EcoWatch
Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    Home Policy

    Sweden, Once a Climate Leader, Axes Environment Ministry

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Published: October 21, 2022
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attends the EU leaders meeting in Brussels, Belgium
    Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attends the EU leaders meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Oct. 20, 2022. Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    Sweden has been considered a leader on climate issues, but that status is at risk with a new, right-wing government. 

    On Tuesday, the day he took office, the country’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson moved to jettison the Ministry of Environment. The country will still have a Minister of Climate and Environment but she will work under the Minister for Energy, Business and Industry. 

    “It is impossible to describe more clearly how little this government values ​​the environment and the climate,” Swedish Greens leader Per Bolund said, as Euronews reported. “This is a historic decision with devastating consequences for environmental issues.”

    Sweden has a reputation as a relatively green country. It was one of the first in the world to establish an Environmental Protection Agency in 1967, though it did not have a stand-alone environment ministry until 20 years later. It was also the first country to tax carbon and gets more than half of its energy from renewable sources, Green Matters pointed out. Further, it was ranked only after Denmark by the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).

    But none of that means it can afford to backslide. The CCPI noted that even its top-ranked countries do not have plans in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which is why it left the top three spots on its index blank. 

    “Even if all countries were as committed as the current frontrunners, it would still not be enough to prevent dangerous climate change,” the group said. 

    However, Sweden may now cease to be a frontrunner. In September’s elections, a coalition of right-wing parties won a narrow majority of 176 out of 349 seats in the country’s parliament, as The New York Times reported at the time. The victory was made possible by surging support for the far-right Sweden Democrats, who have tried to distance themselves in recent years from their Nazi roots. The party is anti-immigrant and opposes Sweden’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, according to Bloomberg.

    Kristersson, who leads the Moderates, said on October 14 he would form a three-party minority government with the support of the Sweden Democrats, as Reuters reported at the time. Then, on Tuesday, he announced his new cabinet with 26-year-old Liberal Member of Parliament Romina Pourmokhtari as Minister of Climate and Environment under Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch as Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, as Euronews reported.

    “It is regrettable, but I’m not surprised, as the government’s plans indicate a dismantling of environmental policy,” Uppsala University researcher Mikael Karlsson told newspaper Dagens Nyheter, as Bloomberg News reported. “Their subsidies of high consumption of electricity and fossil fuels are at odds with the foundations of environmental policy that has been in place for the last 50 years.” 

    The new government has promised to follow through with Sweden’s national and international climate commitments, according to Euronews. It is planning to do so partly by bolstering nuclear power both by making it harder to retire old plants and by funding new ones. It also promised to expand the charging network for electric vehicles. 

    However, other plans would see it reduce the amount of biofuels that need to be mixed in with gas in order to lower gas prices, Bloomberg reported. This could make it harder to meet a goal of cutting transportation emissions by 70 percent by 2030. 

    Sweden is the latest example of how the rise of populist right-wing parties has proved detrimental to climate action. An April study found that the influence of these types of parties could reduce a nation’s climate policy score by nearly 25 percent. 

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is an environmental journalist with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Common Dreams, Atmos, Rewilding, Seattle Met, Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Low River Levels in UK Raise Concerns of Drought
      Extremely low river levels in the UK recently have experts
      By Paige Bennett
      Record Number of River Barriers Removed in Europe in 2024: Report
      European countries dismantled a record 542 dams, culverts, weirs and
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      China’s CO2 Emissions Fall for the First Time Despite Rising Power Demand, Signaling Possible Peak
      For the first time, a surge in China’s renewable energy
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Low River Levels in UK Raise Concerns of Drought
          by Paige Bennett
          May 16, 2025
        • Record Number of River Barriers Removed in Europe in 2024: Report
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 16, 2025
        • China’s CO2 Emissions Fall for the First Time Despite Rising Power Demand, Signaling Possible Peak
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 16, 2025
        • New Project Will Reintroduce Elk to UK for the First Time in 3,000 Years
          by Paige Bennett
          May 15, 2025
        • Protecting the World’s Seagrass Meadows Could Prevent Billions in Damages, New Research Suggests
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 15, 2025
        • European Companies Increasingly Support Strong Climate Action: Report
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 15, 2025
        • Mapping of England’s Peatlands Finds 80% Have Become Degraded
          by Paige Bennett
          May 14, 2025
        • UK Creates New Nature Reserve to Protect Wildlife and Landscapes That Inspired Brontë Sisters
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 14, 2025
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 558k
          Twitter 222k
          Instagram 52k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2025 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.

          Advertiser Disclosure

          Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.

          The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.