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🇸🇪 Sweden /Environment & Climate

Sweden's climate record after four years of the Tidö government

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Documents & data Context piece
  • Sweden's emissions remained roughly at their 2022 level during Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's first four years in office, after rising in 2024 when fuel taxes and biofuel blending requirements were reduced.
  • The government prioritized lower petrol and diesel prices, while electric-car sales fell to the lowest level in the Nordic region and wind-power expansion slowed.
  • Charging infrastructure increased, but climate bodies say the higher emissions baseline has made Sweden's climate targets harder to achieve.

Four years after Ulf Kristersson became Sweden's prime minister promising to put the climate in order, the country's emissions remain roughly where they stood in 2022. That is the central finding in Dagens Nyheter's review of Sweden's climate record under the Tidö government.

For three decades, Sweden's emissions had fallen by an average of about one million tonnes a year. That decline stopped during the government's term, according to an assessment by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Emissions rose in 2024 after the government cut fuel taxes in stages and reduced the share of biofuel blended into petrol and diesel.

put Sweden's climate in order

· Moderate Party campaignThe phrase appeared on campaign posters when Ulf Kristersson became prime minister.

The government's most visible climate shift has focused on motorists who still use conventional fuels. The Tidö parties fulfilled their promise to lower prices at the pump. In 2022, fuel had become more expensive for several reasons, including higher oil prices after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Right-wing parties also blamed climate policy and the biofuel blending requirement, which they said had contributed particularly to higher diesel prices.

price at the pump

· Tidö partiesThe governing parties used this phrase in their promise to lower petrol and diesel prices.

Emissions have since begun to decline again, but from a higher level. The Climate Policy Council says that has made it more difficult for Sweden to meet its climate targets. The debate itself has also changed. Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari wants to scrap Sweden's transport emissions target and focus entirely on its EU commitments. Energy Minister Ebba Busch has compared the Climate Policy Council with "any political commentator." Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson has defended the government's record by pointing to Sweden's relatively low per-capita emissions within the EU. In 2024, only Portugal and Latvia recorded lower levels. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson also wants to repeal parts of EU climate policy.

The energy transition has shown further signs of strain. Electric-car sales are now the lowest in the Nordic region, while wind power has lost momentum. The number of charging stations, however, has increased.

any political commentator

· Ebba BuschSweden's energy minister used the phrase when discussing the Climate Policy Council.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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