Response to interpellation 2023/24:401 on Sweden's climate goals
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L argues that Sweden is pursuing an ambitious climate policy to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 at the latest 1. L wants to use cost-effective policy instruments and the EU's flexibility mechanisms to reach the goals without carbon leakage or unreasonable costs 1 2. L considers the previous government's focus on the reduction obligation to be one-sided and ineffective 3. L emphasizes the importance of emission allowances for a market-based transition 2 3, wants to review flexibility mechanisms to promote the economy 3, invests in infrastructure for charging and hydrogen 3, sees carbon capture as crucial 3 and believes that nuclear power should have been nurtured. S argues that the government's budget leads to increased emissions and that Sweden risks missing the 2030 goals 4 5. S criticizes emission allowances as expensive for the people 4 5 and argues that they have reformed their policy with Sverigebränsle 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! Jytte Guteland has asked me the following two questions:
What is my plan now that we risk missing the 2030 goal?
What percentage do I drive for the EU's climate goals for the year 2040?
Sweden pursues an ambitious climate policy where we take responsibility both as an individual country and as part of the EU. The Government is determined that Sweden shall fulfill its part of the EU's climate goals and reach net-zero emissions by 2045 at the latest. The Government therefore intends to appoint a broad inquiry with the aim of designing policy instruments that can contribute to Sweden's EU commitments being met in a cost-effective and socio-economically efficient manner, while avoiding unreasonably high costs for households and businesses.
The measures and instruments that the government will introduce to meet the EU requirements need to have a broad anchoring in society. They need to lead to real emission reductions and not to emission leakage through closed domestic production and increased imports instead. In this way, we can provide households and companies with the right conditions to both participate in and contribute to the transition.
Sweden shall also use the flexibility mechanisms within the EU's regulatory framework, of which the acquisition of space for emissions and uptake from other Member States is a part, in order to make the achievement of the goals as cost-effective as possible. The Environmental Goals Commission will be tasked with reviewing the design of the national interim targets so that they better align with Sweden's commitments within the EU. The Commission will also review the interim target for domestic transport.
Through the budget bill for 2024, the government has enabled funds in expenditure area 20, appropriation 1:12 Measures for international climate investments, to be used for the acquisition of emission space from other EU Member States within the framework of the Effort Regulation, ESR, and the regulation on greenhouse gas emissions and removals from and into land use, LULUCF. Work is ongoing within the Government Offices to investigate the possibilities for Sweden to acquire emission space from other Member States.
Sweden's membership in the EU is central to our climate work and for the climate transition. The Government welcomes an ambitious climate goal for the EU 2040 that creates conditions for a socio-economically efficient path towards climate neutrality within our union by 2050. The Government also considers that the goal should be in line with the Paris Agreement and be based on the best available science. It is important that all member states contribute to reaching the 2040 climate goal. It is also important that the new goal contributes to predictability for political and investment decisions as well as that it strengthens the competitiveness of the EU and Sweden.
The Government is analyzing the Commission's communication on 2040 targets and will prepare a position ahead of these negotiations. The EU is and shall continue to be a central actor in both influencing emissions within the Union and driving the rest of the world.
Jytte Guteland (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Climate for the answer and for the dialogue here today.
It is going fast now. The glaciers are melting in the Alps. We heard about that today on the news. The floods are succeeding one another in our elongated country as well. Last year was the warmest ever recorded in modern times.
Recently, the EU's climate council announced that no member state is doing enough for us to reach the 2030 goals, and Sweden is no exception. Sweden is, on the contrary, one of the countries that will deliver new climate failures to the EU. With the government's budget, emissions are now increasing for the first time. For the period 2024-2030, we see an increase in carbon dioxide emissions from just over 6 to nearly 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.
This is serious, a trend break, and it is something that prevents us from reaching both the important 2030 goals and our own transport goal. The EU's climate council is now urging the member states to really pick up the pace. The Swedish government has received a lot of criticism for not doing exactly this.
How is it that we did not get the answers in the climate action plan on how to succeed with the 2030 goals? I note in the written response and in the oral response that the Minister refers to the fact that one can buy emission rights from other countries. It is said in somewhat flowery language, but that is what it is about. Here, calculations have been made showing that it costs 15-37 billion Swedish kronor. Who is it that is supposed to pay this? Is it the Swedish people who are to pay this with tax increases, is it the welfare, is it the healthcare crisis or is it the school crisis? Who is going to shell out the money so that we do not choose to invest in an effective climate policy?
I wonder why we did not get the answers regarding 2030. What is the climate crisis plan for Sweden when the climate action plan fails to reach the goal?
I also asked the question about the 2040 goal. I did that because the government, and in particular the Minister for Climate and Environment, often wants to refer to the fact that we should work beyond 2030. The important work is to reach there faster.
Now there was a chance to step forward early in a campaign for the European Parliament, especially in the debate between the member states regarding the 2040 goal. Many member states have taken that chance. Governments have been clear about which ambition they want to see. The EU Commission has said that they want to increase the pace, and there is talk of a 90 percent reduction by 2040. The EU's climate council is also moving forward with new and sharpened goals for this year.
Why has the Swedish government not reported what ambition it wants for 2040, since the Minister for Climate says that beyond 2030 there are no problems?
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! The member mentions "fig language" [rhetorical flourishes]. It may sound like fig language to someone who does not value economic efficiency in climate work. I find it strange. If we are to succeed with a climate transition in earnest, it is not about pumping in tax money here and there and then it is solved, or setting up an extremely high regulation with a totally unrealistic curve. It should then lead to a short-term climate goal where one can ignore what plan one has for how we are to reach all the way down to net zero, Sweden's climate goal. The reason I speak of this is quite simply that it is Sweden's real climate goal and not the interim goals. The interim goals are obviously important, but it is good if one has a plan regarding where one is headed.
It is alarming that it is formulated in such a way that it would be a question of fig-language. It is not at all about fig-language, but it is about how we look at the changes we are now implementing of our entire economic system in Europe. It is no small trifle, but it is our economic system in our internal market that we are to shift to stimulate reduced emissions. Fundamentally, it is about stimulating zero emissions. It needs to happen in a way that is not artificial, and it needs to happen in a cost-effective and market-oriented way that is sustainable in the long run. From my and this government's perspective, it is something that the previous government totally ignored, in favor of instead unilaterally focusing on reducing Swedish emissions by burdening the transport sector in Sweden with a reduction obligation and then leaning back.
I remember the criticism that was voiced during the discussions. It was criticism that one was putting all eggs in one basket, that one was investing heavily in a single measure, and that the research so clearly shows that one needs a broad palette of measures to be sustainable and purposeful in its reform policy, especially to be cost-effective and not do this in a way that is not favorable for the economy.
I will now move on to what the member mentions about wanting to formulate the flexibility mechanisms in the regulatory framework using fig-language. In that case, it is interesting to reflect on why these flexibility mechanisms exist in the EU's regulatory framework. Is it because the EU is somehow inexperienced in climate policy? I do not think member Guteland thinks that, having personally been such a large part of designing the fantastic regulatory framework. The flexibility mechanisms exist in the EU's climate package generally in the green deal to promote cost-effectiveness, to promote our market benefiting from the transition. They are there for a reason, and Sweden will use them.
We do not consider it favorable to carry out the climate transition in a way that leads to carbon leakage, where we import products from other places because our own companies and our own economy cannot withstand the pressure. It is a problem that I believe the government takes seriously and which I wish future governments, regardless of party, will also take seriously. How do we ensure that the climate transition is truly sustainable, so that Swedish companies stand on their own feet in the transition even after the state needs to invest large resources in other things? That is a place I am strongly motivated to reach. We shall reach net zero by 2045 at the latest.
The government has mapped out the plan for the entire way down to zero by 2045 at the latest, and net zero thereafter with the carbon capture work that we all look forward to. That is the place we are to reach, and in that case, it is a matter of safeguarding economic efficiency and all the flexibility mechanisms that exist in the system. It shall be the long-term and the short-term together.
Jytte Guteland (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister once again.
Never would I or my party question the climate minister's own desire for the situation for Sweden to be better. I am completely convinced that this is the reason why one is politically active. I can also see that the climate minister is eager in his rhetoric and will to describe reality. The direction of intent seems clear.
With this said, it is difficult to believe the words when we know that the government has previously said that we will reach a certain place if we just patiently wait until we see the climate action plan, the budget, or the negotiations in the Riksdag. Every time we reach a point after these dates where the disappointment becomes even greater because they turn out to be empty words. There is no policy behind all the will of rhetoric. It is the opposite. With this government, emissions have increased, and it is a break in the trend. With this government, a climate plan has been presented that is an empty shell. With this government, we hear criticism for the first time that Sweden is not meeting the climate goals by 2030.
It is not at all about my lack of knowledge regarding how the country stands at the EU level, but I am very proud of what we did at the EU level regarding the climate package and the EU's climate law. My concern is precisely that the member states are not doing enough, and it cuts to the heart to see that Sweden is heading in that direction.
Since then, we have had the constant argument that 2030 is not important. It is the opposite of what the scientists say. We cannot wait until the decade after that, because we risk exceeding planetary boundaries. If we do that, it will roll on like hell, and then it will get warmer and warmer even with an active policy.
We can already see the crisis in the world today, and I am convinced that the Minister for Climate also sees it.
I move on to the question. What should we do? That was what I meant by fig leaf language about us spoiling emission space. Say instead that we are going to buy emission rights – that is what the minister is referring to.
Buying emission rights risks becoming terribly expensive for the Swedish people. There are no proper calculations, but there is talk of 15-37 billion Swedish kronor. Is it tax money? Is it the healthcare crisis? Who is going to pay for this? Is it not better to invest smaller but more effective climate money early on?
The Minister knows that effective climate policy is to invest early, so that the problems do not accumulate further ahead. That is why we Social Democrats stand for an effective climate policy.
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! It is very interesting that the member chooses to highlight the efficiency of the previous government's climate policy. Does the member mean to say that the previous government conducted effective climate policy? It is fascinating considering that the climate policy one primarily pursued to reach short-term goals, which was the only thing one managed during its time in government, was to set a reduction obligation where the goal was to have a reduction level of 60 percent for diesel by 2030 and thereby reach Sweden's short-term climate goal. At 33 percent, the Social Democratic government took a break, for then it became too difficult for the Swedish people to endure the consequences of the government's incredibly effective policy.
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There are reasons why I so often speak of ambitious and effective climate policy. One of the reasons for this is the one the member himself mentioned, namely the other governments' fantastic ambitions. It is certainly very good that the other governments in the EU spend their time talking about the Commission's goals for 2040 and about ambitions, goals, ambitions, goals and so on, but they talk so incredibly little about what measures they will decide on to reach these goals and fulfill these ambitions. I wish that previous governments had also spent more time on how one is actually going to get there. What are the policy instruments?
In my opinion, emission allowances and trading them are one of these instruments. It is nothing I am hiding - on the contrary, it is something I am proud of. If Sweden is not only to look after its own climate transition and be a protectionist and nationalistic country when it comes to the climate transition, and if one seriously wants a just and solidary climate transition, one must of course ensure to help other countries that are not heading in the right direction. Then one must develop cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and develop cooperation under the flexibility mechanisms that are available in the EU.
We will have to see what it costs. However, I see that other countries utilize these flexibility mechanisms so that achieving their climate goals does not affect their economies in a negative way. I also see that Sweden has not utilized these opportunities.
We open to review the possibility of utilizing the flexibility mechanisms so that the Swedish economy, unlike under the previous government, can be accelerated by the climate transition and not be hit by it.
People might think that the climate transition means that fuel prices go up, that the company cannot afford to buy diesel to lime our watercourses, that one cannot afford to drive their children to school or that it is expensive to travel to different places in our country. It is very good if we can electrify our transport fleet, but it is not good if we do it in an inefficient way.
If this were a flawless solution, why then do the Social Democrats not say that they want to continue with the plan they had, which ensured that the 2030 goal was reached? How is it that they paused the reduction obligation when it became an election year if this were such a magical solution and the answer to all our problems?
The Chairperson also mentioned that we should not prioritize the 2030 goal and that she is concerned to hear that we do not care about this goal. We have more money than ever to restore wetlands. We have a developed climate step and a developed industrial step – both are larger than ever. We are allocating over 4 billion in the coming years to charging infrastructure, tank infrastructure, hydrogen, and heavy vehicles. We are taking a broad approach to the infrastructure issue.
Carbon capture will be absolutely crucial. It is about both utilizing the land and forest we have for sequestration and about new innovative solutions.
There, the members have some short-sighted proposals for the fulfillment of the 2030 goal!
Jytte Guteland (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the Climate again for the report.
My intention is not at all to provoke the Minister for Climate and Environment. I naturally prefer that we have a good cooperation, and I believe that this would be possible if the Liberals left the government and the stranglehold that the cooperation party present here in the Riksdag holds over that effective climate policy. This would have been the very best.
With that said, I have received heavy attacks here from the Minister for Climate regarding our view on the reduction obligation. In that regard, we have reformed our policy with our Sweden Fuel, which constitutes a both socially and climatically sustainable building block in our climate policy. It is therefore incomprehensible that the government criticizes the Social Democrats for not having pursued an effective climate policy.
Sweden actually ranked first in the world regarding climate policy when the Social Democratic government handed over power. No country fully reached the goals of the Paris Agreement, but according to all rankings, Sweden was the country that did the most. At that time, a major re-industrialization also occurred in Sweden thanks to the ambitious climate policy. This was effective for jobs, for growth, and for the industry's opportunity to come up with the new green technology. It would be extremely welcome if the government Sweden has now could manage and develop this legacy, but unfortunately, that is not what we see today.
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! The Social Democrats suddenly seem to have a great interest in broad political coalitions. One should perhaps not have squandered the opportunity that the clean energy system created for green industry in Sweden and low electricity bills for Swedish households. Because one spent the time in various ways dismantling our fantastic fossil-free energy system and watched while nuclear reactor after nuclear reactor was decommissioned, one squandered the opportunity to cooperate with parties that see the effect of decommissioning well-functioning fossil-free energy, which is the very first thing that every person I meet points out is needed for the climate transition.
Without clean electricity, there is nothing to phase out, because there is no alternative if one does not want to shut down the operations and sink our economy.
Speaking of stalling our economy: The new industrialization that gained momentum during the previous government's time was not only an effect of political decisions but also an effect of the economic situation. We have noted this quite a few times during this debate, Madam Speaker.
We must ensure that we have a strong economy, so that we can continue to transition and so that our new industrialization can gain momentum. The reason it is moving slowly is, after all, the economic situation. Everything else would be unreasonable considering that there is more money than ever for companies to apply for through, for example, Klimatklivet and Industriklivet for the work with the transition and to invest in the new industrialization solutions that our fantastic Swedish engineering contributes to.
If one had wanted to see broad solutions and had not wanted to take Sweden to where the country unfortunately finds itself now, with a polarized debate on climate policy, one should have nurtured nuclear power and the opportunity that arose to regulate the transport fleet through fuel prices. One should not have abused it as was done, and one should not have abused the potential that nuclear power represents. Then we surely could have been in a different position today. Unfortunately, we are not.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.