COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019 Country Report - SWEDEN Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-04-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Sweden, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.4.2019  SWD(2019) 117 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019   Country Report - SWEDEN       Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019:  A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 118 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 124 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 129 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 132 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final} - {SWD(2019) 139 final}  
 
 
This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Comments are welcome, please send them to ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu 

More information on the European Union is available at http://europa.eu. 

Photographs:  p. 11  —  ©gettyimages/Mats  Lindberg;  p. 12  —  ©gettyimages/RainbowJoe;  p. 21  — 
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©European Union, 2019 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS .............................................................................................................................. 4 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY .............................................................................................................................. 4 

Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................. 4 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 6 
Climate change ...................................................................................................................................... 8 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL .................................................. 10 

Nature and biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and their services .................................................................. 11 
Estimating natural capital ................................................................................................................... 12 
Invasive alien species .......................................................................................................................... 13 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 13 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 14 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS’ HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ........................................................................ 16 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 16 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................. 17 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 18 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 18 
Chemicals ............................................................................................................................................ 20 
Making cities more sustainable ........................................................................................................... 21 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................... 24 

4. 

GREEN  TAXATION,  GREEN  PUBLIC  PROCUREMENT,  ENVIRONMENTAL  FUNDING  AND 
INVESTMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 24 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 24 
Green public procurement .................................................................................................................. 25 
Environmental funding and investments ............................................................................................ 26 

5. 

STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ......................................................................... 29 

Information, public participation and access to justice ...................................................................... 29 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 30 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations................................................................................. 32 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 33 
Sustainable development and the implementation of the UN SDGs .................................................. 34 

2 

 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Executive summary 

Sweden and the Environmental Implementation Review 
(EIR) 

(e.g.  diesel)  would  lead  to  environmental  improvements 
and incentives to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution. 

Sweden’s  performance  with  regard  to  eco-innovation  is 
outstanding.  The  country  has  a  highly  developed 
innovation ecosystem, which forms the foundation for a 
successful  cleantech-specific  start-up  sphere.  Sweden’s 
eco-innovation 
incentivised  by  government 
policy  and  benefits  from  the  large  number  of  domestic 
cleantech investors, relative to GDP. 

is  highly 

Examples of good practice 

 

Swedish  municipalities  are  generally  involved  in  EU 
initiatives  related  to  environmental  protection  and 
climate change. Växjö is the first Swedish city to win 
the  European  Green  Leaf  title.  It  regards  itself  as  a 
role  model  for  environmental  action  in  Sweden.  It 
was the first Swedish city to use biomass for district 
heating and one of the first  to start  working on the 
UN  2030  Agenda  for  Sustainable  Development.  It 
also committed to being climate fossil fuel free over 
20 years ago. 
The  use  of  alternative  fuels  in  new  passenger  cars 
sold  in  Sweden  has  considerably  increased  over  the 
past  few  years.  The  share  of  new  passenger  cars 
using  alternative  fuels  in  2016  was  twice  that  in 
2013. In public transport, the use of alternative fuels 
is  also  encouraged,  though  the  most  common 
alternative fuel is biodiesel. Sweden is one of the few 
EU  countries  with  more  than  5 %  of  new  cars  using 
alternative fuels. 

In  the  2017  EIR,  the  main  challenges  identified  with 
regard  to  implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy 
and law in Sweden were: 

 

 

 

improving  the  status  of  habitats, 
in  particular 
grassland,  all  types  of  which  have  an  unfavourable 
conservation status; 
improving the quality of the monitoring programme 
for Sweden’s marine waters; 
reducing emissions of air pollutants. 

Sweden has not yet organised an EIR national dialogue to 
address these challenges. 

However, 
the  Swedish  environmental  authorities 
participated  in  a  peer-to-peer  workshop  on  reducing  air 
pollution in zones or agglomerations where the levels of 
pollutants in ambient air exceed limit or target values. In 
addition, the city of Växjö participated in a  peer-to-peer 
workshop in Ireland. 

Progress on meeting challenges since the 2017 EIR 

 

The  2019  EIR  shows  that  the  standard  of  environmental 
policy implementation in Sweden remains high. 

Nevertheless,  the  conservation  status  of  all  grassland 
habitats  and  many  of  their  associated  species  is  still 
unfavourable,  although  the  use  of  agri-environmental 
schemes to support the conservation of grasslands seems 
to  be  yielding  results.  The  conservation  status  of  many 
forest  types  also  remains  inadequate  and  many  forest 
species  are  threatened.  The  rate  of  biodiversity  loss  has 
not  been  reduced  over  the  past  15  years,  with 
agriculture,  natural  systems  modification,  forestry  and 
natural  biotic/abiotic  processes  as  the  most  frequently 
reported pressures. 

One priority action related to the marine environment is 
ensuring  that  the  effects  and  effectiveness  of  measures 
aiming  to  achieve  a  good  environmental  status  are 
monitored through Sweden’s monitoring programme. 

For air quality, the emission of several air pollutants has 
decreased  significantly  in  Sweden.  There  has  been  a 
reduction  in  the  emissions  of  fine  particulate  matter. 
Despite  this  progress,  however,  additional  efforts  are 
needed  to  reach  the  emission  reduction  commitments 
made  for  the  2020-2029  period  and  for  the  years  after 
2030.  

The  2019  EIR  suggests  that  the  tax  system  can  be  used 
for  environmental  policy  while  also  generating  revenue: 
further alignment and equal treatment of transport fuels 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Figure 1: Resource productivity 2010-20176 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  20181.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a Communication on how to address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy2. 

The  circular  (secondary)  use  of  material  in  Sweden  was 
7.1 %  in  2016  (below  the  EU-28  average  of  11.7  %. 
Sweden  ranks  below  the  EU-28  average  in  terms  of  the 
number  of  people  employed  in  the  circular  economy 
(1.56 % of total employment in 2016, whereas the EU-28 
average is 1.73 %). 
In  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer3  on  attitudes  of  EU 
citizens  towards  the  environment,  94 %  of  Swedish 
citizens  said  they  were  concerned  about  the  effects  of 
plastic products on the environment (EU-28 average is 87 
%).  92 %  said  they  were  worried  about  the  impact  of 
chemicals  (EU-28  average  90 %).  There  appears  to  be 
very  strong  support  for  circular  economy  initiatives  and 
environmental protection actions in Swedish society. 

in  Figure  1,  Sweden’s 

As  shown 
level  of  resource 
productivity4 (how efficiently the economy uses material 
resources to produce wealth) is below the EU average, at 
1.87 EUR/kg in 2017 (the EU-28 average is 2.04 EUR/kg)5. 
This  is  largely  due  to  the  structure  of  the  Swedish 
economy and its large primary sector. 

1 European Commission, 2018 Circular Economy Package. 
2 COM(2018) 029. 
3 European Commission, 2017, Special 468 Eurobarometer, ‘Attitudes of 
European citizens towards the environment’. 
4 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 
product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 
5 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 

An  example  of  Sweden’s  approach  is  the  Sweden-India 
Innovation  Partnership  for  a  Sustainable  Future,  signed 
by Sweden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 
April 2018 and holding the circular economy high among 
its  priorities.  This  is  in  line  with  what  the  Commission 
linking  the  circular 
advocates 
economy to the implementation of the 2030 UN Agenda. 

international  fora, 

in 

According to the agreement, Sweden and India will work 
together  to  develop  and  implement  joint  innovation 
projects.  Indian  and  Swedish  businesses  and  other  key 
innovation  players  are  set  to  work  together  to  find 
solutions  to  common  challenges  in  several  strategic 
areas, including the circular economy. 

The  Swedish  Government  advocated  for  an  even  more 
ambitious  EU  Strategy  for  Plastics,  and  asked  for  a 
complete  ban  on  intentionally  used  microplastics  in  the 
EU. Sweden is currently planning to adopt a national ban. 

In  2016,  the  Swedish  Government  examined  policy 
instruments  that  prevent  waste  and  promote  a  circular 
economy via an inquiry. The report that summarised the 
main  findings  of  the  exercise  indicated  a  lack  of  clearly 
stated  goals  and  ambitions  as  well  as  of  a  strategic 
context that would make it possible for policy makers to 
support  the  circular  transition  in  Sweden.  The  Swedish 
Government has set up a task force dealing with circular 
economy.  

Swedish civil society is getting more and more engaged in 
the  circular  transition.  For  example,  the  Royal  Swedish 

6 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 

4 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Academy  of  Engineering  Sciences  (IVA)  —  composed  of 
decision-makers  and  experts  from  business,  industry, 
academia  and  public  administration  —  is  gathering  best 
practices on resource efficiency and the circular economy 
in Sweden to help trigger change at the ground level. 

to  behave 

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed 
organisations  (EMAS  is  the  European  Commission’s  Eco-
Management  and  Audit  Scheme  –  a  programme  to 
encourage  organisations 
in  a  more 
environmentally  sustainable  way)  in  a  specific  country 
can  give  a  rough  measurement  of  the  circular  economy 
transition. These two indicators show to what extent this 
transition  is  engaging  the  private  sector  and  other 
national  stakeholders.  These  two  indicators  also  show 
the  commitment  of  public  authorities  to  policies  that 
support  the  circular  economy.  As  of  September  2018, 
Sweden had 3 400 products and 39 licences registered in 
the EU Ecolabel scheme, out of a total of 71 707 in the EU 
covered  by  2  167  licences,  showing  a  high  take-up  of 
these licences7. Moreover, 17 organisations from Sweden 
in  EMAS8,  the  European 
are  currently  registered 
Commission's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Swedish  SMEs  continue  to  be  in  line  with  average  EU 
performance  in  the  environmental  aspects  of  the  Small 
Business  Act10,  as  shown  in  Figure  2.  The  proportion  of 
in  place  resource 
Swedish  SMEs  that  recently  put 
efficiency measures is below the EU average, however. 

The extent to which companies taking resource efficiency 
measures benefit from public support is higher in Sweden 
that in the EU on average. The percentage of SMEs that 
offer  green  products  or  services  is  significantly  higher 
than  the  EU  average.  Sweden  was  already  a  strong 
performer 
in  terms  of  environmental  policies  and 
support measures — which explains the moderate policy 
developments of recent years. 

A  new  project  called  ‘Resource  effectiveness  and  the 
circular economy’ aims to create a common platform and 
draw  conclusions  about  Sweden’s  future  policies  in  the 
sector. 

The  latest  Eurobarometer  on  ‘SMEs,  resource  efficiency 
and green markets’9 asked companies about both recent 
resource-efficiency actions they had taken and additional 
resource-efficiency  actions  they  planned  to  take  in  the 

7 European Commission, Ecolabel Facts and Figures. 
8 As of May 2018. European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit 
Scheme. 
9 Flash Eurobarometer 456 ‘SME, resource efficiency and green 
markets’ January 2018. The 8 dimensions were Save energy; Minimise 
waste; Save materials; Save Water; Recycle by reusing material 
internally; Design products easier to maintain, repair or reuse; Use 
renewable energy; Sell scrap materials to another company. 

next  2  years.  The  Eurobarometer  compared  these 
responses with responses given to the same questions in 
2015. While overall plans are in line with the EU average, 
Swedish  companies  show  a  decline  in  the  intention  to 
in  the  more  established  resource  efficiency 
invest 
measures  (saving  water,  energy,  materials)  and  an 
increase  in  more  recent  developments  (e.g.  renewable 
energy use). 
Figure 2: Environmental performance of SMEs10  

Only 17 % of Swedish companies rely on external support 
in  their  efforts  to  be  more  resource  efficient,  compared 
to  22 %  in  the  EU  on  average  (based  on  a  range  of  3 %-
38 %).  Private  sector  consultancy  gained  in  importance 
(+16 %  to  39 %)  whereas  public  sector  advice  (-23 %  to 
20 %)  and  advice  from  business  associations  (-15 %  to 
34 %) declined significantly compared to 2015. 

find  grants  and 
Among  Swedish  companies,  29 % 
subsidies  useful;  consultancy  on  resource  efficiency  is 
considered  of  similar 
importance  (30 %),  and  more 
important than assistance to networking, self-assessment 
and technology demonstration (23-25 %). 

Swedish SMEs need to maintain their level of investment 
in  resource  efficiency.  The  many  frontrunners  that 
produce  green  products  and  services,  in  combination 
it 
with  the  open  cooperation  culture,  could  make 
possible to innovate along value chains and gain strategic 
advantage in the circular economy. 

10 European Commission, 2018 SBA fact sheet - Sweden, p.14. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

In this context, it could be interesting to investigate why 
SMEs’  perception  of  the 
importance  of  public  and 
business  associations’  consulting  services  related  to 
resource efficiency is in a steep decline. 

Eco-innovation 

Sweden  ranked  1st  on  the  2018  European  Innovation 
Scoreboard,  with  a  5.5 percentage  point  increase  since 
201011.  With  a  total  score  of  144,  Sweden  was  also  a 
leader  on  the  2017  Eco-innovation  index,  up  from  5th 
place in 2015. 
Figure 3: 2017 Eco-innovation index (EU=100)12 

Sweden  has  historically  performed  well  on  this  index, 
having  been  among  the  top  five  every  year  since  2010 
and scoring 1st in 2013 and in 2017. 

The 2017 Global Cleantech Innovation Index report states 
that  Sweden  shows  evidence  of  a  highly  developed 
innovation  ecosystem,  which  forms  the  foundation  of  a 
successful cleantech-specific start-up sphere. 

Sweden’s  cleantech  innovation  is  highly  incentivised  by 
government  policy,  and  benefits  from  the  large  number 
of  domestic  cleantech  investors,  relative  to  GDP.  One 
example  is  Swedish  Cleantech,  a  business-to-business 
platform for Swedish companies aiming to contribute to 
the  development,  commercialisation  and  export  of 
Swedish environmental technology.  

The  Swedish  government  agency  that  administers  state 
funding  for  research  and  development  (Vinnova)  is  in 
charge of the national coordinating mechanism, Testbed 
Sweden. Vinnova also finances different testbed projects 

test  environments  was 

and one of their first initiatives related to demonstration 
and 
‘environmental 
technology  testbeds  programme’.  Another  Vinnova 
initiative  is  ‘challenge-driven  innovation’,  a  programme 
that  aims  to  solve  social  challenges  that  require  broad 
cooperation. 

the 

Figure 4: Sweden’s eco-innovation performance 

The  National  Innovation  Council  has  contributed  to  the 
five  innovation  partnership  programmes  aiming  to  find 
innovative solutions to today’s societal challenges as well 
as  strengthening  Sweden’s  competitiveness.  There  is  a 
clear  focus  on  eco-innovation  and  the  circular  economy 
in  these  partnership  programmes  and  they  will  likely 
have  a  positive  effect  on  Sweden’s  capacities  in  these 
areas. 

The Swedish Government presented a re-industrialisation 
strategy  for  the  industry,  called  ‘smart  industry’.  The 
strategy has four focus areas, of which one is sustainable 
production. 

launched  a 
Additionally,  the  Swedish  Government 
support 
‘The 
initiative  for  Swedish 
Industrial Leap’. In total, SEK 300 million per year is to be 
invested  between  2018  and  2040  to  support  Swedish 
industry 
towards  zero  emissions  of 
in 
greenhouse gases13. 

industry,  called 

the  shift 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
landfill  diversion 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

11 European Commission, European Innovation Scoreboard 2018, p. 15. 
12 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2017. 

13 European Commission, Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country profile 
2016-2017: Sweden. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

The Swedish waste management plan for the years 2012 
to 2017 includes measures to promote material recycling; 
additional  steps  may  be  needed  to  meet  future  EU 
recycling  targets.  New  municipal  waste  management 
plans are under preparation. 
Figure 6: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2010-201720 

This  section  focuses  on  management  of  municipal 
waste14  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets15. 

After  a  drop  in  2013,  municipal  waste  generation  in 
Sweden 
in  2017  to  452 
kg/y/inhabitant), but remains below the EU average (487 
kg/y/inhabitant)16. 

increased  slightly  again 

Figure  5  shows  Sweden’s  municipal  waste  by  treatment 
in terms of kg per capita.  Incineration accounts for 52 % 
and landfilling for only 1 %. 

Figure 5: Municipal waste by treatment in Sweden 2010-
201717 

Sweden  has  ‘extended  producer  responsibility’  schemes 
for  paper,  packaging,  waste  electrical  and  electronic 
equipment,  tyres,  cars,  batteries  and  pharmaceuticals. 
Separate collection is well rolled out across the country; 
over 70 % of municipalities separately collect food waste 
from  households,  restaurants  and  catering  companies. 
The  objective  is  for  at  least  50 %  of  food  waste  to  be 
treated biologically to recover nutrients and at least 40 % 
to  recover  both  nutrients  and  energy  (via  anaerobic 
digestion)21. 

Sweden  aims  to  reduce  the  generation  of  municipal 
waste,  including  food  waste,  better  and  more  efficient 
collection  (e.g.  via  underground  containers,  vacuum 
waste  collection)  and  treatment  of  waste  textiles.  The 
quantities  of  material  collected  for  re-use  have  been 
steadily  increasing  in  recent  years,  including  furniture, 
textiles  and  household  appliances.  Sweden  incentivises 
the  repair  of  items  by  applying  tax  breaks  (there  are 
reduced  VAT  rates  on  certain  minor  repair  services  as 
well  as  tax  reductions  for  part  of  the  labour  costs  for 
repair  and  maintenance  of  larger  household  appliances 
when the work is carried out in a dwelling). 

2035. These targets will be taken into consideration to assess progress 
in future Environmental Implementation Reports. 
20 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste. 
21 Afvall Sverige, Swedish Waste Management 2017. 

Figure  6  shows  that  Sweden  was  close  to  reach  the  EU 
2020  recycling  rate  target  of  50 %  in  2017  (47 %).  There 
has  been  some  minor  downward  fluctuations  in  the  last 
years,  but  Sweden  still  stayed  ahead  of  the  EU  average 
(45 %)18. However, more effort will be needed to comply 
in 
with  recycling  targets  for  the  post-2020  period, 
particular  by  shifting  municipal  waste  away 
from 
incineration and towards recycling19. 

14 Municipal waste consists of mixed waste and separately collected 
waste from households and from other sources, where such waste is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. This is 
without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste 
management between public and private sectors. 
15 See Article 11.2 of Directive 2008/98/EC. This Directive was amended 
in  2018  by  Directive  (EU)  2018/851,  and  more  ambitious  recycling 
targets were introduced for the period up to 2035. 
16 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 
method, accessed November 2016. 
17 Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operations , accessed April 2018. 
18 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50 % recycling of 
municipal waste. 
19 Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU) 
2018/850 and Directive (EU) 2018/849 amend the previous waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 

7 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                                                        
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Almost  half  of  Sweden’s  municipal  waste  was  sent  for 
energy  recovery  in  2016,  and  most  of  the  output  was 
used  for  heating.  Sweden  recovers  more  energy  from 
waste  than  any  other  EU  country.  It  has  34  incineration 
plants  for  municipal  waste.  The  capacity  for  energy 
is  higher  than  domestic  production22  and 
recovery 
therefore  Sweden  imports  waste  for  incineration  from 
other countries. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Introduce new policy instruments, including economic 
ones,  to  promote  prevention,  make  reuse  and 
recycling more economically attractive  

  Shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away  from 

incineration. 

Climate change 

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95 %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) covers all large 
greenhouse  gas  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and 
aviation  sectors  in  the  EU.  The  EU  ETS  applies  in  all 
Member States and has a very high compliance rate. Each 
year,  installations  cover  around  99  %  of  their  emissions 
with the required number of allowances. 

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member States 
have  binding  national  targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
legislation.  Sweden  had  lower  emissions  than  its  annual 
emission  allocations  (AEAs)  in  each  of  the  years  2013-
2017.Sweden  has  cancelled  its  spare  units,  rather  than 
banking  them,  in  order  to  enhance  the  environmental 
integrity  of  the  system.  For  2020,  Sweden's  national 
target  under  the  EU  Effort  Sharing  Decision  is  to  reduce 
emissions by 17 % compared to 2005. For 2030, Sweden's 
national  target  under  the  Effort  Sharing  Regulation  will 
be to reduce emissions by 40 % compared to 2005.  

With  regard  to  regional  cooperation,  Sweden  highlights 
its  generally  good  dialogue  with  the  other  Nordic 
countries.  The  Swedish  Parliament  adopted  a  national 
Climate  Policy  Framework  in  June  2017.  It  consists  of  a 
Climate  Act,  new  national  climate  targets  and  a  climate 

22 Afvall Sverige, Swedish Waste Management 2017. 

policy  council.  The  strategy 
targets:  

includes  the  following 

  No  net  emissions  of  greenhouse  gases  into  the 
thereafter  negative 
atmosphere  by  2045  and 
emissions.  This  means  emissions  from  activities  in 
Swedish  territory  are  to  be  at  least  85 %  lower  by 
2045  compared  to  1990 
levels.  Supplementary 
measures  may  count  towards  achieving  zero  net 
emissions,  such  as 
increased  uptake  of  carbon 
dioxide in forests and land, and investments in other 
countries;  
Emissions  in  Sweden  outside  of  the  EU  ETS  should, 
by  2030,  be  at  least  63 %  lower  than  emissions  in 
1990,  and  by  2040  at  least  75 %  lower.  To  achieve 
these targets by 2030 and 2040, no more than 8 and 
2  percentage  points,  respectively,  of  the  emissions 
reductions  may  be  realised  through  supplementary 
measures; emissions from domestic transport are to 
be  reduced  by  at  least  70 %  by  2030  compared  to 
2010. Domestic aviation is not included in the target 
since this subsector is included in the EU ETS.  

 

Figure  7:  Change  in  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions 
1990-2017 (1990=100%)23.  

Transport  represents  almost  a  quarter  of  Europe's 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  and  is  the  main  cause  of  air 
pollution 
in  Sweden 
decreased by 7 % from 2013 to 2016.  

in  cities.  Transport  emissions 

The  F-gas  Regulation  requires  Member  States  to  run 
training and certification programmes, introduce rules for 
penalties  and  notify  these  measures  to  the  Commission 
by 2017. Sweden has notified both measures.  

23 Annual  European  Union  greenhouse  gas  inventory  1990–2016  (EEA 
greenhouse  gas  data  viewer).  Proxy  GHG  emission  estimates  for 
inventory  2017  (European 
2017Approximated  EU  greenhouse  gas 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

8 

                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

The  accounting  of  GHG  emissions  and  removals  from 
forests and agriculture is governed by the Kyoto Protocol. 
Preliminary  accounting  for  2013-2016  shows  net  credits 
of,  on  average,  -1.1  Mt  CO2-eq,  which  corresponds  to 
1.0%  of  the  EU-28  accounted  sink  of  -115.7  Mt  CO2-eq. 
Sweden  is  one  of  eight  EU  Member  States  that  exceed 
the cap of 3.5% from emissions of the base year (1990). 

The  EU  Strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient, by promoting action by Member States, better-
informed  decision  making,  and  promoting  adaptation  in 
key vulnerable sectors. By adopting a coherent approach 
and  providing  for  improved  coordination,  it  seeks  to 
enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance 
levels to respond to the impacts of climate change.  

Figure  8:  Targets  and  emissions  for  Sweden  under  the 
Effort Sharing Decision and Effort Sharing Regulation24. 

climate  adaptation  at  regional  level  and  supporting  the 
adaptation  work  of  municipalities.  All  21  regions  have 
undertaken climate impact studies and adopted regional 
action  plans.  In  the  National  strategy,  a  five-year  policy 
cycle  is  established  for  the  strategy,  this  cycle  includes 
implementation,  follow-up,  evaluation  and  revision25. 
The  Expert  council  for  adaptation  has  the  task  of 
monitoring  and  evaluating  the  work  on  adaptation  to 
climate change. The council will also provide evidence for 
the focus of the national work on climate change for the 
revision of the strategy, planned in 2023.  

Figure 9: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector (Mt. CO2-
eq.). Historical data 1990-2016. Projections 2017-203026. 

The  total  revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  over  the  years  2013-2017 
were  EUR  213  million27.  Sweden  does  not  earmark 
auctioning  revenues  for  specific  uses.  An  amount 
equalling on average 73 % of the auctioning revenues has 
been reported as spent on climate and energy purposes.  

2019 priority action 

In this report, no priority actions have been  included on 
climate action, as the Commission will first need to assess 
the  draft  national  energy  and  climate  plans  which  the 
Member  States  needed  to  send  by  end  of  2018.  These 
plans  should  increase  the  consistency  between  energy 
and climate policies and could therefore become a good 
example  of  how  to  link  sector-specific  policies  on  other 
interlinked themes  such as agriculture-nature-water and 
transport-air-health.  

25  Regeringen,  2018,  Regeringens  proposition 2017/2018:163  Nationell 
strategi for klimatanpassning 
26  Annual  European  Union  greenhouse  gas  inventory  1990–2016  (EEA 
greenhouse  gas  data  viewer).  Proxy  GHG  emission  estimates  for 
2017Approximated  EU  greenhouse  gas 
inventory  2017  (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 
27 ???Reference 

The Swedish policy for adapting to climate change is laid 
out  in  the  2018  bill  “National  strategy  for  adaptation  to 
climate  change”  (prop.2017/18:163).  Adaptation  policy 
efforts are supported by a  range of strategic documents 
and  action  plans  that  are  implemented  at  national, 
regional  and  local  levels.  Within  the  existing  adaptation 
framework,  Sweden  is  carrying  out  work  in  sectors  that 
are  of  relevance  to  climate  change  adaptation  such  as 
biodiversity  and  ecosystem  services,  fresh  water  supply, 
health,  infrastructure,  rural  businesses,  technical  supply 
systems,  and  urban  areas.  In  June  2018  32  national 
authorities  and  the  administrative  boards  of  the  regions 
(County Administrative Boards) were assigned through an 
ordinance to develop action plans action plans within its 
own  area  of  responsibilities.  17  of  these  agencies  had 
already developed, or were in the process of developing, 
action  plans  for  the  sectors  for  which  they  are 
responsible.  Since  2009,  the  CABs  are  responsible  for 

24 Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017Approximated EU greenhouse 
gas  inventory  2017  (European  Environment  Agency).  Member  States 
national projections, reviewed by the European Environment Agency. 

9 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Nature and biodiversity 

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity 
full 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  favourable  conservation  status  of  protected 
species and habitats. It also requires that the agricultural 
and  forest  sectors  help  to  maintain  and 
improve 
biodiversity. 

It  requires 

Biodiversity strategy 

the  Swedish  Parliament  adopted 

In  1999, 
the 
‘generational  goal’28  — 
the  overarching  objective 
defining  the  direction  of  all  environmental  policy  in 
Sweden,  where  16  environmental  quality  objectives 
(EQOs)29 describe the environmental quality that Sweden 
wishes to achieve by 2020. 

There  is  no  Swedish  strategy  specifically  on  achieving 
good  conservation  status  of  protected  species  and 
habitats. Instead, biodiversity is integrated into the broad 
system  of  EQOs.  To  achieve  these,  Swedish  nature 
conservation follows three general themes: (i) protection 
and  management  of  nature;  (ii)  species  protection;  and 
(iii)  sustainable  use.  The  Bill  on  biodiversity  and 
ecosystem  services  (2014)  constitutes  Sweden’s  overall 
strategy  for  biodiversity  and  ecosystem  services  for  the 
period up to 2020

30

. 

The  area  covered  by  old  forest  and  protected  forest  in 
Sweden  is  increasing.  However,  the  conservation  status 
of many forest  types is  still  inadequate and many forest 
species are threatened. 
The latest  Swedish Red List31 (2015) shows that the rate 
of  biodiversity  loss  has  neither  increased  nor  decreased 
over the past 15 years. Logging in old-growth forests and 
overgrowth  of  habitats  including  meadows,  pastures 
forests and wetlands poses a threat to most of species. 

28 Swedish Environmental protection Agency, ‘The overall goal of 
Swedish environmental policy is to hand over to the next generation a 
society in which the major environmental problems in Sweden have 
been solved, without increasing environmental and health problems 
outside Sweden’s borders.’ Sweden's environmental objectives 
29 The objectives are related to climate, air quality, acidification, forest, 
wetlands, oceans and coasts, lakes, mountains, urban environment, 
agriculture, toxic substances, radiation, ozone, groundwater and 
biodiversity. 
30 A Swedish Strategy for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services  
31 SLU, Red List. 

10 

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

On  the  basis  of  the  latest  update  of  the  assessment, 
Sweden’s  terrestrial  Natura  2000  network  under  the 
Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  is  now  considered  to  be 
complete. 

Designating Natura 2000 sites and setting conservation 
objectives and measures 

The  designation  process  is  ongoing,  and  available  data 
indicate  a  slight  increase  in  the  part  of  the  Swedish 
national  territory  that  is  covered  by  Natura  2000  (by 
0.1 %).  By  May  2017,  13.4 %  of  Sweden’s  national 
territory was covered by Natura 2000 (the EU average  is 
18.2 %), with Birds Directive SPAs covering 6.1 % (against 
an  EU  average  of  12.4 %)  and  Habitats  Directive  SCIs 
covering  13.3 %  (against  an  EU  average  of  13.9 %). 
Altogether, there are 4 084 Natura 2000 sites in Sweden 
(compared with 27 758 in the EU). 

In the light of the recent designation of marine sites, the 
sufficiency  of  the  marine  part  of  the  Swedish  Natura 
2000 network is under assessment. 

The  process  for  the  designation  of  sites  as  special  areas 
of  conservation  is  complete  and  all  sites  now  have  a 
management  plan.  Management  plans  for  marine  sites 
also already exist or are being developed. 

The organisation of the Natura 2000 network in Sweden 
is  good  and  its  funding  is  not  currently  a  critical  issue. 
Sweden has a high level of expertise in restoring habitats 
and  various  restoration  activities  show  good  results  e.g. 
on grasslands, bogs and sand dunes. 

Progress 
restoring 
in  maintaining  or 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

(2013-2018) 

Member  States  report  on  progress  made  under  both 
directives  every  6  years,  and  the  report  for  the  present 
period 
is  currently  being  compiled. 
Therefore,  no  new  information  is  available  yet  on  the 
state  of  natural  habitats  and  species,  nor  on  progress 
made  on  improving  the  conservation  status  of  species 
and habitats in Sweden as compared to the 2017 EIR. 

In  general,  agriculture,  natural  systems  modification, 
forestry and natural biotic/abiotic processes are the most 
frequently 
reported  pressure  categories  of  high 
importance,  and  also  apply  to  birds.  As  a  result  of 
changes in agricultural systems and animal farming, land 
abandonment,  which  leads  to  overgrowth  of  habitats,  is 
identified  as  a  significant  threat  to  the  conservation  of 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

grasslands and birds nesting in well-grazed wetlands. The 
loss of agricultural land is also due to urbanisation. 

As  the  conservation  status  of  all  grassland  habitats  and 
many of their associated species is unfavourable, there is 
a  substantial  need  for  the  management  and  restoration 
of  these  habitats,  as  well  as  for  enlarging  nationally 
protected  areas.  The  pressures  related  to  urbanisation 
could  be  tackled  at  land-use  planning  level.  It  should  be 
noted  though  that  all  permanent  grasslands  in  Swedish 
as 
Natura 
sites  have  been  designated 
In 
environmentally  sensitive  permanent  grasslands. 
addition,  although 
the  use  of  agri-environmental 
schemes to support the conservation of grasslands seems 
to be yielding results, the sufficiency of funding levels can 
be questioned. 

2000 

Sweden  has  substantially  invested  in  land  purchase  and 
compensation  payments  over  the  years  to  protect  its 
forests  (including  through  LIFE  funding),  mainly  in  its 
high-latitude  and  high-altitude  areas.  However,  the 
expert-based  assessment  carried  out  under  Article 17  of 
the Habitats Directive clearly recognises a further need to 
increase  the  protection  of  various  forest  habitats  to 
achieve the targets related to good conservation status. 

The level of nature-related complaints and infringements 
in Sweden is not very high. Main topics include hunting of 
wolves (use of derogations),  wind farms and other land-
use activities, e.g. quarries, and access to justice. 

2019 priority actions 

  Complete  the  process  of  designating  special  areas  of 
conservation (SACs) for the marine component, put in 
place clearly defined conservation objectives and the 
necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  new  sites 
the 
and 
implementation  of  the  management  plans.  This  is  in 
order  to  maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
community  interest  to  a  good  conservation  status 
across their natural range, especially for the benefit of 
grassland habitats and species. 

resources 

adequate 

provide 

for 

  Improve  the  conservation  status  of  forest,  grassland 
and  dune  habitats 
targeted  actions 
developed  with  the  land  users  in  order  to  better 
integrate  biodiversity  goals,  including  outside  Natura 
2000. 

through 

Maintaining  and  restoring  ecosystems  and  their 
services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
including  green 
infrastructure  in  spatial  planning  and  restoring  at  least 
15 %  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

The EU has provided guidance on the further deployment 
of  green  and  blue  infrastructure  in  Sweden32  and  a 
country page on the Biodiversity Information System for 
Europe  (BISE)33.  This  information  will  also  contribute  to 
the  final  evaluation  of  the  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  to 
2020. 

Sweden has a range of policies and strategies in place to 
develop and improve green infrastructure (GI) across the 
country  and  across  different  sectors.  For  example,  the 
environmental quality objectives (EQOs)34 set out by the 
Swedish  Parliament  aim  to  integrate  biodiversity  and 
ecosystem  services  into  economic  and  political  decision 
making  throughout  society  by  2018.  Moreover,  the 
Swedish 
for  biodiversity  and  ecosystem 
services (2013) includes a number of proposed legislative 
changes with relevance to GI; it commissioned Sweden’s 
21  Country  Administrative  Boards  to  develop  regional 
action plans for GI by 2017. 

strategy 

Progress  towards  achieving  the  EQOs  is  monitored  and 
reported  on  annually.  The  2017  summary  report35 
published  by  the  Swedish  Environmental  Protection 
Agency in late March states that progress on the regional 
action  plans  for  GI  is  under  way,  but  that  there  are 
significant  differences  between  regions.  It  also  shows 
that  aspects  related  to  the  GI  strategy  have  been 
particularly  time  consuming.  A  first  version  of  action 
plans  that  cover  the  post-2018  period  should  be 
developed to ensure that work continues. 

Other  policies  and  laws  relevant  to  GI  include  the 
Swedish  Planning  and  Building  Act  (2010),  for  which 

32  European  Commission,  The  recommendations  of  the  green 
infrastructure  strategy  review  report  and  the  EU  Guidance  on  a 
strategic framework for further supporting the deployment of EU-level 
green and blue infrastructure. 
33 Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 
34 Swedish Environmental protection Agency, Sweden's environmental 
objectives  
35The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the 2017 summary 
report  

11 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

guidance on ecosystem services and green infrastructure 
in planning and building is currently being developed. 

Sweden has launched several projects related to GI, and 
these have been of varying size and at various geographic 
and  governance  levels.  Work  on  mainstreaming  GI  is 
ongoing.  The  Swedish  Board  of  Agriculture  has  started 
work on managing, restoring and creating biotopes in the 
landscape,  and  on  building  transition  zones  between 
forestry  and  agricultural 
land  to  support  GI  and 
biodiversity. 

The  EQOs  related  to  sustainable  forests  also  include 
references  to  GI.  For  example,  the  state-owned  forestry 
company  Sveaskog’s  system  of  ‘eco-parks’  (ekoparker) 
are important from a GI perspective in that the project is 
long term and covers large, connected forested areas of 
particular  ecological  value.  In  an  eco-park,  at  least  50 % 
of  the  productive  forest  must  be  used  for  conservation 
purposes,  more  specifically  to  protect  and  actively 
support  the  function  of  its  natural  values.  However, 
despite  these  and  other  efforts,  the  protection  of 
valuable  forests  is  listed  as  a  key  challenge  in  the  2017 
EQO progress report.  

issued  green  bonds  earmarked 

for 
Gothenburg 
investment  in  ‘green’  projects,  including  various  GI-
related projects. 

Sweden’s  main  challenges  related  to  developing  GI  are: 
structural 
inter-country 
collaboration and knowledge gaps. 

administrative 

barriers, 

Estimating natural capital 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services36 in their national territories by 2014, assess the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

Sweden has not reported on its progress on mapping and 
assessing  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their  services 
(MAES)  during  2016  and  2017.  It  has  not  provided  any 
new  information  on  its  work  in  this  area  on  the  MAES 
webpage of the BISE since 2015. 

At  the  MAES  working  group  meeting  held  in  Brussels  in 
September  2018,  it  was  shown  that  Sweden  has  not 
provided updated information and therefore no progress 
in  implementing  MAES  has  been  recorded  since  January 
2016  (Figure  10).  This  assessment  was  made  by  the 
ESMERALDA  project37  and  based  on  27  implementation 
questions. The assessment is updated every 6 months. 

Figure 10: Implementation of MAES (September 2018) 

In recent years, the ecosystem service concept has been 
a  focal  point  in  Sweden’s  work  relating  to  sustainable 
urban  development.  It  is  also  being  integrated  into 
environmental  impact  assessments  and  land-use  plans. 
transport 
Work  on  GI 
infrastructure and tourism is ongoing. 

in  water  management, 

large  resources 

The  development  of  GI  and  related  initiatives  is  funded 
from  various  sources  in  Sweden  and  has  been  allocated 
in  recent  years.  EU-level 
relatively 
funding  has  been  made  available  through  a  number  of 
LIFE projects. In 2016, for instance, an EU grant of almost 
EUR 5  million  was  awarded  to  a  new  LIFE  project  in 
Sweden for the restoration of valuable oak habitats. The 
current  Swedish  Government 
increased  the  funding 
available  for  protecting  particularly  valuable  natural 
assets in 2016. 

An  interesting  example  of  innovative  funding  for  GI  was 
initiated  by  the  City  of  Gothenburg  in  2013.  As  the 
world’s  first  initiative  of  this  kind  at  municipal  level, 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  among  business 
and  financial  service  providers,  for  instance  via  the 
Natural  Capital  Coalition’s  protocol38.  The  assessments 
contribute  to  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy  by  helping 
private  businesses  better  understand  and  value  both 
their  impact  and  dependence  on  nature.  Biodiversity 
platforms  have  been  established  at  EU  level39  and  in  a 

36  Ecosystem  services  are  benefits  provided  by  nature  such  as  food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 
37 EU project, Esmeralda  
38 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol. 
39 Business and Biodiversity, The European Business and Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member States through workshops, seminars and a cross media 
communication strategy. 

12 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

number  of  Member  States.  Sweden  has  not  yet  set  up 
such a platform. 

2019 priority action 

Between  the  entry  into  force  of  the  EU  list  and  18 May 
2018,  Sweden  has  not  notified  the  Commission  of  any 
new appearances of invasive alien species of EU concern 
under Article 16(2) of the IAS Regulation. 

  Strengthen  support  to  the  mapping  and  assessment 
of  ecosystems  and  their  services,  valuation  and 
development of natural capital accounting systems. 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  
This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

Sweden proposed one species for the first update of the 
EU  list:  the  American  lobster  (Homarus  americanus). 
While  the  risk  assessment  received  a  positive  opinion 
from the Scientific Forum, the Committee finally decided 
that  the  species  does  not  comply  with  the  criteria  for 
listing. 

Figure  11:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for Sweden40 

The report on baseline distribution (Figure 11), for which 
Sweden  reviewed  its  country  and  grid-level  data,  shows 
that from the 37 species on the first EU list, six have been 
observed  in  the  environment  in  Sweden,  among  which 
five  are  established,  with  signal  crayfish  (Pacifastacus 
leniosculus) being the most widely spread. 

40 Tsiamis K; Gervasini E; Deriu I; D`amico F; Nunes A; Addamo A; De 
Jesus Cardoso A. Baseline Distribution of Invasive Alien Species of Union 
concern. Ispra (Italy): Publications Office of the European Union; 2017, 
EUR 28596 EN, doi:10.2760/772692 

13 

the 

responsible 

implementing 

Sweden  has  notified  the  Commission  of  its  competent 
authorities 
IAS 
for 
Regulation as required by Article 24(2) of the Regulation. 
Sweden has also notified the Commission of the adoption 
of  the  national  act  containing  the  relevant  national 
provisions  on  penalties  applicable  to  infringements  as 
required  by  Article 30(4)  of  the  IAS  Regulation  is  in 
progress, which entered into force on 1 August 2018. The 
act also included an authorization for the Government to 
adopt provisions necessary to prevent the introduction or 
spread  of  invasive  alien  species.  Work  on  a  Swedish 
ordinance on invasive alien species is progressing. 

Soil protection 

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a  sustainable use  of soils.  This  entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a 
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource  and  it  is 
increasingly  degrading  in  the  EU.  The  percentage  of 
artificial  land41  in  Sweden  (Figure  12)  can  show  the 
relative  pressure  on  nature  and  biodiversity  and  the 
environmental  pressure  on  people  living  in  urbanised 
areas. Population density is a similar measure. 

Contamination  can  severely  reduce  soil  quality  and 
threaten  human  health  or  the  environment.  A  recent 
report  of  the  European  Commission42  estimated  that 
potentially  polluting  activities  have  taken  or  are  still 
taking place on approximately 2.8 million sites in the EU. 
At EU level,  650 000 of these sites have been registered 
in national or regional inventories. 65 500  contaminated 
sites  already  have  been  remediated.  Sweden  has 
registered  83 000  sites  where  potentially  polluting 
activities have taken or are taking place, and already has 
remediated or applied aftercare measures on 1 930 sites. 

Soil erosion by water is a natural process, but this natural 
process can be aggravated by climate change and human 

41 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non built-up areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car parking areas etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 
42 Ana Paya Perez, Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio (2018), Status of local soil 
contamination  in  Europe:  Revision  of  the  indicator  “Progress  in  the 
management Contaminated Sites in Europe” 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

activities  such  as  inappropriate  agricultural  practices, 
deforestation,  forest  fires  or  construction  works.  High 
levels  of  soil  erosion  can  reduce  productivity 
in 
agriculture  and  can  have  negative  and  transboundary 
impacts  on  biodiversity  and  ecosystem  services.  High 
levels  of  soil  erosion  can  also  have  negative  and 
lakes  (due  to 
transboundary  effects  on  rivers  and 
increased 
transport  of 
and 
contaminants). 
Figure 12: Proportion of artificial land cover, 2015 43 

sediment 

volumes 

According  to  the  RUSLE2015  model44,  Sweden  has  an 
average soil loss rate by water of 0.41 tonnes per hectare 
per  year  (t ha−a yr−y)  compared  to  the  EU  mean  of  2.46 
t ha−a yr−y.  This  indicates  that  soil  erosion  in  Sweden  is 
low. Note that these figures are the output of an EU level 
model  and  can  therefore  not  be  considered  as  locally 
measured  values.  The  actual  rate  of  soil  loss  can  vary 
strongly  within  a  Member  State  depending  on  local 
conditions. 

Soil  organic  matter  plays  an  important  role  as  a  carbon 
sink in the carbon cycle and in climate change. 

Marine protection 

EU coastal and marine policy and legislation require that 
by  2020  the  impact  of  pressures  on  marine  waters  be 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status (GES) and ensure that coastal zones are managed 
sustainably. 

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)45 aims 
to achieve good environmental status of the EU’s marine 
waters  by  2020.  To  that  end,  Member  States  must 
develop  a  marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and 
cooperate  with  the  EU  countries  that  share  the  same 
marine (sub)region. 

For  Sweden,  the  Convention  for  the  protection  of  the 
marine  environment  of  the  North-East  Atlantic  (OSPAR 
Convention)  and 
the  Baltic  Marine  Environment 
Protection  Commission  (Helsinki  Commission)  play  an 
important  role  in  achieving  the  goals  of  the  Directive. 
These  marine  strategies  comprise  different  steps  to  be 
developed  and  implemented  over  six-year  cycles.  The 
latest step required Member States to set up and report 
to  the  Commission  their  programme  of  measures  by 
31 March  2016.  The  Commission  assessed  whether  the 
Swedish measures would help reach good environmental 
status46. 

Sweden reported a mix of measures put in place to help 
it  achieve  good  environmental  status,  some  stemming 
from  other  legal  acts,  some  newly  defined  for  the 
purposes  of  achieving  MSFD  objectives,  some  directly 
addressing  pressures,  and  others  addressing  them  more 
indirectly  (e.g.  through  monitoring  and  research).  For 
instance, new measures directly addressing pressures are 
reported  for  commercial  fish  and  shellfish,  and  marine 
litter,  while  for  non-indigenous  species  and  underwater 
noise  most  of  the  measures  consist  of  research  and 
coordination  efforts,  which  will  not  directly  affect  the 
marine  environment,  but  will  positively  contribute  to 
characterising  pressures  better  and  filling  knowledge 
gaps.  

Although  Sweden  addresses  a  number  of  relevant 
pressures  and  targets, 
it  does  not  cover  certain 
pressures, activities and associated impacts identified as 
important  at  the  subregional  level,  such  as  for  instance 
physical  damage  from  shipping,  and  contaminants  from 
agricultural activities, tourism and recreation activities. 

Sweden  reports  that 
if  good 
environmental status will be achieved by 2020 given this 
lack of knowledge. It acknowledges that there are risks to 

it  cannot  determine 

43 Eurostat, Land covered by artificial surfaces by NUTS 2 regions. 
44 Panagos, P., Borrelli, P., Poesen, J., Ballabio, C., Lugato, E., 
Meusburger, K., Montanarella, L., Alewell, C., The new assessment of 
soil loss by water erosion in Europe, (2015) Environmental Science and 
Policy, 54, pp. 438-447. 

45 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
46 Commission report assessing Member States’ programme of 
measures under the MSFD to be added once published (forthcoming 
publication). 

14 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

not  achieving  it  by  2020  and  provides  explanations  of 
these. It  states that details will become  more  evident  in 
the  second  MSFD  implementation  cycle.  Overall,  the 
Swedish programme of measures partially addresses the 
requirements of the MSFD. 

2019 priority actions 

  Define  ‘good  environmental  status’  and  set  targets 

where these do not exist. 

  Provide more information about measures to achieve 
good  environmental  status,  put 
in  place  more 
measures that have a direct impact on the sources of 
pressure  and  quantify  the  expected  reduction  of 
pressure as a result. 

  Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Denmark,  Estonia, 
Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in the 
Baltic  Sea  region  to  address  the  leading  sources  of 
pressure. 

15 

Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

3. Ensuring citizens’ health and quality of life 

Air quality 

Figure 13: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Sweden 

EU clean air  policy and legislation require the significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by  the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  ecosystems  and  biodiversity  should  be  further 
reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding critical 
loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening  efforts  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
legislation47,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards and objectives for a number of air pollutants. 
According to the European Court of Auditors (ECA)48, EU 
action to protect human health from air pollution has not 
delivered  its  expected  impact.  There  is  a  risk  that  air 
pollution  is  being  underestimated  in  some  instances 
because  it  may  not  always  be  monitored  in  the  right 
places.  Member  States  are  now  required  to  report  both 
real-time  and  validated  air  quality  data 
the 
Commission49. 

to 

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly in Sweden50. 

The  emission  reductions  achieved  between  1990  and 
2014, and mentioned in the 2017 EIR, continued between 
2014 and  2016. Emissions of  sulphur oxides (SOx) fell by 
4.27 %;  emissions  of  nitrogen  oxides  (NOx)  by  5.95 %; 
emissions of ammonia (NH3) by 2.41 %; emissions of fine 
particulate  matter  PM2.5  by  2.75 %,  and;  emissions  of 
volatile  organic  compounds  (NMVOCs)  by  1.34 %  (see 
also  Figure  13  on  the  total  PM2.5  and  NOx  emissions  per 
sector). 

47 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
48 European Court of Auditors, Special report no 23/2018, Air pollution: 
Our health still insufficiently protected, p.41. 
49 Article 5 of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU of 12 
December2011 laying down rules for Directives 2004/107/EC and 
2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards 
the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air 
quality (OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 86) requires Member States to provide 
Up-To-Date data. 
50 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 
viewer (NEC Directive). 

16 

Despite these emission reductions, additional efforts are 
needed  to  meet  the  emission  reduction  commitments 
(compared  to  2005  emission  levels)  set  out  in  the  new 
National  Emissions  Ceilings  Directive51  for  the  period 
2020 to 2029 and for any year from 2030. 

Air quality in Sweden continues to give cause for concern. 
For  the  year  2015,  the  European  Environment  Agency 
estimated  that  about  3 710  premature  deaths  were 
attributable  to  fine  particulate  matter52  concentrations, 
150  to  ozone53  concentrations  and  over  990  to  nitrogen 
dioxide54 concentrations55. 
In  201756,  levels  of  particulate  matter  (PM10,)  exceeded 
EU  air  quality  standards  in  two  (out  of  6)  Swedish  air 
quality zones (Visby on Gotland and Middle Sweden). See 
also  Figure  14  on  the  number  of  air  quality  zones  in 
which NO2, PM2.5, and PM10 levels exceeded EU air quality 
standards.  

The  Commission 
is  following  up  on  the  persistent 
breaches  of  air  quality  requirements  (for  PM10),  which 

51 Directive 2016/2284/EU. 
52 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) micrometres or 
less. PM is emitted from many anthropogenic sources, including 
combustion. 
53 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
54 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 
55 EEA, Air Quality in Europe  – 2018 Report, p.64. Please see details in 
this report as regards the underpinning methodology. 
56 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

have  severe  negative  effects  on  health  and  the 
environment,  through  infringement  procedures  covering 
all Member States concerned, including Sweden. The aim 
is  that  adequate  measures  are  put  in  place  to  bring  all 
zones into compliance. 

Figure  14:  Air  quality  zones  exceeding  EU  air  quality 
standards in 201757  

In  Sweden,  the  IED  requires  around  1040  industrial 
installations  to  have  a  permit60.  In  2015,  Sweden’s 
industrial  sectors  with  the  most  IED  installations  were: 
waste management (25 %), intensive rearing of poultry or 
pigs  (25 %),  energy  —  power  (12 %)  and  surface 
treatment (12 %). 

Figure  15:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  by 
sector, Sweden (2015)61 

2019 priority actions 

 

In  the  context  of  the  forthcoming  national  air 
pollution  control  programme  (NAPCP),  take  action 
towards  reducing  main  emission  sources,  including 
through the priority actions identified below. 

  Accelerate reductions in particulate matter (PM2.5 and 
PM10) emission and concentration; this will require, in 
the  particular  case  of  Sweden,  addressing  emissions 
due to the use of studded tyres.  

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive58 (IED). 

The  below  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  the  ‘industrial  emissions  policy 
country profiles’ project59. 

57 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. Data reflects the reporting 
situation as of 26 November 2018. 
58  Directive  2010/75/EU  covers  industrial  activities  carried  out  above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of  industrial  and  agricultural  sectors  (e.g.  intensive  rearing  of  pig  and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
59  European  Commission,  Industrial  emissions  policy  country  profile  – 
Sweden. 

and 

dibenzodioxins 

polychlorinated 

The sectors identified as contributing the most emissions 
to air in Sweden are: (i) the non-ferrous metal production 
sector  for  sulphur  oxides  (SOx),  arsenic  (As),  chromium 
(Cr),  and  lead  (Pb);  (ii)  the  energy-power  sector  for 
sulphur  oxides  (SOx),  nitrogen  oxides  (NOx),  cadmium 
(Cd), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) nickel (Ni), zinc 
and 
(Zn) 
polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F); (iii) the iron and 
steel production sector for chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), 
nickel  (Ni)  and  zinc  (Zn);  (iv)  the  ‘other  activities’  sector 
(mostly  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs,  surface 
treatment  and  pulp,  paper  and  wood  products)  for 
sulphur  oxides  (SOx),  particulate  matter  (PM2.5),  non-
methane 
(NMVOCs), 
ammonia  (NH3)  and  arsenic  (As);  and  (v)  the  iron  and 
steel  sector  for  chromium  (Cr),  mercury  (Hg),  nickel  (Ni) 
and Zinc (Zn). The breakdown is shown in Figure 16. 

volatile  organic 

compounds 

Regarding  water  emissions,  the  ‘other  activities’,  metal 
production and the energy-power sectors were identified 
as  responsible  for  the  largest  environmental  burden  as 
regards  emissions  into  water.  ‘Other  activities’,  energy-
power,  metal  production  and  the  waste  management 
significant 
sectors  were 
contributions 
terms  of  non-hazardous  waste 
generation.  Waste  management,  energy-power  and 
metal  production  were  singled  out  for  hazardous  waste 
generation. 

as  making 

identified 

in 

60 This overview of industrial activities regulated by IED is based on the 
project on Industrial Emissions policy Country profiles. 
61  European  Commission,  Industrial  emissions  policy  country  profile  – 
Sweden. 

17 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

The enforcement approach under the IED creates strong 
rights for citizens to have access to relevant  information 
and  to  participate 
in  the  permitting  process.  This 
empowers  NGOs  and  the  general  public  to  ensure  that 
permits are – appropriately granted and their conditions 
respected. 

Figure 16: Emissions to air from IED sectors and all other 
national total air emissions, Sweden (2015) 

By  sharing  information  among  EU  countries,  industrial 
associations,  NGOs  and  the  Commission,  the  best 
available techniques (BAT), reference documents (the so-
called  BREFs)  and  BAT  conclusions  ensure  good 
cooperation  with  stakeholders  and  enable  IED  to  be 
better implemented. 

Thanks  to  the  national  competent  authorities’  efforts  to 
apply the legally binding BAT conclusions and associated 
BAT  emission  levels  in  environmental  permits,  pollution 
has decreased considerably and continuously in the EU. 

For  example,  by  applying  the  recently  adopted  BAT 
emission levels for large combustion plants, emissions of 
sulphur dioxide will be  cut  on average by between  25 % 
and  81 %,  nitrogen  oxide  between  8 %  and  56 %,  dust 
between 31 % and 78 % and mercury between 19 % and 
71 %.  The  extent  of  the  reduction  depends  on  the 
situation in individual plants. 

The  Commission  has  in  particular  welcomed  the  good 
cooperation  with  Sweden’s  administration  to  efficiently 
solve  issues  due  to  late  implementation  of  the  BAT 
conclusion  prohibiting  chlor  alkali  plants  from  using  the 
mercury cell technique as of 11 December 2017. 

2019 priority action 

  Review  permits  and  strengthen  control  and/or 
enforcement  to  comply  with  newly  adopted  BAT 
conclusions. 

Noise 
The  Environmental  Noise  Directive62  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health-related  issues 
limited  set  of  data64, 
in  the  EU63.  Based  on  a 
environmental  noise  causes  at  least  200  premature 
deaths per year in Sweden and is responsible for around 
1 100  hospital  admissions.  Noise  also  disturbs  the  sleep 
of roughly 190 000 people in Sweden. The Environmental 
Noise Directive is being correctly implemented. The noise 
mapping for the previous reporting round (reference year 
2011) is complete, as are the action plans (reference year 
2013), apart from one agglomeration. These instruments, 
adopted after a public consultation had been carried out, 
should include the measures to keep noise low or reduce 
it.  

2019 priority action 

  Complete action plan for noise management for the 

last outstanding agglomeration. 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

The  existing  EU  water  legislation65  puts  in  place  a 
protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards  for  all 
water  bodies  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific  pollution 
sources  (for  example,  from  agriculture,  urban  areas  and 
industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the  projected 
impacts  of  climate  change  are 
into  the 
integrated 
instruments  e.g. Flood  Risk 
corresponding  planning 

62 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
63 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 
Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 
64 European Environment Agency, Noise Fact Sheets 2017. 
65  This  includes  the  Bathing  Waters  Directive  2006/7/EC,  the  Urban 
Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  91/271/EEC)  (on  discharges  of 
municipal  and  some  industrial  wastewaters),  the  Drinking  Water 
Directive  98/83/EC  (on  potable  water  quality),  the  Water  Framework 
Directive  2000/60/EC  (on  water  resources  management),  the  Nitrates 
Directive 91/676/EEC and the Floods Directive 2007/60/EC. 

18 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Management  Plans  and  River  Basin  Management  Plans, 
including  Programmes  of  Measures  which  include  the 
actions  that  Member  States  plan  to  take  in  order  to 
achieve the environmental objectives. 

Water Framework Directive 

Sweden has adopted and reported the second generation 
of  River  Basin  Management  Plans  under  the  Water 
Framework  Directive  and  the  European  Commission  has 
assessed  the  status  and  the  development  since  the 
adoption  of  the  first  River  Basin  Management  Plans, 
including suggested actions in the EIR report 2017. 

The  most  significant  pressure  on  surface  water 
is 
atmospheric  deposition  (100%  of  surface  water  bodies), 
followed  by  dams,  barriers  and 
(24%).  For 
groundwater  bodies  the  most  significant  pressure  is 
diffuse pollution from transport (10%) and contaminated 
and abandoned industrial sites (7%).  

locks 

Chemical  pollution  was  the  most  significant  impact  on 
surface water (100% of surface water bodies) followed by 
altered habitats due to morphological changes (41%). 

Figure 17: Ecological status or potential of surface water 
bodies in Sweden66 

has 

ecological 

apparently 
status/potential 
The 
deteriorated in many rivers and lakes since the first River 
Basin  Management  Plans.  This  deterioration  is  largely 
due  to  changes  in  classification  methods  and  to  the 
in  the 
inclusion  of  river  basin  specific  pollutants 
classification.  

Where  environmental  objectives  are  not  yet  achieved 
in  case  the  respective 
exemptions  can  be  applied 
conditions  are  met.  The  required 
justifications  are 
explained  in  the  River  Basin  Management  Plans  but 
Sweden  has  not  reported  application  of  the  exemption 
regarding  new  projects  (Article  4(7))  and  information  is 
therefore needed. 

All  surface  water  bodies  fail  to  achieve  good  chemical 
status.  The  River  Basin  Management  Plans  indicate  that 
the  exceedance  of  the  mercury  environmental  quality 
standard in biota and that for brominated diphenylethers 
(where  monitored)  were  extrapolated  to  all  surface 
water  bodies  resulting  in  the  observed  assessment  of 
chemical status. 

The  monitoring  situation  of  groundwater  bodies  has 
improved.  The  number  of  monitoring  sites  increased  as 
well  as  the  number  of  monitored  groundwater  bodies. 
failing  good 
The  number  of  groundwater  bodies 
quantitative 
the  affected 
groundwater  body  area  remained  almost  the  same. 
99.7%  of  groundwater  bodies  are  in  good  quantitative 
status  and  all  groundwater  bodies  now  have  a  clear 
status  which  is  a  significant  improvement  since  the  first 
River Basin Management Plans. 

increased  but 

status 

Most  significant  pressures  are  identified  in  the  River 
Basin  Management  Plans  and  addressed  by  measures 
(Key  type  of  measures).  Some  measures  have  been 
completed  since  the  first  Programme  of  Measures  but 
obstacles such as lack of finance and lack of mechanisms 
in  all  River  Basin  Districts  have  occurred  in  relation  to 
their 
implementation.  The  most  significant  progress 
seems  to  be  the  definition  of  a  significant  number  of 
national  measures 
in  relation  to  specific  pressures 
(although  not  all  pressures  appear  to  have  been 
addressed)  and  the  planning  of  more  measures  (for 
example 
in  particular 
phosphorus loads). 

to  control  nutrients  and 

Nitrates Directive 

report  on 

The  2012-2015 
the  Nitrates  Directive 
confirmed  overall  low  concentrations  in  ground  and 
surface  waters  and  a  slight  improvement  in  the  trophic 
level  of  surface  waters,  rivers  and  lakes.  However, 
Sweden must continue to pay close attention to nutrient 
pollution  as  it  borders  the  Baltic  Sea,  which  is  heavily 
affected by this kind of pollution. 

Significant  investment  needs  still  exist  in  Sweden  to 
accelerate  compliance  with  the  Water  Framework 

19 

Overall,  ecological  status/potential  is  less  than  good  in 
the majority of water bodies: 51 % of lakes, 68 % of rivers 
and  82 %  of  coastal  waters  (surface  water  illustrated  in 
figure 17). This shows that Sweden has a long way to go 
to achieve the good status/potential objectives laid down 
in the Water Framework Directive.  

66 EEA, WISE dashboard. 

                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Directive and the Floods Directive, such as the removal of 
obstacles to fish migration, renaturalisation of the flow of 
rivers,  and  various  measures  for  flood  prevention  and 
mitigation. 

Drinking Water Directive 

No new data on drinking water is available since the last 
EIR67. 

Bathing Water Directive 

Figure  18  shows  that  in  2017,  out  of  Sweden’s  441 
bathing waters, 58.7 % were of excellent  quality, 27.9 % 
of  good  quality  and  3.2 %  of  sufficient  quality  (71.8 %, 
13.3 % and 3.8 % respectively in 2015). Four of Sweden’s 
bathing  waters  were  of  poor  quality  in  201768.  Detailed 
information on Swedish bathing waters is available from 
a  national  portal69  and  via  an  interactive  map  viewer 
developed by the European Environment Agency70. 
Figure 18: Bathing water quality 2014–201771 

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive  

Sweden  has  a  satisfactory  level  of  compliance  with  the 
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. Overall, 100 % 
of  Sweden’s  wastewater  is  collected.  330  out  of  344 
agglomerations comply with the Directive’s requirements 
concerning secondary treatment and 131 agglomerations 
out of 153 comply with requirements for more stringent 
water treatment. An infringement case is currently open 
to follow up on the few cases of non-compliance. 

The  estimated  investment  needed  to  ensure  adequate 
collection  and  treatment  of  water  in  the  remaining 

67 Compliance with the Drinking Water Directive microbiological and 
chemical parameters as last reported was very high. 
68 European Environment Agency, 2017. European bathing water quality 
in 2016, p. 17. 
69 Swedish national bathing waters portal.  
70 EEA, State of bathing waters. 
71 European Environment Agency, 2018. European bathing water quality 
in 2017, p. 21. 

20 

agglomerations is EUR 120 million72. 

Floods Directive 

The  Floods  Directive  established  a  framework  for  the 
assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the 
reduction  of  the  adverse  consequences  associated  with 
significant floods. 

Sweden  has  adopted  and  reported  its  first  Flood  Risk 
Management Plans under the Directive and the European 
Commission conducted an assessment. 

The  Commission’s  assessment  found  that  good  efforts 
were made with positive results in setting objectives and 
devising  measures  focusing  on  prevention,  protection 
and  preparedness.  The  assessment  also  showed  that,  as 
was  the  case  for  other  Member  States,  Sweden’s  Flood 
Risk  Management  Plans  do  not  yet  include  concrete 
enough  measures,  clearly  prioritised,  that  are  linked  to 
the  objectives  set  and  an  as  complete  as  possible 
estimation  of  the  cost  of  measures.  In  addition,  there  is 
scope  for  reinforcing  coordination  between  Flood  Risk 
Management  Plans  and  the  River  Basin  Management 
Plans. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

 

Ensure  that  Environmental  Quality  Standards  are 
available  and  adequate  for  all  relevant  River  Basin 
Specific Pollutants. 
Ensure progress in the justification of exemptions by 
further  substantiating  the  related  assessments  with 
additional data and information and by reducing the 
remaining degree of uncertainties. 
Strengthen control and enforcement of measures to 
prevent and reduce nutrients pollution. 
Take  steps  to  reinforce  coordination  between  Flood 
Risk  Management  Plans  and  the  River  Basin 
Management Plans. 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse  effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
An  EU  strategy  for  a  non-toxic  environment  that  is 
conducive  to  innovation  and  to  developing  sustainable 
substitutes,  including  non-chemical  options,  is  being 
prepared. 

legislation73  provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 

72 European Commission, Ninth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Treatment Directive (COM(2017) 749) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2017)445). 
73 Principally  for  chemicals:  REACH  (OJ  L  396,  30.12.2006,  p.1.);  for 
Classification,  Labelling  and  Packaging,  the  CLP  Regulation  (:  OJ  L  252, 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

ensures  stability  and  predictability 
operating within the internal market. 

for  businesses 

environment, are the responsibility of local and regional 
authorities. 

In  2016,  the  European  Chemicals  Agency 
(ECHA) 
published  a  report  on  REACH  and  the  CLP  Regulation74 
that showed that enforcement activities are still evolving. 
Member  States  cooperate  closely  within  the  Forum  for 
Information  on  Enforcement 75.  This 
Exchange  of 
cooperation  has  shown  that  there  is  scope  to  increase 
the  effectiveness  of  enforcement  activities,  particularly 
for registration obligations and safety data sheets where 
the level of non-compliance is still relatively high. 

While progress has been made, there is room to further 
improve and harmonise enforcement activities across the 
EU,  including  controls  on  imported  goods.  Enforcement 
remains  weak  in  some  Member  States,  particularly  for 
controls  on  imports  and  supply  chain  obligations.  The 
enforcement  architecture 
in  most  EU 
countries and enforcement projects reveal differences in 
compliance  between  Member  States  (e.g.  some  tend  to 
systematically  report  higher  compliance  than  the  EU 
average, others lower). 

is  complex 

A 2015 Commission study highlighted the importance of 
harmonising  the  implementation  of  REACH  at  national 
level, in terms of market surveillance and enforcement; it 
is a critical factor in successfully operating a harmonised 
single market76.  

In March 2018, the Commission published an evaluation 
of  REACH77.  The  evaluation  concludes  that  REACH 
delivers  on  its  objectives,  but  that  progress  made  is 
slower  than  anticipated.  In  addition,  the  registration 
dossiers often are incomplete. The evaluation underlines 
the need to enhance enforcement by all actors, including 
registrants,  downstream  users  and 
in  particular  for 
importers,  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field,  meet  the 
objectives  of  REACH  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
actions envisaged to improve environmental compliance 
and  governance.  Consistent  reporting  of  Member  State 
enforcement activities  was considered  important  in that 
respect. 

The Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) is the body that is 
mostly responsible for  enforcing REACH,  CLP and  BPR in 
Sweden.  There  are  some  exceptions:  REACH  provisions 
concerning the safety of workers are the responsibility of 
the  Swedish  Work  Environment  Authority  and  those 
concerning the safety of workplaces, with a focus on the 

31.12.2006,  p.1.),  together  with  legislation  on  biocidal  products  and 
plant protection products. 
74 ECHA, Report on the Operation of REACH and CLP 2016. 
75 ECHA, on the basis of the projects REF-1, REF-2 and REF-3. 
76 European Commission. (2015). Monitoring the Impacts of REACH on 
Innovation, Competitiveness and SMEs. Brussels: European 
Commission. 
77 COM(2018) 116. 

In Sweden, REACH, CLP and BPR are enforced under the 
for  non-
Environmental  Code.  Penalty  provisions 
compliance  are  listed  in  its  Chapter  29.  Sanctions  for 
infringement  of  REACH,  CLP  and  BPR  provisions  are 
generally either a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of 
two years. 

Making cities more sustainable 

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation. 

transport  and  mobility, 

living 

in  Europe 

in  urban  areas 

The  population 
is 
projected to rise to just over 80% by 205078. Urban areas 
pose  particular  challenges  for  the  environment  and 
human  health,  but  they  also  provide  opportunities  for 
using  resources  more  efficiently.  The  EU  encourages 
municipalities to become greener through initiatives such 
as  the  Green  Capital  Award79,  the  Green  Leaf  Award80 
and the Green City Tool81. 

Financing greener cities 

Sweden participates in the European urban development 
network  (UDN)82,  which  includes  more  than  500  cities 
across  the  EU  responsible  for  implementing  integrated 
actions  based  on  sustainable  urban  development 
strategies financed by the ERDF in the 2014-2020 period. 

The ERDF supports the UDN’s urban innovative actions as 
a  way  of  testing  new  and  unproven  solutions  that 
address urban challenges. Urban innovative actions have 

78 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
79European Commission, European Green Capital  
80 European Commission, European Green Leaf  
81 European Commission, Green City Tool 
82 European Commission, The Urban Development Network  

21 

                                                                                                        
 
                                                                 
  
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

a total ERDF budget of EUR 372 million for 2014-202083. 

One  urban  innovative  action  project  with  a  budget  of 
EUR 4.7 million project (FED — fossil free energy districts) 
is  taking  place  in  Gothenburg.  It  supports  the  energy 
transition in urban areas by: 

 

 

 

demonstrating  scalable  and  replicable  solutions  for 
energy  efficiency  and  smart  energy  management  in 
public infrastructure and the housing sector; 
adopting 
moderating the demand for heating and cooling; 
deploying  innovative,  renewable-based  solutions  to 
heating/cooling buildings and neighbourhoods. 

low  carbon  energy  production  and 

Participation in EU urban initiatives and networks 

Swedish  municipalities  are  generally 
in  EU 
initiatives  on  environment  protection  and  climate 
change. 

involved 

It  regards 

itself  as  a  role  model 

Växjö is the first Swedish city to win the European Green 
for 
Leaf  title. 
environmental  action  in  Sweden.  It  was  the  first  city  in 
Sweden  to  use  biomass  for  district  heating,  one  of  the 
first  to  start  working  on  the  UN  2030  Agenda  for 
Sustainable  Development  and  it  committed  to  being 
climate fossil fuel free over 20 years ago. 

Växjö  has  many  protected  natural  areas  and  green 
spaces.  The  city  has  developed  strategies  to  conserve 
these  areas  and  has  made  them  more  accessible  to 
inhabitants  by  creating  cycle  paths  and  walkways.  It  is 
also  developing  urban  agriculture  to  ensure  that  its 
people have access to local and organic produce. 

includes 

its  citizens 

in  sustainable 
Växjö  regularly 
transport  planning  and  has 
introduced  a  range  of 
measures  to  improve  mobility.  Cycling  and  walking  are 
prioritised  and  encouraged,  for  example  through  the 
creation  of  new  cycle  paths.  The  city  has  also  made 
improvements  to  its  public  transport  system,  increasing 
the  number  of  buses  by  40 %  and  switching  to  a  biogas 
fuelled fleet. 

the  Swedish  urban  development 
development  of 
platform,  whose  purpose  is  to  improve  collaboration, 
coordination,  knowledge  sharing,  dissemination  and 
exchange  of  experiences  related  to  sustainable  urban 
development. The platform is an important link between 
practice and policy at local, regional and national  levels. 
It  will  also  support  the  regional  structural 
fund 
programme’s work on sustainable urban development. 

Several  Horizon  2020  network  projects  have  also 
contributed  to  the  sustainability  of  Swedish  cities.  For 
example,  CIVITAS  includes  six  Swedish  municipalities, 
which represent Sweden in a common effort to make city 
transport cleaner and better85. 

58  Swedish  cities  are  involved  with  the  EU  Covenant  of 
Mayors  under  the  coordination  of  the  Region  Örebro 
county.  As  of  May  2018,  Alvesta,  Botkyrka,  Finspång, 
Gislaveds,  Göteborg,  Halmstad,  Haninge,  Helsingborg, 
Jokkmokk, 
Jönköping,  Kristianstad,  Ljungby,  Lund, 
Malmö,  Piteå,  Stockholm,  Södertälje,  Tyresö,  Västerås, 
Växjö  and  Älmhults  have  already  submitted  their  2020 
action  plans  and  their  results  are  being  monitored. 
Another eight cities have at least presented their climate 
action plans and commitments for 2020 or 203086. 

initiatives  and  networks  should  be 
These  urban 
welcomed and encouraged, as they contribute to a better 
urban  environment.  In  2017,  9.7 %  of  the  Swedish 
population living in cities considered that their residential 
area  was  affected  by  pollution,  grime  or  other 
environmental problems, down from 10.10 % in 2016 and 
12 %  in  2015.  These  figures  are  significantly  lower  than 
the EU-28 levels (20 % in 2017, 18.9 % in 2016 and 19.2 % 
in 2015)87. 

Figure  19:  Proportion  of  Natura  2000  network 
Functional Urban Areas (FUA) 88 

in 

improvements 

impact  air  quality  and 

in  Växjö’s  transport  system  will 
The 
positively 
the  acoustic 
environment,  as  traffic  is  one  of  its  main  sources  of  air 
and noise pollution. In addition, Växjö adopted an action 
plan  against  traffic  noise  for  2015-2020,  which  includes 
measures  such  as  using  silent  asphalt  and  including 
noise-related requirements in public tenders. 

A total of 13 Swedish cities, communities and regions are 
involved  in  the  URBACT  initiative  to  support  sustainable 
urban  development,  through  20  different  thematic 
networks84. These  experiences  are  now  influencing  the 

83 European Commission, Urban Innovative Actions  
84 URBACT, Associated Networks by country  

85 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Civitas Project. 
86 Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, Country signatories. 
87 European Commission, Eurostat, Pollution, grime or other 
environmental problems by degree of urbanisation. 
88 European Commission, The 7th Report on Economic, Social and 
Territorial Cohesion, 2017, p. 121. 

22 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Nature and cities 

In  Sweden,  around  5 %  of  the  Natura  2000  network  lies 
within functional urban areas89, below the EU average of 
15 % (see Figure 19). 

Urban sprawl 

Sweden had a weighted urban proliferation rate, at 0.42 
UPU/m2 90 in 2009 compared to a European average (EU-
28+4)  of  1.64  UPU/m2,  having  increased  by  23 %  from 
2006 to 200991. 

Traffic congestion and urban mobility 

Traffic  congestion  is  not  one  of  the  main  environmental 
issues  affecting  Sweden.  However,  many  subjects 
addressed in this report, especially air quality and noise, 
are to some extent related to traffic congestion. 

The  total  number  of  road  vehicles 
in  Sweden  has 
increased  to  4.7  million  in  2016.  This  means  that  the 
number of  vehicles per 1000 inhabitants increased from 
470 in 2014 to 474 in 2016. 

This  slight  increase  was  accompanied  by  a  marginally 
lower number of hours that the average driver spends in 
road  congestion  each  year,  down  from  21.3  hours  in 
2014  to  21.2  hours  in  2016.  In  this,  Sweden  scores  well 
below  the  EU’s  worst  performer:  the  UK  with  45.1 
hours92. 

Road traffic intensity per unit of GDP in Sweden in 2014 
was  224  vehicle  kilometres  per  1000  USD,  below  the 
OECD European average of 254 veh.-km/1000 USD93. 
The  modal  split  of  passenger  transport94  in  2015  shows 
that, in Sweden, passenger cars accounted for 83.2 % of 
inland  passenger  transport  (83.4 %  in  the  EU-28),  with 
buses  and  trolley  buses  accounting  for  around  7.3 % 
(9.1 % in the EU-28) and trains for 9.5 % (7.6 % in the EU-
28)95. 

89 European Commission, Definition of Functional Urban Areas. 
90 Urban Permeation Units measure the size of the built-up area as well 
as its degree of dispersion throughout the region. 
91 EEA, Urban Sprawl in Europe, Annex I, 2014, pp.4-5. 
92 European Commission, Hours spent in road congestion annually. 
93 OECD, Road traffic intensity per unit of GDP, 2014 or latest available 
year », in Sectoral and Economic Trends of Environmental Significance, 
OECD publications, Paris, 2015. 
94 The relation between mode of transport and kilometres travelled 
(excluding bicycles and other alternative methods). 
95 Eurostat, Passenger transport Statistics by modal split. 

23 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools 

4. Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental 

funding and investments 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

incentives, 

Financial 
taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

from  environment-related 

Sweden’s  revenue 
taxes 
remains  below  the  EU  average.  Environmental  taxes 
accounted  for  2.22 %  of  GDP  in  2016  (EU-28  average: 
2.44 %) as shown in Figure 20 and energy taxes for 1.75 % 
of  GDP  (EU-28  average:  1.88 %)96.  In  the  same  year, 
environmental tax revenue accounted for 5.05 % of total 
revenue  from  taxes  and  social  security  contributions 
(lower than the EU-28 average of 6.29 %). 

The  structure  of  taxation  shows  that  the  proportion  of 
revenue from labour tax in total tax revenue was higher 
than  the  EU  average,  with  58.3 %  in  2016,  while  the 
implicit tax burden on labour was 40.2 %97. Consumption 
taxes remained relatively low (at 27.5 %, in 23rd place in 
the  EU-28),  showing  considerable  potential  for  shifting 
taxes from labour to consumption and in particular to the 
environment. 

the  European  Semester, 

the  Commission  has 
In 
repeatedly  seen  that  revenue  from  environmental  taxes 
in Sweden has fallen and is relatively low, compared to in 
other Member States. In Sweden’s 2018 Country Report, 
it was said that that reduction had been partially due to 
the  intended  behavioural  impact  of  the  taxes  and  that 
there  had  been  a  focus  on  removing  or 
limiting 
exemptions  and  reductions  in  tax  rates  for  carbon  and 
energy,  which  should  help 
increase  environmental 
revenues98. 

There are nevertheless numerous cases showing the use 
of  sound  fiscal  measures  to  protect  the  environment. 
Good  examples  are  the  NOx-charge  and  the  SO2  tax, 

which led to the reduction of these air pollutants99. Also, 
a  tax on chemicals in certain electronics was introduced 
in  2017,  as  was  a  tax  on  air  travel  and  a  system  of 
indexation  of  environmental  taxes  (tax  on  air  travel  and 
chemical  tax  with  Consumer  Price  Index,  natural  gas  tax 
and waste tax with CPI + 2 %). 

Figure  20:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  %  of  GDP 
(2017) 100 

This  2019  EIR  suggests  that  the  tax  system  can  be  used 
for  environmental  policy  while  also  generating  revenue. 
For example: 

 

 

Economic instruments, such as taxes or charges, can 
be  used  to  promote  waste  prevention,  make  reuse 
and recycling more economically attractive and shift 
from 
recyclable  waste 
reusable 
incineration (see Chapter 1 on waste management). 
Further alignment  and equal treatment  of transport 
to 
fuels 

(for  example,  diesel)  would 

away 

lead 

and 

96 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2018. 
97 European Commission, Taxation Trends Report, 2017. 
98 European Commission, European Semester Country Report 2018, p. 
17. 

99 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Air taxes in Sweden. 
100 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2018. 

24 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

incentives  to 
improvements  and 
environmental 
reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution (see Chapter 3 on 
air quality). 

although  decreased 

Meanwhile,  fossil  fuel  subsidies  decreased  in  the  past 
decade  and  almost  disappeared  by  2016.  Tax 
exemptions, 
importance, 
remained  in  place  in  2016  for  fossil  fuel  use  in  for 
example motor vehicles, domestic shipping and aviation, 
Combined  Heat  and  Power  plants,  mining,  industry, 
agriculture,  forestry  and  aquaculture,  heating.  These 
exceptions added up to SEK 16 billion in 2016101. 

in 

Substantial  progress  has  been  made  on  reducing  the 
‘diesel  differential’  (difference  in  the  price  of  diesel 
versus petrol) since 2005. In 2016, there was a 13 % gap 
between petrol and diesel tax rates, while in 2005 it was 
36 %102.  Excise  tax  rates  levied  on  petrol  and  diesel  in 
2016  at  SEK  6.31  per  litre  for  petrol  and  SEK  5.56  for 
diesel were higher than in 2015103. 

CO2-based  motor  vehicle  taxes  are  in  place  in  Sweden. 
The  annual  circulation  tax  is  based  on  emissions.  A  new 
bonus-malus  system  for  incentives  and  taxation  of  light 
vehicles was introduced as of 1 July 2018104. 

Incentives to encourage purchase of cars with lower CO2 
emissions  have  been  in  place  since  2011105,  linked  to 
annual  circulation  taxes  and  subsidies,  as  well  as  to  the 
acquisition of cleaner vehicles. Emissions of new vehicles 
purchased in Sweden are higher than the average in the 
EU, with CO2 emissions of 123.1 grams per kilometre (the 
EU average was at 118 grams in 2016)106. 

The use of alternative fuels in new passenger cars sold in 
Sweden  has  considerably  increased  over  the  past  few 
years.  In  2016,  the  proportion  of  new  passenger  cars 
using alternative fuels was twice that in 2013107. In public 
transport, the use of alternative fuels is also encouraged, 
though  the  most  common  alternative  fuel  is  biodiesel. 
Sweden  is  one  of  the  few  EU  countries  with  more  than 
5 % of new cars using alternative fuels. 

101 OECD, Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels, 2018. 
102 European Environment Agency 2017, Environmental taxation and EU 
environmental policies, p. 27. 
103 European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database, 2018. 
104 ACEA, CO2 based motor vehicle taxes in Europe. 
105See 
Vägtrafikskattelag Section 11(a) (2006:227). 
106 European Environment Agency, Average CO2 emissions from new 
passenger cars sold in EU-28 Member States plus Norway, Iceland and 
Switzerland in 2016 . 
107 European Commission, Transport in the European Union Current 
Trends and Issues, 2018, pp.27-28. 

supermiljöbilspremie 

(2011:1590)  om 

Förordning 

and 

Green public procurement 

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around  EUR 1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 
GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
impact  such  as 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  green  public 
procurement  (GPP)  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
negative  impact  of  public  spending  on  the  environment 
and  can  help  support  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria108. 

Sweden  is  one  of  the  EU’s  forerunners  in  green  public 
procurement.  The  government  endorsed  a  national 
strategy  on  public  procurement,  including  green  public 
procurement, in 2016. Green public procurement criteria 
are developed at the national level for construction and 
real  estate,  cleaning  and  chemicals,  vehicles  and 
transportation, office and textiles, electricity and lighting, 
food, health and care, services, and toxic free childcare. 

Since  2013,  green  and  sustainable  public  procurement 
have  been  at  the  forefront  of  government  initiatives  to 
strengthen  public  procurement.  To  this  end,  the  budget 
dedicated 
that  support  green  public 
procurement was increased. 

to  actions 

In  2016,  the  Swedish  National  Agency  for  Public 
Procurement  (UHM)  was  founded.  The  agency  has  an 
overall  responsibility  for  developing  and  supporting  the 
procurement  carried  out  by  contracting  authorities  and 
entities.  Sweden  has  adopted  a  voluntary  approach  to 
green public procurement and the UHM’s criteria library 
supports efforts by providing a  comprehensive database 
of  sustainability  standards.  With  the  help  of  an  online 
wizard,  contracting  authorities  are  guided  through  the 
different environmental criteria available for a number of 
products. The wizard allows the selection of three levels 
of criteria: basic, advanced and frontrunner. 

In  addition  to  the  ready-to-use  criteria,  contracting 
authorities  are  able  to  ‘design’  their  own  green  public 
procurement  criteria  with  the  support  available  on  the 
UHM  website.  These  self-designed  criteria  consist 
environmental 
eco-labels 
predominantly  of 

and 

In 

the  Communication 

‘Public  procurement 

108 
for  a  better 
environment’  (COM  (2008)  400)  the  Commission  recommended  the 
creation  of  a  process  for  setting  common  GPP  criteria.  The  basic 
concept  of  GPP  relies  on  having  clear,  verifiable,  justifiable  and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based on a 
life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 

25 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

management systems109. 

European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 

procurement 

According  to  a  green  public  procurement  monitoring 
survey,  carried  out  by  the  Swedish  Environmental 
Protection  Agency  in  2013,  53 %  of  organisations  have 
internal  environmental  objectives  and/or  internal  green 
public 
internal 
environmental objectives are set up, they are monitored 
in 56 % of cases. The survey showed that environmental 
requirements are applied by respondents in the following 
sectors: 
IT 
equipment: 66 %, food products: 58 %, and construction: 
52 %110.  

transportation:  74 %,  energy:  69 %, 

policies.  Where 

A  European  Parliament  study  shows  that  Sweden  is  a 
frontrunner 
green  public 
procurement national action plan111. 

implementing 

the 

in 

Environmental funding and investments 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
economic, 
rural 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

territorial 

cohesion, 

these 

Achieving  sustainability  involves  mobilising  public  and 
private  financing  sources112.  Use  of  the  European 
Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIFs)113  is  essential  if 
countries  are  to  achieve  their  environmental  goals  and 
into  other  policy  areas.  Other 
integrate 
instruments such as Horizon 2020, the LIFE programme114 
and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)115 
may also support the implementation and spread of good 
practices. 
According  to  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer116  on 
attitudes of EU citizens towards the environment, 94 % of 
Swedish  citizens  support  greater  EU 
in 
environmental  protection  in  general  (with  the  EU-28 
average being 85 %). 

investment 

109 PwC, 2015. Strategic use of public procurement in promoting green, 
social and innovative policies, study for the European Commission. 
110 PwC, 2015. Strategic use of public procurement in promoting green, 
social and innovative policies, study for the European Commission. 
111 European Parliament, Green Public Procurement and the Action Plan 
for the Circular Economy, 2017, pp. 79-80. 
112  See,  for  example,  Action  plan  on  financing  sustainable  growth 
(COM(2018) 97).  
113 i.e. the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion 
Fund  (CF),  the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF),  the  European  Agricultural 
Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and  the  European  Maritime  and 
Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The ERDF, the CF and the ESF are referred to as 
the ‘cohesion policy funds’. 
114 European Commission, LIFE programme. 
115  European 
Investments, 2016. 
116 European Commission, 2017, Special 468 Eurobarometer, ‘Attitudes 
of European citizens towards the environment’. 

Investment  Bank,  European  Fund 

for  Strategic 

Sweden  has  been  allocated  EUR 3.65  billion  from  ESIF 
over  2014-2020,  through  13  national  and  regional 
programmes.  With  a  national  contribution  of  EUR 4.33 
billion,  Sweden  has  a  total  budget  of  EUR 7.98  billion  to 
be invested in various areas, from smart specialisation to 
employment  and  the  preservation  of  ecosystems  and 
aquaculture. 

Cohesion policy 

2014-2020, 

Sweden  manages 11 

In 
operational 
programmes  under  the  EU’s  cohesion  policy.  Of  these, 
eight  regional  and  one  national  programme  will  receive 
funding  from  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund 
(ERDF),  one  national  programme  will  receive  funding 
from  the  ERDF  and  one  programme  will  receive  funding 
from  the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF).  In  addition,  there 
will  be  one  national  multi-fund  operational  programme 
on  community-led  local  development,  financed  by  the 
ERDF and the ESF. 

Figure  21:  ESIF  2014-2020  -  EU  allocation  by  theme, 
Sweden (EUR billion)117 

For  2014-2020,  Sweden  has  been  allocated  a  total  of 
around EUR 2.1  billion  (in  current  prices)  for  cohesion 
policy: 

 

 

 

EUR 1.51  billion  is  allocated  to  more  developed 
regions (all); 
EUR 207 million is allocated to the Northern sparsely 
populated  areas  (Övre  Norrland  and  Mellersta 
Norrland); 
EUR 342.3 million is allocated for European territorial 
cooperation; 

117 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 
Data By Country. 

26 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

 

EUR 44.2 million is allocated to Norra Mellansverige, 
Östra  Mellansverige  and  Skåne-Blekinge  for  the 
youth employment Initiative. 

local 
The  multi-fund  programme  for  community-led 
development will be supported with EUR 8.5 million from 
the ERDF and EUR 8.3 million from the ESF. 

The  ESF  has  allocated  a  minimum  of  EUR 730  million  to 
Sweden.  The  actual  amount  will  be  set  in  light  of  the 
specific  challenges  the  country  needs  to  address  in  the 
areas covered by the ESF. 

Rural development 

The  rural  development  programme  (RDP)  for  Sweden 
outlines  the  country’s  priorities  for  using  nearly  EUR 4.3 
billion  of  public  money  that  is  available  for  the  7-year 
period  from  2014  to  2020.  This  includes  EUR 1.8  billion 
from the EU budget, including EUR 18 million transferred 
from  the  2014-2015  budget  for  common  agricultural 
policy  (CAP)  direct  payments,  and  EUR 2.5  billion  of 
national  co-funding,  plus  EUR 2.9  million  of  additional 
national funding top-ups. 

The RDP for Sweden focuses on restoring, preserving and 
improving ecosystems related to agriculture and forestry. 
More  than  28 %  of  agricultural  land  will  come  under 
contracts  for  biodiversity  and  around  33 %  for  better 
water management.  

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 

Sweden’s  investment  package  for  its  maritime,  fisheries 
and  aquaculture  sectors  amounts  to  EUR 172.9  million, 
including EUR 120.2 million of EU funding. 

One  of  the  Swedish  programme’s  main  objectives  is  to 
facilitate  implementation  of  the  discard  ban.  Support 
from the EMFF will therefore boost investments aimed at 
reducing  and  handling  bycatches.  Measures  related  to 
the protection and restoration of marine biodiversity will 
also receive signiﬁcant support. 

The  EMFF  supports  initiatives  run  by  local  groups  to 
promote sustainable ﬁsheries and aquaculture as well as 
economic  growth  and  job-creation.  Projects  ﬁnanced  by 

27 

the  EMFF  typically  involve  the  marketing  of  ﬁsheries 
products (local products and shorter distribution circuits) 
and  the  diversiﬁcation  of  ﬁsheries  businesses  (coastal 
tourism and restaurants). 

Horizon 2020 

Sweden  has  benefited  from  Horizon  2020  funding  since 
the programme started in 2014. As of January 2019, 991 
participants  have  been  granted  a  maximum  amount  of 
EUR 376 million for projects from the Societal Challenges 
work 
environmental 
issues118 119.  

dealing  with 

programmes 

In  addition  to  the  abovementioned  work  programmes, 
climate and biodiversity expenditure is present across the 
entire  Horizon  2020.  In  Sweden,  projects  accepted  for 
funding  in  all  Horizon  2020  working  programmes  until 
December  2018  included  EUR  352  million  destined  to 
climate  action  (26.1 %  of  the  total  Horizon  2020 
contribution  to  the  country)  and  EUR  44  million  for 
biodiversity-related  actions  (3.3 %  of  the  Horizon  2020 
contribution to the country)120. 

LIFE programme 

The  LIFE  programme  is  the  EU’s  funding  instrument  for 
the  environment  and  climate  action.  Since  1992,  when 
the LIFE programme was launched, a total of 144 projects 
have  been  co-financed  in  Sweden121.  Altogether,  they 
represent a total investment of EUR 455 million, of which 
EUR 196  million  has  been  provided  by  the  EU.  Of  the 
projects  funded,  77  have  focused  on  environmental 
innovation (under the ‘resource efficiency priority’ of LIFE 
Environment),  57  on  nature  conservation  and  three  on 
information and communication. 

European Investment Bank (EIB) 

EIB loans in Sweden amounted to nearly EUR 10.4 billion 
in  2013-2017122.  In  2018  alone,  the  EIB  Group  (the 
European Investment Bank and the European Investment 
Fund)123 
loaned  Swedish  businesses  and  public 
institutions EUR 1.6 billion, as shown in Figure 20. Of this, 
EUR 432  million  (27 %)  went  directly  to  environmental 
projects. 

118 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). A maximum grant amount is the maximum 
grant amount decided by the Commission. It normally corresponds to 
the requested grant, but it may be lower. 
119 i.e. (ii) Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine 
and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; (iii) 
Secure, clean and efficient energy; (iv) Smart, green and integrated 
transport; and (v) Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and 
raw materials. 
120 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). 
121 European Commission, LIFE in Sweden, 2017. 
122 Missing. 
123 The EIB Group includes EIB and EFSI investments and loans. 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

   Figure 22: EIB loans to Sweden in 2018124 

including 

in  relation  to  preventive 
Framework, 
measures  against  potential  damage  caused  by 
protected species and the promotion of coexistence. 

European Fund for Strategic Investments 

The  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI) 
addresses  the  current  investment  gap  in  the  EU.  As  of 
January 2019, it has mobilised more than EUR 2.7 billion 
in  Sweden,  and  the  secondary  investment  triggered  by 
these funds is expected to be EUR 10.6 billion125. 

National environmental financing 

Sweden  spent  EUR 1 419.7  billion  on  environmental 
protection  in  2016,  an  increase  of  9 %  from  2015126. 
53.6 %  of  these  payments  were  allocated  to  waste 
management activities (the average in the EU is 49.7 %). 
EUR 56.5  million  were  allocated  to  pollution  abatement 
(3.9 % of total) and 14.3)127. Between 2012 and 2016, the 
general 
environmental 
funding 
protection added up to EUR 6 940 billion128. 

government 

for 

In  addition  to  EU  funding,  the  Swedish  Government 
provides  state  funding  for  green  infrastructure  via  the 
EPA,  the  County  Administrative  Boards  and  different 
foundations  that  manage  national  parks  and  other 
protected  areas.  In  2016  alone,  approximately  SEK  400 
million  (c.  EUR 42  million)  was  granted,  some  35 %  of 
which  was  allocated  to  nature  maintenance  and 
restoration, in particular of pastures and meadows. 

As  it  has  been  mentioned  in  the  report,  one  of  the 
challenges  for  Sweden  is  to  ensure  that  environmental 
financing remains at an adequate level. Existent financial 
gaps 
in  nature  protection  are  delaying  the  correct 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  law  and  policies. 
Therefore,  ensuring  financial  resources  to  reduce  the 
implementation  gap  should  be  considered  as  a  priority 
for the country. 

2019 priority action 

  Take advantage of the funding possibilities for Natura 
Financial 

the  next  Multiannual 

2000  under 

124 EIB, Sweden and the EIB, 2018. 
125 European Investment Bank, EFSI project map. 
126 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 
127 No data is available on the funds used for waste water management. 
128 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 

28 

 
                                                                 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

5. Strengthening environmental governance 

Information,  public  participation  and  access  to 
justice 

value  spatial  data  sets  for  the 
environmental legislation136. 

implementation  of 

Figure  23:  Access  to  spatial  data  through  view  and 
download services in Sweden (2017) 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively129.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment130. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)131. 

Environmental information 

Environmental 

Protection  Agency132 

for  the 
Sweden  has  a  partly  centralized  system 
dissemination  of  environmental  data.  The  portal  of  the 
Swedish 
is 
comprehensive and offers a  pleasant  user  experience. It 
information  on  different 
includes  many  useful 
environmental  domains.  The  Environmental  Data 
Portal133,  also  governed  by  the  EPA,  plays  an  important 
role  as  well.  The  Swedish  INSPIRE  portal  seems  to  have 
no link to the EPA’s portals.  

Sweden’s  performance  on  implementing  the  INSPIRE 
Directive 
is  good.  It  has  been  reviewed  based  on 
Sweden’s  2016  implementation  report134  and  its  most 
from  2017135.  However, 
recent  monitoring  data 
additional  efforts  are  needed  to  further  improve  data 
accessibility  through  services,  to  improve  the  conditions 
for data reuse and to prioritise environmental datasets in 
implementation,  in  particular  those  identified  as  high-

129  The  Aarhus  Convention,  the  Access  to  Environmental  Information 
Directive  2003/4/EC  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive  2007/2/EC  together 
create a legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information 
between  public  authorities  and  with  the  public.  This  EIR  focuses  on 
INSPIRE. 
130  The  guarantees  are  explained  in  Commission  Notice  on  access  to 
justice  in  environmental  matters,  OJL  275,  18.8.2017  and  a  related 
Citizen’s Guide. 
131  This EIR  looks at  how  well  Member  States explain access  to  justice 
rights  to  the  public,  and  at  legal  standing  and  other  major  barriers  to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
132 Naturvardsverket: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 
133 Miljödataportalen  
134 INSPIRE SE country sheet 2017. 
135 INSPIRE monitoring dashboard. 

29 

Public participation 

In  Sweden,  public  participation  is  guaranteed  in  the 
Swedish  Environment  Code  (1998:08)  since  quite  some 
time.  In  particular,  Chapter  6  sets  out  the  rules  on 
participation 
the  environmental  assessment  of 
projects,  plans  and  programmes  in  Sweden  and  across 
borders137. Several sectoral provisions also exist. 

in 

Overall,  according  to  a  recent  EUPACK  study,  Sweden 
makes  possible  strong  public  participation  in  decision-
making138.  Society  is  active,  which  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that around 80 % of the adult population are members of 
an  association  and  48 %  state  that  they  volunteer  in  an 
NGO.  There  is  also  a  whole  range  of  new  forms  of 
participation,  both  practised  and  recognised,  including 
more  informal  networks  and  groups,  as  well  as  donor 
activism139.  Moreover, 
Swedish  environment 
the 
movement  is  seen  as  a  movement  that  has  managed  to 
push environmental questions to the top of the political 
agenda without large resources140. 
The 2017 Eurobarometer141 shows that, in Sweden, there 
is  very  strong  agreement  (96 %  of  respondents)  that  an 

136 European Commission, List of high value spatial data sets. 
137 Swedish Environment Code. 
138 European Commission, EUPACK study. 
139 Framtidens civilsamhälle. 
140the Swedish environment movement, p. 368. 
141 European Commission, 2017, Special 468 Eurobarometer, ‘Attitudes 
of European citizens towards the environment’. 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

individual can play a role in protecting the environment; 
this has remained unchanged since 2014. 

Access to justice 

More progress is needed when it comes to informing the 
general  public  about  effective  remedies  for  individuals 
and  environmental  associations  to  access  justice 
in 
environmental matters under Swedish and EU law. Even 
if  Swedish  Environmental  Protection  Agency  (SEPA)  has 
an  updated  and  user-friendly  website  about  laws  and 
ordinances  relevant  to  environmental  questions  as  well 
as  procedures  and  costs,  it  lacks  clear  information  on 
how  to  proceed  if  a  person  should  want  to  appeal  a 
decision, or what options a  member of the public has in 
terms  of  access  to  justice  on  environmental  matters. 
implementation  of  decisions 
Most  of  the  practical 
happens at regional and local level and thus some of the 
information  is  provided  through  the  websites  of  the  21 
County  Administrative  Boards  (CABs)  and  the  290  local 
authorities,  but  this  varies  greatly.  Structured  and  user-
friendly  information  should  be  available  online,  and  this 
should  be  ensured  by  public  authorities,  at  central  or 
local level. 

For  administrative  procedures, 
the  Administrative 
Procedure Act142 states that individuals that have a direct 
concern or private interest  in a  particular  matter can be 
seen  as  concerned  parties.  The  notion  of  direct  concern 
or  private 
interpreted  broadly  by  the 
administration  

interest 

is 

As  regards  air  quality  plans,  there  are  existing  cases 
where  citizens  and  NGOs  have  had  legal  standing  on 
issues relating to them, but not specifically relating to the 
absence  of  an  air  quality  plan.  Therefore,  it  remains 
legal 
unclear  whether 
standing in all cases. 

individuals  and  NGOs  have 

the 

release  of 

There  are  no  fees  for  appeals  of  decisions  on  permits, 
environmental 
participation  or 
information.  The  ‘loser  pays’  principle  does  not  apply  in 
judicial  procedures.  Moreover,  no  court,  expert  or 
witness fees are envisaged for these. It is not mandatory 
to have a lawyer, but if a party decides to hire one they 
must pay the cost themselves. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Improve  access  to  spatial  data  and  services  by 
making  stronger 
linkages  between  the  country 
INSPIRE  portals  ,  identify  and  document  all  spatial 
datasets  required  to  implement  environmental  law, 
and  make  the  data  and  documentation  at  least 
accessible  'as  is'  to  other  public  authorities  and  the 
public  through  the  digital  services  envisaged  in  the 
INSPIRE Directive. 

  Better inform the public about their access to justice 
rights, notably in relation to air pollution and nature.  

Compliance assurance 

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste143.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion144;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring145; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement146.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability147 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

In judicial procedures, the Environmental Code generally 
interprets  the  notion  of  concerned  parties  in  the  same 
way as the Administrative Procedure Act, thus individuals 
seen  as  concerned  parties  have  legal  standing.  NGOs 
have  a  legal  standing  under  the  Environmental  Code  on 
procedures  relating  to  permit  matters,  revocation  of 
nature  conservation,  shoreline  protection  cases  and 
administrative  decisions 
concerning  environmental 
liability.  However,  not  all  projects  (such  as  forestry  or 
mining) fall under the Environmental Code. 

142 The Swedish Administrative Procedure Act. 

143  The  concept  is  explained  in  detail  in  the  Communication  on  ‘EU 
actions  to 
improve  environmental  compliance  and  governance’ 
COM(2018)10  and  the  related  Commission  Staff  Working  Document, 
SWD(2018)10. 
144 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation. 
145 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
146This  EIR  focuses  on  the  availability  of  enforcement  data  and  co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
147  The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  2004/35/EC,  creates  the 
framework. 

30 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Compliance promotion and monitoring 

The  quality  of  online  information  to  farmers  on  how  to 
comply  with  obligations  on  nitrates  and  nature  is  an 
indicator of how actively authorities promote compliance 
in  subject-areas  with  serious  implementation  gaps.  In 
Sweden,  the  Board  of  Agriculture  (Jordbruksverket) 
provides  easily  available  and  clear  guidance  for  farmers 
on  fertiliser  use  and  storage,  modalities  for  economic 
compensation 
the  controls 
required148. 

the  actions,  and 

for 

For  landowners  of  Natura  2000  sites,  there  is  general 
Natura  2000  information  on  the  SEPA  website149.  This 
information  is  mainly  aimed  at  the  CABs  and  local 
authorities.  In  addition,  there  is  also  a  handbook  on 
Natura  2000  areas,  with 
for 
example  on  how  to  classify  areas,  how  they  should  be 
managed,  and  how  environmental  impact  assessments 
related to Natura 2000 sites should be carried out. 

information 

includes 

industrial 

inspect  these 

Major 
installations  can  present  serious 
pollution  risks.  Public  authorities  are  required  to  have 
plans  to 
installations  and  to  make 
individual  inspection  reports  available  to  the  public150. 
The SEPA website provides statistical information related 
to  industrial  inspections.  SEPA  also  publishes  an  annual 
activity  report  which  is  based  on  reports  from  the  CABs 
and  local  authorities  and  includes  information  on  the 
number  of  industrial  inspections  and  self-monitoring 
activities  carried  out  by  operators.  However,  these 
reports  do  not  include  details  of  individual  cases  nor  of 
identified non-compliance. No public inspection plans or 
individual  inspection  reports  were  found  on  Sweden’s 
official websites. 

In  Sweden,  satellite  data  is  used  to  monitor  logging  of 
protected  forests151,  and  drones  are  used  to  deter  and 
detect  illegal  waste  shipping152.  Networks  are  set  up  to 
coordinate  environmental  inspections  in  a  number  of 
regions  and  all  relevant  information  relating  to  these  is 
accessible  on  the  environmental  cooperation  website 
(Miljösamverkan)153. 

Citizen science and complaint handling 

Engagement of citizens, including through citizen science, 
can deepen knowledge about the environment and help 
the authorities in their work. In Sweden, the government 
uses statistics from civil society, e.g. bird and deer counts 
produced  by  affiliated  organisations154.  In  the  specific 

148 The Swedish Board of Agriculture, guidance. 
149 SEPA, Natura 2000 website. 
150 Article 23, Industrial Emissions Directive, 2010/75/EU. 
151 Kingdom of Sweden, Budget proposition,2016 . 
152 IMPEL, Drones, court cases and data visualisation.   
153Miljösamverkan, environmental cooperation website. 
154Statistic Sweden, publication, p. 47. 

31 

introduced  and 

invasive  species,  citizen 
case  of 
observation is used in order to get a better picture of the 
situation155.  In  addition  to  this,  there  are  a  number  of 
specific observation databases and apps which feed into 
monitoring,  such  as  a  species  portal156  or  the  Skandobs, 
app  on  predator  observation157.  However,  there  is  no 
clear information on the extent to which this information 
is used to ensure compliance. 

The availability of clear online information about how to 
make  a  complaint  is  an  indicator  of  how  responsive 
authorities are to complaints from the public. In Sweden, 
there is easily accessible information on how citizens can 
report environmental crimes or crimes related to nature 
to  the  police  and  the  CABs158.  The  police  website  also 
includes  a  specific  section  on  environmental  crimes  and 
them159.  Most 
complaints  on 
how 
environmental  nuisance  and  damage 
should  be 
submitted to the competent local authority as this is the 
responsible  entity.  The  level  of  accessible  information 
varies depending on the municipality. 

report 

to 

The SEPA website has a section where maladministration 
can be reported, including a form for whistle-blowers160. 

Enforcement 

inspections  published 

When  monitoring 
identifies  problems,  a  range  of 
responses  may  be  appropriate.  The  SEPA  annual  report 
on  environmental 
in  2018 
highlights  the  need  for  a  better  follow  up  from  the 
relevant authorities in relation to identified cases of non-
compliance;  it  also  states  that  better  coordination  and 
information  exchange  are  needed  between 
the 
authorities  working  with  environmental  inspections161. 
SEPA has a  database that provides information on court 
cases and trials relating to a wide range of environmental 
topics162. The Land and Environment Court of Appeal also 
runs an open database of cases163. 

Information  on  follow-up  to  detected  cross-compliance 
breaches is not available164. 

Tackling  waste,  wildlife  crimes  and  other  environmental 
offences 
It  requires  close 
cooperation  between  inspectors,  customs  authorities, 
police  and  prosecutors.  To  combat  environmental  crime 

is  especially  challenging. 

155Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, campaign. 
156 Artportalen. 
157 SEPA, app on predator observation. 
158 SEPA, information on how to report environmental crimes. 
159 Swedish police website. 
160 SEPA, form for reporting maladministration. 
161 SEPA, Annual report on environmental inspections, 2018. 
162 SEPA, database on environmental court cases. 
163 The Land and Environment Court of Appeal , open database. 
164 The information available on the website of the Board of Agriculture 
includes explanations about cross compliance and what happens in case 
a breach is detected, but no statistics are available 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

in  general,  there  are  cooperation  mechanisms  set  up 
between  the  Swedish  Police  (Polisen),  SEPA,  customs 
authorities  (Tullverket)165,  the  Agriculture  Agency,  the 
Swedish  Coast  Guard  (Kustbevakningen)166  and  the 
Swedish  Chemicals  Inspection.  Specific  information  on 
cooperation  related  to  wildlife  crimes  is  available.  The 
Swedish  Agriculture  Agency,  as  Sweden's  administrative 
CITES authority, convenes the National Operational CITES 
Group167,  which  offers  a  cooperation  forum  where 
individual  current  cases  and  selected  phenomena 
regarding  (CITES-related)  nature  conservation  violations 
can be discussed and further measures planned168.  

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  establishes  a 
framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’  principle  to 
prevent  and  remedy  environmental  damage.  The  2017 
EIR 
information  on 
environmental  damage,  on 
financial  security  and 
guidance.  The  Commission  is  still  collecting  evidence  on 
the progress made. 

focused  on  gathering  better 

2019 priority actions 

  Better 

inform 

the  public  about 

compliance 
promotion,  monitoring  and  enforcement.  At  a 
minimum  this  should  involve  providing  more  online 
information  on 
inspection  plans  and  reports  on 
industrial inspections.  

with  each  other,  within  a  system  of  multi-level 
governance. 

In  order  to  ensure  effective  environmental  governance, 
environmental authorities have to employ staff with the 
appropriate administrative and technical knowledge and 
skills.  With  the  2017  EIR,  the  Commission  introduced 
TAIEX-EIR  peer-to-peer  (P2P)  as  a  new  instrument  that 
facilitates  peer  learning  between  experts  from  Member 
States’ environmental authorities. 

Sweden shared its expertise on two particular occasions: 

 

in  Graz, 

The  city  of  Växjö  participated  in  a  TAIEX-EIR  P2P 
workshop  in  Galway,  Ireland  on  21–22 February 
2018; cities participating in the Green Leaf Network, 
from  Spain,  Ireland,  Belgium,  Portugal  and  Sweden, 
worked together and shared best practices in waste 
management and the green economy in urban areas. 
  A  TAIEX-EIR  P2P  workshop  on  10–11 September 
2018 
together 
Austria 
environmental  authorities,  regions  and  cities  from 
Austria,  Croatia,  Estonia,  Germany,  Hungary,  Italy, 
Lithuania,  Poland,  Romania,  Slovak  Republic,  Spain 
and  Sweden.  Participants  exchanged  experiences 
and  good  practices  in  reducing  air  pollution  and 
improving  the  effectiveness  of  air  quality  plans  in 
zones  and  agglomerations  where  the 
levels  of 
pollutants  in  ambient  air  exceeded  limit  or  target 
values. 

brought 

  Publish  information  on  the  follow-up  to  detected 
cross-compliance breaches on nitrates and nature. 

Coordination and integration 

  Ensure  more 

information 

is  available  on  how 
professionals dealing with environmental crime work 
together. 
Improve  financial  security  for  liabilities  and  ELD-
guidance  and  publish  information  on  environmental 
damage. 

 

Effectiveness of environmental administrations 

in 

involved 

implementing 

Those 
environmental 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

Central, regional and local administrations must have the 
ability  to  carry  out  their  own  tasks  and  work  effectively 

165 Swedish Customs authorities. 
166 Swedish Coast Guard. 
167 The group consists of representatives from CAB, SEPA, SWAM, Coast 
Guard, Customs, Police Office (NOA's Art Protection Crime Group) and 
Prosecutor's Office (REMA).  
168The  Swedish  Agency  for  Agriculture,  Report  2016:02,  Reinforce 
measures against species protection offenses.  

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 
into national law provides an opportunity for countries to 
streamline their regulatory framework on environmental 
assessments.  Despite  a  delay,  Sweden  has  now 
transposed the revised Directive.  

the 

in  environmental  assessments 

The  Commission  encourages 
streamlining  of 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
for 
avoid  overlaps 
projects.  Streamlining  helps  to  reduce  unnecessary 
administrative  burden. 
It  also  accelerates  decision 
making,  without  compromising  the  quality  of  the 
environmental  assessment  procedure169.  Sweden  has 
environmental 
streamlining 
introduced 
assessments under the EIA Directive and the Habitats and 
Water Framework Directives. 

the 

of 

169 The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats 
Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1. . 

32 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

Adaptability, 
(eGovernment) 

reform 

dynamics 

and 

innovation 

On  digital  public  services,  Sweden  performs  well.  The 
country  is  a  frontrunner  in  the  delivery  of  digital  public 
services among EU countries, ranked fifth in the EU with 
a  score  of  70.8/100  based  on  Europe's  Digital  Progress 
Report 2018, well above the EU28 average (57.5/100)170.  

Digital  public  services  are  well  developed  in  Sweden  on 
both the demand and supply sides. A challenge to further 
development  and  uptake  is  the  decentralised  public 
administration.  Moreover,  Sweden  continues  to 
lag 
behind when it comes to open data even with a marked 
improvement  based  on  Europe's  Digital  Progress  Report 
2018 to 65/100 compared to the previous year’s score of 
44/100171. 

In the DESI Report 2018, Sweden had a score of 70 out of 
100 on digital public services, higher than the EU average 
of 58172. 

Enabling financing and effective use of funds 

The  Swedish  authorities,  at  national  and  regional  level, 
have  extensive  experience  in  the  management  of  EU 
funding and no major problems arise in this respect.  

2019 priority action 

  Sweden can further improve its overall environmental 
citizen 
as 
governance 
engagement, compliance and enforcement, as well as 
administrative capacity and coordination). 

transparency, 

(such 

International agreements 

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

The EU is committed to strengthening environmental law 
and its implementation globally. It therefore continues to 
support  the  Global  Pact  for  the  Environment  process, 
which  was  launched  by  the  United  Nations  General 
Assembly  in  May  2018173.  The  EIR  is  one  of  the  tools  to 
ensure  that  the  Member  States  set  a  good  example  by 
respecting  European  Union  environmental  policies  and 
laws  and  international  agreements.  Sweden  has  signed 
and 
ratified  almost  all  multilateral  environmental 
agreements. It has signed but not yet ratified the Nagoya 
Protocol. 

Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)174/  Forest  Law 
Enforcement,  Governance 
(FLEGT) 
Regulation175 

Trade 

and 

In accordance with the EUTR, which prohibits the placing 
illegally  harvested  timber, 
on  the  EU  market  of 
competent  authorities 
in  EU  Member  States  must 
conduct  regular  checks  on  operators  and  traders,  and 
apply penalties in cases of non-compliance. 

Between March 2015 and February 2017, Sweden carried 
out  all  14  planned  checks  on  operators  of  domestic 
timber, and all 71 planned checks on operators importing 
timber.  These  numbers  remain  low  compared  to  the 
estimated number of operators whose first placement of 
timber  on  the  EU  market  is  in  Sweden176.  Sweden  has 
taken several enforcement actions against operators who 
infringed the due diligence requirement and prohibition; 
however, no penalties have been imposed so far. 

With  regard  to  cooperation  (Article 12  EUTR),  Sweden 
reported  working  with  various  institutions  and  other  EU 
competent  authorities,  mainly  through  participation  in 
meetings of the FLEGT/EUTR expert group and the ad hoc 
expert group on FLEGT. Sweden also provided training to 
delegates  of  non-EU  countries,  notably  to  the  State 
Forest Agency of China and to Norwegian operators. 

Genetic  resources:  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)177  

law 

into  EU 

In  accordance  with  the  EU  ABS  Regulation,  which 
transposes 
the  required  compliance 
measures  under  the  Nagoya  Protocol,  Sweden  has 
designated competent authorities and imposed sanctions 
for  infringements  of  the  Regulation.  No  due  diligence 
declaration  was  submitted  so  far  and  no  penalties  have 
been  applied.  Sweden  has  submitted  its  first  report  on 
implementation  of  the  EU  ABS  Regulation  to  the 
Commission (end 2017). 

International  wildlife 
the  Convention  on 
trade: 
International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES)178 

Under  the  Basic  Regulation 
(Reg.  338/97),  which 
transposes  the  major  obligations  stemming  from  the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) into EU law, Sweden has 
set  up  the  required  national  authorities  and  processes 

170 European Commission, Europe's Digital Progress Report (EDPR) 2018 
Country Profile Sweden, p. 10. 
171 European Commission, Europe's Digital Progress Report (EDPR) 2018 
Country Profile Sweden, p. 10/11. 
172  European  Commission,  Digital  Economy  and  Society  Index  Report 
2018, Digital Public Services. 
173 UN General Assembly Resolution 72/277 and Organizational session 
of the ad hoc open-ended working group.  

174 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010. 
175 Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005. 
176 Based on customs’ data, it was estimated that 100 Swedish 
operators placed domestic timber on the EU market for the first time 
and 4’500 imported timber. 
177 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014.  
178  The  Convention  on  International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 

33 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Sweden 

(requests  for)  import,  (re-)  export  and  intra-EU  trade 
documents on a regular basis. 

Reports  on  seizures  of  illegal  shipments,  in  particular 
those  reported  every  six  months  to  TRAFFIC  under  its 
contract  with  the  Commission,  and  those  exchanged 
through  the  EU-TWIX  platform,  show  that  Sweden’s 
customs authorities are active in this area. 

To  ensure  full  implementation  of  the  EU  Wildlife  Action 
Plan  (2016),  Sweden  provides  its  enforcement  agencies, 
e.g.  custom  officers,  with  specific  training  to  develop 
knowledge of EU wildlife regulations. 

Sustainable development  and the implementation 
of the UN SDGs 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic policies in a coherent framework and therefore 
helps  to 
legislation  and 
policies. 

implement  environmental 

All  environmental  policy  and  governance  in  Sweden  is 
guided  by  environmental  quality  objectives,  which  span 
all  administrative  sectors.  There  is  funding  allocated  to 
their implementation. 

All  Swedish  ministries  have  instructions  to  mainstream 
the  SDGs  into  their  specific  areas.  The  government  has 
also  asked  agencies  and  the  CABs  to  start  work  on 
implementing  the  SDGs.  A  delegation  for  Agenda  2030 
has  been  appointed,  with  one  of  the  tasks  being  to 
propose a national action plan for Agenda 2030. It shared 
a first draft in May 2017, but a final version has not been 
approved  yet. 
line  with  the  draft  action  plan 
submitted,  current  work  is  focused  on  mapping  the 
overlaps between existing national decisions and Agenda 
2030. 

In 

The  delegation  for  Agenda  2030  is  also  working  on 
spreading  knowledge  about  the  SDGs  and  informing  the 
public about SDG related work. 

A Nordic Council working group has prepared a report on 
the  most  relevant  SDGs  and  how  they  are  implemented 
in the Nordic countries179. 

Sweden  submitted  its  National  Voluntary  Review  on  the 
implementation of the SDGs to the UN in 2017. 

179 Nordic Council working group, report. 

34