During the year, many Swedes have been hit hard when homes and properties have been destroyed by extreme weather. In today’s budget bill, the government has not taken into account those whose homes and properties were destroyed.
During 2023, extreme weather has replaced each other, in the world and in Sweden. In recent memory, we have storm Hans in August, which caused heavy downpours, floods and landslides in Åre, derailed trains, collapsed roads, and more. And already in January, lakes and waterways flooded in southern and central Sweden.
The government states in the budget that the forecast is poor for meeting Sweden’s climate goals for the years 2030 and 2045. Despite this, it contains few measures to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the short term. The government’s assessment is that emissions will in fact increase by between 5.9 – 9.8 million tonnes by 2030. And that depends on the government’s own decisions, “mainly because the reduction obligation is proposed to be lowered to 6 percent during 2024-2026,” writes the government in the budget bill.
What is meant by effective?
It is therefore an investment in lowering the tax on climate-damaging petrol and diesel that is prioritized before meeting the climate goals.
In the Tidöpartierna’s political roadmap, which was presented after the election, it states that the joint climate policy must be effective. But what is meant by effective? It is still unclear.
According to Environment and Climate Minister Romina Pourmokthari, “effective” means that the pursued policy should provide as large emission reductions as possible per kroner that a measure costs. But for those affected by extreme weather with flooded homes and other weather-related damage, that’s likely little consolation. Especially as carbon dioxide emissions are now to be allowed to increase.
But the government also makes the occasional investment in the climate. In the budget, for example, the appropriations for climate investments are increased by SEK 800 million next year, above all to expand the charging infrastructure.
The measures are far from sufficient
But there won’t be any new electric car premium for private individuals. However, there will be money to scrap light trucks and replace them with electric ones. Given that transport accounts for around a third of Swedish climate emissions, that investment should lead to a certain reduction.
But the combined effects of the government’s measures are far from sufficient to speed up the transition and contribute to the global average temperature not increasing by more than 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrialism. According to the UN expert panel IPCC, it is a level of warming that makes climate change reasonably manageable. So far, the average temperature has increased by about 1 degree.
At the same time as the government presents its budget, a high-level meeting on the climate is taking place in the UN headquarters in New York. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is gathering politicians, businessmen, environmental organizations and others to “accelerate” immediate and extensive emission reductions, so that there is a chance to meet the 1.5-degree target that the world’s countries have agreed on in the Paris Agreement. How does Sweden’s voice sound there?