‘Climate scam implosion is spreading to Europe’: EU ‘rolling back its European Green Deal with deregulation’ – ‘Climate leader Sweden’ is ‘backtracking on its climate goals’

Five years after the European Union vowed to lead the creation of the “first climate neutral continent” by 2050, and pledged at least a trillion euros to that effort, a long list of organizations, companies and agencies are accusing the EU of rolling back its European Green Deal with deregulation. Controversial proposals also include carbon offsets, loopholes in its emissions targets and delays of important efforts to reduce deforestation and make cleaner cars. Some critics have gone so far as to argue that the 27-nation union, the world’s third-largest carbon emitter, is now starting to mirror, rather than counter, the dismantling of climate efforts in the U.S.

Part of the explanation for the EU’s retreat on climate can be found in Sweden. For decades the small northern country pushed Europe’s climate ambitions upward, but today, Sweden is falling back from its environmental progress. Last year, its fossil fuel emissions saw their biggest increase in 15 years. During that time period, carbon uptake by its vast forests have halved. And since the country swung to the right in its last general election, the government has slashed its investments in climate action. Researchers say Sweden’s policy shifts, and its evolving role as a frontrunner, is now contributing to the weakening of Europe’s climate agenda.

In recent months, numerous institutions have criticized Sweden’s environmental retreat. In March, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a once-in-a-decade environmental performance review of the country that stated “recent policy shifts have created an uncertain environment for climate action.”

OECD projected Sweden would safely hit only one of its 16 national environmental targets by 2030, succeeding in protecting the ozone layer, but failing on objectives such as “sustainable forests” and “reduced climate impact.” Almost simultaneously, the Swedish Climate Policy Council declared that the nation’s climate policies were “insufficient” and rely on “optimistic assumptions.” In April, Sweden’s Environmental Protection Agency predicted the country will miss all of its national climate targets for the next 20 years, including its goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2045. And, in a 2024 global assessment by the German Climate Change Performance Index, Sweden’s “climate policy rating” dropped to 41st after being ranked 4th in 2021 (it fell from 1st to 11th for its overall response to climate change). The independent monitor quoted its experts saying that “Sweden is backtracking from being a frontrunner in international climate policy” and they demanded that “the government maintain progressive climate policies.”

“We can say with some confidence that Sweden no longer pushes the European Union to higher ambitions,” said Naghmeh Nasiritousi, a senior research fellow at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs and co-director of the Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research at Linköping University.