Tidö parties pledge Sweden will meet climate commitments to EU amid opposition criticism

The Tidö parties have pledged that Sweden will meet its climate commitments to the EU. However, the opposition has criticized what they refer to as recent “manipulation of figures.” Anna-Caren Sätherberg, the climate policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats, expressed disbelief that both the finance minister and the climate minister confidently claimed the government would achieve climate goals based on a “main scenario,” when it turns out there is no such scenario.

The discussion centers around a new proposal to increase the reduction obligation, and whether this will be sufficient for Sweden to meet EU climate targets. It has been revealed that the report from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), referenced by the government, actually contains two contrasting scenarios. One suggests that Sweden is far from meeting climate goals, even with the proposed increase. The government only mentioned the more optimistic scenario, labeling it as the “main scenario,” while ignoring the more pessimistic one.

Naturvårdsverket has indicated that due to significant uncertainties, they have prepared two scenarios, both considered equally plausible. In an interview, Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari claimed she was only familiar with one scenario, which she regarded as the “main scenario.” Sätherberg argued that ministers cannot shift responsibility onto civil servants; they are ultimately accountable for clarifying the situation regarding the other scenario. She stated, “It is misleading to the Swedish public not to disclose the full picture.”