Environment and climate

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.

Brexit, EU enlargement and the EU’s long-term budget were among the issues that Prime Minister Stefan Löfven raised when he met his EU colleagues on 17–18 October. The heads of state and government also discussed the situation in Syria and Turkey.

Targeted cod fishing in the eastern Baltic Sea will be banned in 2020, and the opportunities for cod fishing in the western part will be substantially reduced. This was agreed by the EU ministers of agriculture and fisheries on 14–15 October. Minister for Rural Affairs Jennie Nilsson represented Sweden.

The Foreign Ministers and high-level representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the European Union participated together with representatives of the Barents Regional Council, indigenous peoples, regional bodies, observer states and invited guests in the XVII Session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) under the Chairmanship of Sweden in Umeå on 3 October 2019.

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.

Minister for Higher Education and Research Matilda Ernkrans travels to Japan Friday, 4 October. Her programme will include holding an opening address at the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum on Sunday. The majority of the visit will take place in Kyoto and Tokyo, and the political focus will be on the climate and the environment.

Minister for Higher Education and Research Matilda Ernkrans will travel to Japan today, 4 October. Her programme will include a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and holding the opening address at the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum on Sunday. The majority of the visit will take place in Kyoto and Tokyo, and the political focus will be on the climate and the environment.

The European Union’s long standing commitment to enhance sustainable international cooperation in the Arctic

Sweden took over the two-year chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council at the ministerial meeting in Arkhangelsk on 19 October 2017. Since its inception, the Barents cooperation has aimed to promote peace, stability and the development of the Barents region, through cross-border collaboration and people-to-people contacts. The Swedish chairmanship programme, with the title ‘Regional sustainable development for the future’, was formed with a view to advancing cooperation and deepening collaboration in key areas of common interest.

Representatives of a large number of finance ministries, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will gather in Stockholm on Thursday and Friday. They will attend a conference held within the framework of the new Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action – a group of ministers who want to step up their engagement on climate change. Specific taxes on carbon dioxide will be discussed at the conference.