Ministry of the Environment

The UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid, Spain, concluded in overtime. The Conference was challenging both technically and politically, and several issues were deferred until future meetings as the Parties were unable to agree. The main progress made at the Conference included strengthened action to address loss and damage, an updated gender action plan, strong political signals on the importance of countries raising the bar in their climate action in 2020, and the importance of strengthening the link between oceans and the climate.

More people than ever before are now employed in exporting companies in Sweden. Exports drive the Swedish economy and keep around 1.5 million people in employment. To continue to strengthen Swedish exports, on Friday 13 December the Government launched an updated Trade and Investment Strategy to create jobs and growth throughout the country.

The 2019 UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) is currently taking place in Madrid. Last night, Sweden and India hosted the first high-level meeting of the global Leadership Group for Industry Transition, a joint Sweden-India initiative launched earlier this year. The group comprises countries and companies that will work together to accelerate the heavy industry and transport transition. At the meeting, Australia announced that it would be joining the group.

On 2–13 December, the countries of the world are gathering for the UN Climate Change Conference COP 25 in Madrid under the Presidency of Chile. There the countries will negotiate and decide on future work under the Paris Agreement.

The High Ambition Alliance meeting on Chemicals and Waste took place today in Madrid under the leadership of Sweden and Uruguay. The meeting discussed the way forward for an ambitious global framework for chemicals and waste management. The current global chemicals strategy runs until 2020.

Madrid, Spain 2019-12-10 Check against delivery.

On 5 December 2019, the Government adopted a new strategy for Sweden’s partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for 2020–2023. The strategy is guided by the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Inquiry Chair on combination effects and assessing groups of chemicals has delivered its final report to the Government. The report is entitled Future chemical risk management – Accounting for combination effects and assessing chemicals in groups.

The United States announced earlier this week that it has now issued formal notification of withdrawal from the climate agreement signed in Paris in 2015. Since the United States first announced that it would give notification of withdrawal, a further 40 countries have joined the Paris Agreement.

Heavy industry accounts for approximately 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reach the goals in the Paris Agreement more must be done to tackle these emissions. It was in light of this that Sweden and India launched the leadership group for industry transition at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York this September. The group is open for both government and business leaders and aims to enable the transition of heavy industry towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Now it is time to go from words to action.