29 March 2023
Today's Top Nordic Green News:
- Swedish GHG set to increase due to government policies, warns Climate Policy Council
- BusinessEurope calls for urgent action to boost competitiveness, despite falling energy prices
- Scandinavian Biogas reveals growth plans in its annual and sustainability report for 2022
Swedish GHG set to increase due to government policies, warns Climate Policy Council
The Swedish Climate Policy Council (Sw. Klimatpolitiska Rådet) has reported that Sweden's greenhouse gas emissions are set to increase due to the policies pursued by the current government, with 2022 being the first year in two decades where this has occurred due to policy, rather than economic fluctuations. The council warns that the government must reverse this trend in order to reach the net zero emissions target by 2045. The government has been criticised for a lack of momentum, while its emphasis on electrification is seen as inadequate by the council. The council has made ten recommendations for the government to address the situation.
Moreover, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's (Sw. Naturvårdsverket) Head of Climate, Stefan Nyström, believes that Swedish business is ready for the green transition, but the country's politicians are not. He argues that Swedish climate policy is currently acting as a brake on the green transformation of business and that it needs to extend across party lines and terms of office. According to Nyström, the Swedish business community is driving the green transition forward, with the steel industry playing a key role. For this transformation to occur, companies require access to cheap, competitive and emission-free electricity. The steel industry is one of Sweden's largest emission sources, and globally is responsible for 7% of the world's CO2 emissions.
BusinessEurope calls for urgent action to boost competitiveness, despite falling energy prices
BusinessEurope, a group representing businesses across the European Union, has issued a joint position paper calling for urgent action to boost competitiveness and provide regulatory breathing space for businesses. They argue that a "business as usual" agenda is not an option, and that Europe's position as an attractive and competitive place for investment and business is under threat. Falling energy prices and declining inflation should not mislead policymakers, who need to take radical action to keep economic output, innovation and investment within Europe. The group is urging policy-makers at European, national and regional levels to take action in 2023.
Confederation of Swedish Industry urges government to accelerate expansion of wind power and shorten permit processes
The Confederation of Swedish Industry (Sw. Svenskt Näringsliv) has released a report calling on the government to accelerate the expansion of wind power, both on land and at sea. The report stresses the need for all fossil-free power production, including hydropower, wind power and nuclear power, to be expanded. The report outlines a long list of requirements, with the consistent theme being the need for shorter processes for obtaining a permit to build wind power. Currently, it takes 10-12 years from initial application to completed wind farm. The Swedish Business Association is demanding that in the regulatory letters of authorities, the need for the electrification of the economy should be emphasised, and permit processes should be shortened. The report argues that the Environmental Code needs to be rewritten and happen quickly.
Danish Government launches National Energy Crisis Team (NEKST) to accelerate green transition
Denmark's Climate, Energy and Supply Minister, Lars Aagaard (M), has launched the National Energy Crisis Team (NEKST) to accelerate the country's green transition. NEKST will focus on identifying barriers to green heat and renewable energy on land and work closely with authorities, municipalities and the energy sector to find solutions. NEKST is a new working method designed to foster intensive cooperation and solution-focused teamwork between all relevant actors. The government hopes that NEKST's intensive parallel sprints on various green challenges will help identify and remove concrete barriers to the green transition in Denmark.
Scandinavian Biogas reveals growth plans in its annual and sustainability report for 2022
Scandinavian Biogas, a producer of biogas in the Nordic countries, has published its annual and sustainability report for 2022. The report reveals the company's ambition to reach a production capacity of at least 3 TWh by 2030, in response to the EU Commission's target for sustainable biomethane production. Moorver, the company aims to have total revenues amounting to approximately SEK 650 million. Scandinavian Biogas has invested in liquid biogas production and entered into delivery agreements with Alternoil and the Nordic region for REEFUEL, a fossil-free vehicle fuel. The company also received investment grants and carried out a directed share issue to increase its pace of business development.
What we’re reading
- Official UK report to call for green aviation fuel subsidies (Financial Times)
About Nordic Green News
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.
Powered by Notified