport and industrial machinery have been weakened, the report states. Though some progress has been made in simplifying permit processes for industry, policy reversals and inconsistent state risk-sharing have increased uncertainty for businesses.

“This term is nearly over—there’s essentially no time left to implement effective measures,” said Mathias Fridahl, associate professor at Linköping University and council member, in comments to news agency TT ahead of the report’s release. “The task now falls to the next government.”