Red barn reflected in a calm pond with a green forest in the background.

Sweden scales back climate action, reflecting broader EU slowdown

Sweden, once a leader in global climate policy, has reversed many environmental commitments, mirroring a broader retreat across Europe as emissions rise and forest protections weaken.

Marcus Haraldsson reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

Sweden’s carbon emissions rose 7% last year, the largest increase in 15 years, after cuts to green funding, higher fossil fuel subsidies, and weakened forest protections.
Only 6% of Sweden’s forests are legally protected; increased clearcutting, drought, pests, and soil degradation have halved the carbon absorbed by forests since 2008.
Five of the EU’s former “green sextet” nations, including Sweden, have reduced climate ambitions as right-leaning governments prioritize other issues.

Key quote:

“Sweden has lost all credibility there. The government has quickly undone policy frameworks with an enraging level of negligence and devastating consequence.”

— Thomas Hahn, ecological economist and associate professor at Stockholm Resilience Centre

Why this matters:

The weakening of Sweden’s environmental policies has implications far beyond its borders. As one of the European Union’s historic climate leaders, Sweden’s retreat reduces pressure on other nations to meet ambitious targets, potentially slowing the continent’s overall progress toward net-zero emissions. Its forests, once a vast carbon sink, are losing capacity just as the world needs more natural carbon storage to counter climate change. This shift also risks undermining biodiversity in a country where old-growth forests are already scarce. With multiple EU nations stepping back from climate commitments, the bloc’s ability to influence global environmental policy could wane, leaving a leadership vacuum at a time when extreme weather and ecological collapse demand stronger action.

insideclimatenews.org

Sweden scales back climate action, reflecting broader EU slowdown

‘Every day above 1.5 C is now going to matter’

The Caspian Sea has been shrinking for decades. Now, a new island has emerged

A construction ban on data centers would be better for Ohio than the status quo, study says

EPA head announces oil and gas emission rules rollbacks during visit to Santa Fe

‘It’s a beautiful river in the middle of a hellscape’

The American livestock industry’s main lobbying group treated climate change as a PR problem

Inside the collapse of earth's largest penguin colony

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Pennsylvania health advocates say Trump’s first 100 days in office have caused “100 harms” to local communities

“They're terrorizing these scientists because they want to keep them silent.”

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.