The most important thing for the climate is, according to Östman, what happens with emissions in the short term.
And they need to decrease significantly. Now. Instead of increasing, as they do due to the government's inadequate climate policy. And in that situation, in the midst of the escalating climate crisis, the government chooses to review the goals instead of sharpening the policy, she says.
Helldén: A smokescreen
The government says it will link the Swedish goals to the European ones.
But at the same time, we know that the policy being pursued today is insufficient. Both to reach Sweden's and the EU's goals. So, in reality, Sweden's climate policy is not good enough according to all measurements, regardless of which goals are used.
The Green Party's spokesperson Daniel Helldén calls the decision "a smokescreen".
What the government should do now, after all the criticism of the climate policy, is to take measures here and now that reduce emissions, says Kristina Östman.
Regardless of whether it's a smokescreen or not, it's something other than what needs to be done. Emissions are not affected by which goals we have, but by which policy is pursued. And it's inadequate in the climate area today.
WWF: Show leadership
The newly re-elected President Donald Trump has once again seen to it that the USA leaves the Paris Agreement. And globally, 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded.
Against that background, David Mjureke, climate expert at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), thinks that countries like Sweden "more than ever" need to "show leadership in the climate issue". But the message that the government has given to the Environmental Objectives Committee to review the interim targets for Sweden's climate policy "can be interpreted as the government wanting to backtrack", Mjureke believes.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, a quote from Kristina Östman was attributed to the wrong person.
