Swedish Climate Act Comes into Force

​On June 15, 2017, Sweden’s national legislature passed the Climate Act, a climate policy framework for the country. This framework was developed following a 2014 government policy promise and work from the Cross-Party Committee on Environmental Objectives.  The purpose of the framework is to develop a clear, consistent and coherent climate policy for the country. The pillars of the framework include:
 
·       New climate goals to reduce and eliminate emissions;
·       The Climate Act to establish how the Government’s climate goals will be carried out; and
·       A climate policy council to assist the Government with independent assessments of goals and progress.
 
The framework entered into force on January 1, 2018, and will provide long-term conditions for business and society to implement and transition to a country that is conscious of climate change. Under the framework, the Government’s climate policy must be based on the climate goals and specify how work is to be carried out. With the enactment of the framework, the Government must present a climate report every year in its Budget Bill and develop a climate policy action plan every four years to describe how climate change goals have been and are to be achieved.