Sweden will miss its climate goals without policy changes, environment agency says

STOCKHOLM - Sweden will not reach its climate targets without further political action to cut carbon emissions, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday.

The authority said in a statement that based on current policies the country will miss both its 2045 net zero emissions target and its shorter-term goals, and will also not fulfill its emission commitments to the European Union.

"We see strong policy decisions at EU level and a clear leadership for green transition within industry," said Stefan Nystrom, head of the agency's climate department.

"Further political decisions are however needed to reduce emissions in Sweden if we are to achieve the climate targets," he said.

A recent easing in the requirement to mix biofuel in petrol and diesel, and a tax cut on fossil fuels, is expected to increase emissions in 2024 and the coming years, the agency said.

Mixing in biofuels from renewable sources is a way to reduce emissions from cars. The Swedish government said last year it would lower the required amount of biofuel, which the agency then warned could make meeting emission targets difficult.

The EU has a target to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The environment agency said Sweden would need to cut its use of fossil diesel and petrol and increase the pace of electrification of transport to meet commitments to the bloc.

The minority coalition government and its supporters in parliament fully agree on the goal to get to net zero by 2045, Sweden's Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari said in a statement to Reuters.

"The climate action plan shows what we will implement this term, but all political decisions have not yet been made. There will be more budgets," she said.

(Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn, editing by Terje Solsvik)