Sweden introduces emissions of imported goods in the country’s climate goals
Swedish legislators supported the proposal to include CO2 emissions from the production and transport of imported goods in the country’s climate goals. By doing so, Sweden intends to further reduce and limit emissions from consumption. The Scandinavian country already has high ambitions and strives to reduce emissions to zero by 2045.
The countries of the world have only reported their carbon footprint of emissions that are produced strictly within their own borders. Sweden has now increased the calculation to emissions from products and goods the country buys abroad.
The Riksdag’s Environment Committee voted to include CO2 emitted in the production and transport of goods from abroad in the government’s climate reduction goal, which would make it the first country in the world to take such a measure and raise the bar in the fight against climate change.
The carbon footprint of imported goods
About 22% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from goods produced in one country and transported and consumed in another, estimates the European Geosciences Union.
In Sweden, the proportion is almost three times higher. More than 60% of the country’s emissions registered in 2019 originate abroad and are embedded in imports, according to Global kolatlas.
According to the EIB, as many as 76% of Sweden’s citizens would support stricter measures to change behavioral patterns
According to a study by the European Investment Bankas many as 76% of the country’s population would support their government in introducing stricter measures to change behavioral patterns related to the carbon footprint.
Refill for CBAM
All eight political parties in the Swedish Parliament agreed to expand climate policy in that way. Therefore, the country would take responsibility for the carbon footprint of imported goods in the near future. The recommendation voted by the committee has not yet been formally adopted.
Political parties in Sweden’s Riksdag agree to an expansion of climate policy
The proposal is intended to drive Sweden into the area of complex methodology for calculating and reporting emissions made outside its territory, while the details have not yet been prepared, News about climate homes reported.
Sweden’s decision is a way to supplement the EU’s plan to introduce a carbon dioxide tax on imports of certain goods with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The Scandinavian country supports the CBAM system, which will enter into force in 2026 and will be applied for imports of cement, iron and steel, fertilizers, aluminum and electricity.
Sweden must take into account the emissions emitted internationally from food, electronics, building materials and a wide range of products
The new climate policy for consumption emissions is not yet to be adopted by the Swedish government. It will take into account the emissions that are emitted internationally for consumer products imported by the state. The system is intended to cover food, electronics, building materials and a wide range of products.
The climate initiative makes Sweden one of the leaders in the fight against climate change.
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