Environment and climate

Sweden is going to purchase hybrid bonds from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) valued at approximately SEK 100 million. This investment is part of the Government’s strategy to modernise and streamline development assistance and promote sustainable economic development in partner countries.

After long negotiations, the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 concluded on 24 November 2024 with a decision on a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG). The NCQG encompasses USD 300 billion annually. However, decisions on other negotiating points were postponed to next year’s COP30 in Brazil.

The fifth and final session of the International Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including the marine environment, begins today, November 25 in Busan, South Korea. It is important to regulate plastic pollution on a global level to reduce pollution and climate impact, protect the oceans, nature, and biodiversity.

As of Wednesday 20 November, Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari is taking part in the final negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The negotiations are scheduled to conclude on Friday 22 November.

Sweden's national statement to the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 was delivered by Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari in Baku, Azerbaijan, 20 November 2024. Check against delivery.

Sweden is and will remain one of the world’s most generous donors of international climate finance. Swedish climate aid will be expanded and streamlined. With its substantial contribution in 2022, Sweden played a significant role in achieving the goal of USD 100 billion per year in global climate finance. Sweden’s contribution to international climate finance is at the core of its climate policy. International climate finance will contribute to both emissions reductions and climate adaptation.

The Government has issued inquiry terms of reference with the aim of strengthening and developing Sweden’s international climate action. The government inquiry will focus on preparing proposals for measures to strengthen Swedish initiatives to contribute to, and push for, climate action in other countries, and to support the Government Offices in implementing Sweden’s international climate policy.

Sweden has announced its contribution of SEK 8 billion to the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF), making the country one of the largest donors. Through the GCF, low- and middle-income countries can receive support to implement climate investments for reduced emissions and protect their societies against climate change by taking adaptation measures.

In connection with the COP29 climate change conference, Sweden is announcing a contribution to a new fund that aims to help particularly vulnerable countries manage climate-related loss and damage (the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage). The Fund is under the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Government decided today to task Business Sweden with stepping up its efforts to promote investments in the Swedish battery value chain, i.e. in all parts of production. The aim is to enable capital and important expertise to be brought into and retained in the Swedish business sector. The assignment also includes helping relevant companies and national, regional and local actors with advice and contacts.

The UN Climate Change Conference COP 29 will take place on 11–22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The key issues to be negotiated are the new global goal for financing climate action and emissions trading. The Government also wants to pick up the pace of work on new national climate action plans.

National statement delivered by Minister Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari at the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) in Cali, Colombia, 29 October 2024. Check against delivery.

The UN global agreement to halt and reverse the ongoing loss of biodiversity – the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – was adopted in 2022. Implementation efforts are being followed up at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) taking place in Cali, Colombia on 21 October–1 November 2024.

National Statement at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) delivered by Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard on behalf of Sweden. New York, September 2024. Check against delivery.

On 17 September, Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari is attending the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference. Sweden’s participation is focused on highlighting Sweden’s new nuclear energy policy in the international arena, and also the consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion for Ukraine.

In connection with Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari’s visit to Ukraine in recent days, the Government decided to instruct the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) to transfer a diesel generator to Ukraine. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, together with the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) has been in contact with a Ukrainian hospital that is in great need of this support, and will promptly make arrangements for the generator to be transported to Ukraine.

A European infrastructure for carbon capture and storage is underway. Today, arrangements between Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden allow cross-border transport and geological storage of captured CO2.

Through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Sweden is now issuing a record guarantee of USD 250 million to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Seven countries in the Amazon region will be able to borrow up to USD 460 million for sustainable investments. The agreement was signed in connection with the IDB’s Annual Meeting on 8 March in the Dominican Republic.

Opinion piece by Romina Pourmokhtari, Minister for Climate and the Environment in Sweden, Christophe Béchu, Minister for Ecological Transition and Cohesion of the Territories in France and Magnus Heunicke, Minister for the Environment in Denmark, published in Dagens industri, March 25 2024.

The visit to Bangladesh will take place on 18–21 March on the occasion of HRH The Crown Princess’s role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP Assistant Secretary General Ulrika Modéer will also take part.