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OECD Environmental Performance Reviews
OECD Environmental Performance Reviews SWEDEN
This book is part of the OECD Environmental Performance Reviews Programme which conducts peer reviews of environmental conditions and progress in each member country. It scrutinises efforts to meet both domestic objectives and international commitments. The analyses presented are supported by a broad range of economic and environmental data and lead to recommendations for further environmental and sustainable development progress. A first cycle of OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, covering all member countries, was completed in 2000. The second cycle focuses on environmental management, sustainable development and international commitments.
Latest reviews available • Australia • Switzerland • Belgium • Czech Republic • Denmark • Russian Federation* • Turkey • Hungary • Greece • Ireland • Luxembourg • OECD countries • Germany • Iceland • Norway • Portugal • Slovak Republic • Japan • United Kingdom • Italy • Netherlands • Poland • Mexico • Austria • Canada • Sweden • Spain
1998 1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004
* Non-OECD member country.
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OECD Environmental Performance Reviews SWEDEN
Topics covered: Environmental Policies Water Management Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Economy, Society and Environment Health and Environment International Co-operation
SWEDEN
OECD Environmental Performance Reviews
SWEDEN
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: – to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; – to contribute to sound economic expansion in member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and – to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, nondiscriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996), Korea (12th December 1996) and the Slovak Republic (14th December 2000). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention).
Publié en français sous le titre : Examens environnementaux de l’OCDE SUÈDE
© OECD 2004 Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France, tel. (33-1) 44 07 47 70, fax (33-1) 46 34 67 19, for every country except the United States. In the United States permission should be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer Service, (508)750-8400, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA, or CCC Online: www.copyright.com. All other applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this book should be made to OECD Publications, 2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.
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FOREWORD The principal aim of the OECD’s Environmental Performance Reviews programme is to help member countries improve their individual and collective performances in environmental management with the following primary goals: – to help individual governments assess progress; – to promote a continuous policy dialogue among member countries, through a peer review process; and – to stimulate greater accountability from member countries’ governments towards their public opinion, within developed countries and beyond. Environmental performance is assessed with regard to the degree of achievement of domestic objectives and international commitments. Such objectives and commitments may be broad aims, specific qualitative goals, precise quantitative targets or a commitment to a set of measures to be taken. Assessment of environmental performance is also placed within the context of historical environmental records, the present state of the environment, the physical endowment of the country in natural resources, its economic conditions and demographic trends. These systematic and independent reviews have been conducted for all member countries as part of the first cycle of reviews. The OECD is now engaged in the second cycle of reviews directed at promoting sustainable development, with emphasis on implementation of domestic and international environmental policy, as well as on the integration of economic, social and environmental decision-making. The present report reviews Sweden’s environmental performance. The OECD extends its most sincere thanks to all those who helped in the course of this review, to the representatives of member countries to the Working Party on Environmental Performance, and especially to the examining countries (Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland) and their experts. The OECD is particularly indebted to the Government of Sweden for its co-operation in expediting the provision of information and the organisation of the experts’ mission to Sweden, and in facilitating contacts with many individuals both inside and outside administrative and governmental structures. The present review benefited from grant support from Japan, Norway and Switzerland.
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OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Sweden
The OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance conducted the review of Sweden at its meeting on 30 June-2 July 2004 and approved its conclusions and recommendations. This report is published under the authority of the SecretaryGeneral of the OECD.
Lorents G. Lorentsen Director, Environment Directorate
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................
15
1. Environmental Management ........................................................................ Implementing more efficient environmental policies .................................. Water ............................................................................................................ Nature and biodiversity ................................................................................ 2. Towards Sustainable Development .............................................................. Integration of environmental concerns into economic decisions ................. Integration of environmental and social concerns........................................ Health ........................................................................................................... 3. International Commitments..........................................................................
16 16 18 20 21 21 23 24 25
Part I ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2. IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES ....................................
29
Recommendations.............................................................................................. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 1. Institutional and Legal Framework .............................................................. 1.1 Reform of environmental legislation: the Environmental Code......... 1.2 EU environmental regulations ............................................................ 1.3 Environmental planning reform: EQOs and targets ........................... 2. Regulatory Instruments ................................................................................ 2.1 Licensing ............................................................................................ 2.2 Inspection and enforcement................................................................ 2.3 Administrative and judicial procedures.............................................. 3. Economic Instruments.................................................................................. 4. Other Instruments: Spatial Planning and EIA .............................................. 4.1 Spatial planning .................................................................................. 4.2 Environmental impact assessment...................................................... 5. The Role of Industry .................................................................................... 5.1 Environmental management and initiatives ....................................... 5.2 Influencing product and production processes ...................................
30 30 32 33 36 36 40 40 41 43 45 47 48 49 49 50 51
3. WATER MANAGEMENT ..............................................................................
53
Recommendations.............................................................................................. 54 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 54
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1. Water Management Objectives .................................................................... 2. Performance Concerning Freshwater Resources.......................................... 2.1 Progress on acidification .................................................................... 2.2 Dealing with eutrophication ............................................................... 2.3 Toxic contaminants............................................................................. 2.4 Groundwater quality ........................................................................... 3. Performance Concerning the Baltic and North Seas.................................... 4. Waste Water Treatment ................................................................................ 5. Integrating Agricultural and Water Policies................................................. 6. Expenditure and Water Charges ................................................................... 6.1 Expenditure and financing.................................................................. 6.2 Water charges and economic instruments...........................................
55 61 63 63 64 66 66 67 68 73 73 74
4. NATURE CONSERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY................................... Recommendations.............................................................................................. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 1. Policy Objectives.......................................................................................... 2. State of Nature and Biodiversity .................................................................. 2.1 Species ................................................................................................ 2.2 Habitats............................................................................................... 3. Policy Responses.......................................................................................... 3.1 Protected areas.................................................................................... 3.2 Forestry............................................................................................... 3.3 Agriculture.......................................................................................... 3.4 Freshwater fishing and ecosystems .................................................... 3.5 Shore protection, land use changes..................................................... 3.6 Wetland protection.............................................................................. 3.7 International co-operation in nature conservation ..............................
75 76 76 77 78 78 80 81 82 85 87 88 89 90 90
Part II SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 5. ENVIRONMENTAL-ECONOMIC INTERFACE ...................................... Recommendations.............................................................................................. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 1. Decoupling of Environmental Pressures from Economic Growth............... 1.1 Emission intensity .............................................................................. 1.2 Energy intensity.................................................................................. 1.3 Material intensity................................................................................ 2. Towards Sustainable Development .............................................................. 2.1 Sweden’s sustainable development strategy....................................... 2.2 Institution-based integration ............................................................... 2.3 Market-based integration....................................................................
91 92 92 93 93 97 97 98 98 99 101
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3. Sectoral Integration ...................................................................................... 3.1 Integration of environmental concerns into energy policy ................. 3.2 Integration of environmental concerns into transport policy.............. 3.3 Integration of environmental concerns into agriculture policy .......... 4. Environmental Expenditure and Financing.................................................. 4.1 Overall environmental expenditure .................................................... 4.2 Financing environmental research and technology ............................ 4.3 Local investment programmes ........................................................... 4.4 Environmentally motivated subsidies.................................................
109 109 111 114 116 116 117 117 118
6. ENVIRONMENTAL-SOCIAL INTERFACE .............................................. Recommendations.............................................................................................. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 1. Environment and Employment..................................................................... 1.1 Employment effects of environmental policy .................................... 1.2 Environmental employment market ................................................... 2. Environmental Democracy: Information, Participation, Legal Recourse and Education............................................................................................... 2.1 Availability of and access to environmental information................... 2.2 Public participation............................................................................. 2.3 Legal recourse..................................................................................... 2.4 Environmental education.................................................................... 3. Distributional Aspects of Environmental Policies ....................................... 3.1 Access to nature, pollution exposure.................................................. 3.2 Distributional effects of the green tax shift ........................................ 3.3 Regional development ........................................................................
121 122 122 123 123 126
7. HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT ................................................................. Recommendations.............................................................................................. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 1. Institutional Framework ............................................................................... 1.1 Policy objectives................................................................................. 1.2 Responsible institutions...................................................................... 2. Air Pollution and Public Health ................................................................... 2.1 Outdoor air quality ............................................................................. 2.2 Indoor air quality ................................................................................ 3. Noise............................................................................................................. 4. Chemicals and Health................................................................................... 4.1 National level...................................................................................... 4.2 International level ............................................................................... 5. Access to Nature and Green Spaces .............................................................
137 138 138 139 142 143 145 145 147 149 150 150 153 153
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127 127 129 131 131 132 132 133 135
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Part III INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS 8. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION......................................................... Recommendations.............................................................................................. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 1. Objectives..................................................................................................... 2. Climate protection ........................................................................................ 2.1 Intentions, actions and results............................................................. 2.2 Going beyond Kyoto .......................................................................... 3. Transboundary Air Pollution........................................................................ 3.1 Sulphur oxides .................................................................................... 3.2 Nitrogen oxides .................................................................................. 3.3 Volatile organic compounds ............................................................... 3.4 POPs and heavy metals ...................................................................... 4. The Marine Environment ............................................................................. 4.1 Pollution from land-based sources ..................................................... 4.2 Pollution from ships ........................................................................... 4.3 Scrapping of ships .............................................................................. 5. Management of Living Marine Resources ................................................... 5.1 Offshore fisheries: overfishing ........................................................... 5.2 Protection of marine ecosystems ........................................................ 6. Environmental Development Aid................................................................. 7. Regional Co-operation for Sustainable Development.................................. 8. International Trade and the Environment..................................................... 8.1 Ozone-depleting substances ............................................................... 8.2 Hazardous waste ................................................................................. 8.3 Timber................................................................................................. 8.4 Endangered species.............................................................................
155 156 156 158 159 159 161 164 167 168 168 168 169 169 170 172 172 173 174 175 177 177 178 179 179 179
REFERENCES I.A I.B I.C II.A II.B III. IV. V. VI.
Selected environmental data........................................................................... Selected economic data .................................................................................. Selected social data ........................................................................................ Selected multilateral agreements (worldwide) ............................................... Selected multilateral agreements (regional) ................................................... Abbreviations ................................................................................................. Physical Context............................................................................................. Selected environmental events (1996-2003) .................................................. Selected environmental Web sites..................................................................
182 184 186 188 194 198 200 201 210
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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND BOXES Figures Map of Sweden ....................................................................................................... 3.1 Water use ........................................................................................................ 3.2 Population connected to public waste water treatment plant ......................... 3.3 Agricultural inputs.......................................................................................... 4.1 Fauna and flora ............................................................................................... 4.2 Protected areas................................................................................................ 5.1 Economic structure and trends ....................................................................... 5.2 Road fuel prices and taxes.............................................................................. 5.3 Private sector investment and current environmental expenditure................. 6.1 Social indicators ............................................................................................. 7.1 Selected environmental health indicators....................................................... 7.2 POPs in mothers’ milk ................................................................................... 8.1 Energy structure and intensity ........................................................................ 8.2 Air pollutant emissions................................................................................... 8.3 Official development assistance .....................................................................
13 62 69 72 79 83 95 113 117 125 146 152 162 163 176
Tables 2.1 Environment staff ........................................................................................... 33 2.2 Selected environmental legislation................................................................. 35 2.3 Environmental quality objectives and interim targets .................................... 37 2.4 Environmental-sanction (civil) fines .............................................................. 44 2.5 Environmental cases brought to court ............................................................ 45 2.6 Voluntary environmental agreements ............................................................. 51 3.1 Selected water-related objectives ................................................................... 57 3.2 Reduction in Swedish nutrient discharges to the Baltic ................................. 67 4.1 Types of protected areas ................................................................................. 82 4.2 Protected forest areas...................................................................................... 86 5.1 Decoupling: economic trends and environmental pressures .......................... 96 5.2 Revenue from selected environment-related taxes, and energy and vehicle taxes 101 5.3 Selected environment-related taxes on energy and transport ......................... 104 5.4 Local investment programmes ....................................................................... 118 5.5 Environmentally motivated subsidies ............................................................ 119 6.1 Structure of the Swedish environment sector ................................................. 127 7.1 Health effects of selected environmental factors in Sweden.......................... 141
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OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Sweden
7.2 8.1 8.2 8.3
Selected national objectives related to environment and public health.......... 142 GHG emissions from energy and transport, actual and projected.................. 160 GHG emissions in Sweden, actual and projected........................................... 164 Sweden’s performance under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution ................................................................................................... 167 8.4 Fishing catch, aquaculture and fishers ........................................................... 173 I.A I.B I.C II.A II.B
Selected environmental data........................................................................... Selected economic data .................................................................................. Selected social data ........................................................................................ Selected multilateral agreements (worldwide) ............................................... Selected multilateral agreements (regional) ...................................................
182 184 186 188 194
Boxes 2.1 Environmental institutions ............................................................................. 2.2 General principles of the Environmental Code .............................................. 3.1 Contaminated sites: liability and public funding............................................ 3.2 Innovation for sustainable sewage treatment ................................................. 4.1 Major types of protected areas ....................................................................... 4.2 Nature protection at local level ...................................................................... 5.1 Economic context ........................................................................................... 5.2 Green tax shift ................................................................................................ 6.1 Social context ................................................................................................. 6.2 Sámi development policies............................................................................. 7.1 Equity in public health policy ........................................................................ 7.2 Public health and electromagnetic radiation .................................................. 7.3 Incidence of environment- and lifestyle-related disease ................................ 8.1 Protecting the Arctic from long-range POPs pollution .................................. 8.2 Reducing air emissions from ships in the Baltic Sea .....................................
32 34 65 70 83 84 94 102 124 134 140 144 148 165 166
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Signs The following signs are used in Figures and Tables: .. : not available – : nil or negligible . : decimal point Country Aggregates OECD Europe: All European member countries of the OECD, i.e. countries of the European Union plus the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Switzerland and Turkey. OECD:
The countries of OECD Europe plus Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States.
Country aggregates may include Secretariat estimates. The sign * indicates that not all countries are included. Currency Monetary unit: Sweden Krona (SEK) In April 2004, SEK 9.19 = EUR 1. Cut-off Date This report is based on information and data available up to May 2004.
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LIST OF TEAM MEMBERS Ms. Karin Klitgaard Expert from reviewing country: Denmark Ms. Ellen Koudijs Expert from reviewing country: The Netherlands Mr. Czeslaw Wieckowski Expert from reviewing country: Poland Mr. Christian Avérous Ms. Martha Heitzmann Mr. Eugene Mazur Mr. Ralph Chapman Mr. Eduard Goldberg Mr. Markku Lehtonen
OECD Secretariat OECD Secretariat OECD Secretariat OECD Secretariat (Consultant) OECD Secretariat (Consultant) OECD Secretariat (Consultant)
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Map of Sweden Land use
RUSSIA
Arable and Other permanent Permanent areas crop land 7% grassland 1% 18%
Kebnekaise Kiruna
Luleå
Forest and other wooded land 74%
Norwegian Sea
Storsjön FINLAND
Gulf of Bothnia
NORWAY
Siljan
Aland Gulf of Finland
Uppsala Örebro
Stockholm
ESTONIA
Vänern
Skagerrak
Vättern Göteborg
North Sea
LATVIA Gotland
Kattegat Öland
DENMARK
LITHUANIA
Baltic Sea Malmö
Source: OECD.
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1
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS* Environmental issues and sustainable development have remained high on Sweden’s agenda, in a context of low population and moderate economic growth. Environmental issues in Sweden also have a strong international aspect because of regional economic and environmental interdependencies (e.g. regarding Baltic Sea pollution, transboundary air pollution and Nordic co-operation), because of Sweden’s 1995 entry into the European Union and because of its strong commitment on global environmental issues such as climate change, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and environmental aid. Environmental progress in Sweden continued over the review period, benefiting from solid institutional and regulatory frameworks, extensive use of economic instruments and significant planning and legislative reform (e.g. the Environmental Code). The influence of EU environmental legislation has increased. Today, priority environmental issues are identified in 15 ambitious, long-term, strategic environmental quality objectives (EQOs): reduced climate impact, clean air, natural acidity only, a non-toxic environment, a protective ozone layer, a safe radiation environment, zero eutrophication, flourishing lakes and streams, good-quality groundwater, a balanced marine environment, thriving wetlands, sustainable forests, a varied agricultural landscape, a magnificent mountain landscape and a good built environment. A 16th EQO, on biodiversity, is under preparation. A number of these objectives have both domestic and international dimensions. To meet the challenges represented by the EQOs, Sweden will need to i) implement more efficient environmental policies, ii) further integrate environmental concerns in economic and other policies (e.g. health, energy, transport, forestry, agriculture) and iii) further strengthen its international * Conclusions and Recommendations reviewed and approved by the Working Party on Environmental Performance at its meeting on 30 June 2004.
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environmental co-operation. This report evaluates Sweden’s performance in meeting its domestic objectives and international commitments concerning environmental management, especially since the 1996 OECD Environmental Performance Review. It also reviews the country’s progress with respect to objectives of the OECD Environmental Strategy for the First Decade of the 21st Century*. Forty-four recommendations are made with the aim of helping further strengthen Sweden’s environmental performance in the context of sustainable development.
1.
Environmental Management Implementing more efficient environmental policies
Building on already very effective and innovative environmental policies, Sweden has achieved a range of environmental results over the review period in line with many of its domestic objectives and international commitments. The country has further strengthened its environmental legislative and planning frameworks and extended the use of economic instruments. This progress builds on the priority given to environmental protection by the government, the parliament, civil society, enterprises and the public. Objective setting is driven primarily by welfare concerns, environmental expertise and ultimately legislative processes, with economic analysis given a role at the implementation stage. In 1999, Sweden reformed its environmental legislation with the adoption of the Environmental Code. This comprehensive framework law not only consolidates previously fragmented legislation but also introduces environmental courts, environmental sanctions and ambient quality standards, clarifies the role of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and transposes the EU water framework directive and integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) directive, among others. EU environmental legislation has an important influence on Swedish legislation. The Environmental Code also spells out several principles relating to environmental policies. The 15 EQOs adopted by the parliament in 1999 provide long-term strategic orientation while their interim targets serve as environmental medium-term planning tools, accompanying decentralised implementation of environmental policies. * Objectives of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy covered in these Conclusions and Recommendations include maintaining the integrity of ecosystems (Section 1), decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth (Sections 2.1 and 2.3), the social and environmental interface (Section 2.2) and global environmental interdependence (Section 3).
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Sweden has strengthened its position as a front-runner in the use of economic instruments, introducing new ones and increasing the rates of several taxes and charges. An ambitious tax shift has been initiated, involving higher rates of environmental taxes and charges, offset by reductions in labour taxation; the shift is expected to amount to SEK 30 billion over 2001-10. Overall there is little use of subsidies to protect the environment, as Sweden adheres strictly to the polluter pays and user pays principles. In particular, municipalities charge households the full cost of environmental services. Swedish business plays a proactive role in developing environmental management systems, eco-labelling and certification, environmental reporting and other voluntary actions. However, because Sweden’s “administrative pluralism” means the regional and local levels play key roles in the decentralised implementation of environmental policies, results will follow legislative and planning changes only if environmental governance at these levels receives sufficient guidance and resources, and the regional and local authorities strengthen their own environmental efforts. Uneven implementation could compromise the achievement of environmental objectives. Long permit processing periods mean high transaction costs and may hinder investment that would be beneficial for both economic development and environmental protection. Highly decentralised enforcement and inspection entails a risk of development interests too often overriding environmental considerations. Follow-up and evaluation of the effectiveness of inspection and enforcement are insufficient; while the new environmental sanctions and prosecutors could potentially strengthen enforcement, so far they have been used mostly for minor infractions. Coordination between the Environmental Code and other legislation should be enhanced (e.g. to clarify and streamline licensing and to co-ordinate EIA and planning procedures). Efficiency in using market-based instruments could also be enhanced: although such instruments are used extensively in Sweden, the levels of several environmental charges and taxes are still insufficient to induce changes in behaviour, and numerous exemptions to environment-related taxes are made; in the international context (both regional and global) what is required is a mix of credible national actions and an effort to capture the benefits stemming from differences in marginal abatement costs between Sweden and other countries as regards such issues as the Baltic, acid precipitation and climate change. The efficiency of mixes of policy instruments still needs more attention. Though Sweden’s overall record in transposing EU environment directives is among the best, implementation of some directives (e.g. on water, nitrates, dioxins, habitats and IPPC) deserves particular attention.
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Recommendations: • assure implementation of the Environmental Code across the country, strengthening guidance from the central government to regional and local authorities; • evaluate the environmental effectiveness and economic efficiency of different policy instruments and mixes of policy instruments nationally and internationally, and adjust policies accordingly; • review, and revise as needed, state, regional and local inspection and enforcement roles, improving the monitoring and evaluation of environmental inspections, focusing enforcement on the areas with the greatest compliance problems and strengthening administrative and judicial sanctions; • give greater importance to environmental concerns in spatial planning by harmonising the provisions of the Environmental Code and the Planning and Building Act and by improving municipalities’ implementation capacity; • further encourage the use of standardised environmental management systems by companies.
Water During the review period, water management evolved significantly, with a strengthened local framework (the Environmental Code and transposed water-related EU directives) and clearer strategic and planning frameworks (e.g. EQOs and interim targets). Sweden also further improved its already very advanced urban waste water treatment, which includes tertiary treatment for phosphorus in 95% of the treatment plants. It has so far equipped 36% of treatment capacity with nitrogen removal, including three-quarters of coastal stations between Stockholm and the Norwegian border. Sweden met the 2000 deadline of the EU waste water directive for secondary treatment. It also met the overall 50% phosphorus reduction target of the Helsinki Declaration and the North Sea Conferences. Nutrient surpluses from agriculture were steadily reduced through a range of measures, such as limitation of stock numbers, the planting of catch crops on arable land over winter and construction of manure storage facilities. Acidification of sensitive lakes in south-western Sweden was reduced from 90% to 79% during the 1990s. Sweden also promulgated a comprehensive set of receiving water quality criteria, including for aquatic habitats, to guide local decisions on pollution permits. Nevertheless, water quality problems are far from being solved, partly due to continued transboundary deposition of contaminants and the extreme
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sensitivity of the Swedish environment to acidification and nutrient enrichment. Integrated river basin management and the use of water quality criteria, in line with the EU Water Framework Directive, are only just starting. Eutrophication of both inland and marine waters needs further attention (as recent European Commission legal action on waste water treatment in northern and central Sweden demonstrates) and will remain a problem for decades to come, given the inertia of the natural systems. Continuing restrictions on consumption of both freshwater and marine fish indicate that the same is true for persistent contaminants (e.g. dioxin and mercury in the Baltic). Despite reduction of agricultural inputs, measures taken so far to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture will not be sufficient in terms of the relevant EQOs. For efficiency’s sake, further progress is necessary on reducing nitrate surpluses from agriculture, since much reduction has already been achieved from municipal and industrial sources. The use of herbicides has risen again in recent years. Not all groundwater source areas intended for current and future drinking water supplies are adequately protected. Sweden also faces continued investment to renew older sewerage and sewage treatment infrastructure, to manage combined sewer overflows and storm water run-off from roads and to deal with phosphorus discharges from isolated dwellings (one-fifth of the total load). Remediation of old mine tailings and other contaminated sites will also be demanding financially.
Recommendations: • approve and implement the action strategy for management of land, water and the built environment; • pay particular attention to the needs of aquatic habitat and river basin management in implementation of the Water Framework Directive; • consider the need for further nitrogen removal in sewage treatment in inland and coastal areas and phosphorus removal in individual rural treatment systems; • take further measures to reduce the impact of agriculture and forestry (e.g. nitrates, pesticides) on water systems and better protect streams and riverbanks in land use practices related to agriculture and forestry; • deal with combined sewer overflows and urban storm water run-off; • ensure that groundwater reservoirs used for drinking water extraction are adequately protected, including through more assertive municipal actions.
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Nature and biodiversity Over the review period, Sweden gave nature conservation and biodiversity a considerably higher priority than before, as recommended in the previous OECD review. Funding contributing to nature conservation has strongly increased, with public funding doubling at national level and rising at local level and with considerable EU agri-environmental support to improve environmental performance in agriculture, combined with higher funding of forest protection and increased sustainable forestry practices. The area of site protection has increased to 8.1% of the national territory. More environmentally sound forest management practices have gained ground, and a comprehensive regulatory framework has been established to this effect. The National Forest Policy of 1998 sets environmental protection and wood production as the two equal, overarching priorities for forest management. Voluntary protection of forests has become more widespread. Large forest companies practice ecological landscape planning and green accounting, and over half of the country’s productive forests now have certification from the Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes. The cutting of forests containing red-listed species has decreased significantly. Despite these efforts, however, nature conservation and biodiversity face major challenges. Biodiversity in the marine environment has received insufficient attention: there are only eight exclusively marine nature reserves; species decline seems to be accelerating; the country lacks a coherent, integrated policy on marine issues; and co-ordination among the many institutions responsible for marine environment needs to be enhanced. Coastal areas in general, and archipelagos in particular, are subject to strong development pressures, and exemptions to coastal protection are sometimes granted too easily. Overfishing has reduced populations of cod and Baltic herring to well below sustainable limits, and inadequate control of releases of fish threaten local stocks, notably in freshwater environments. Statutory protection of forests lags behind targets, and the representativeness and permanence of voluntary protection are uncertain. Pressures for more intensive exploitation of productive forests jeopardise the achievement of protection targets. The vast majority of protected areas are still in the mountainous regions of the north-west, while southern areas and aquatic habitats remain under-represented. The knowledge base required for the development of protection measures, as well as for monitoring and follow-up of such measures, is insufficient, especially as regards aquatic environments. Progress in the establishment of freshwater protected areas, the protection and restoration of wetlands and the drawing up and implementation of species protection programmes has been slow. County and municipal authorities lack the personnel to carry out nature protection measures and related cultural heritage protection measures, and face tensions among stakeholders.
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Recommendations: • further improve the knowledge base for nature conservation and biodiversity management (e.g. inventory of key habitats, indicators, economic analysis), especially regarding aquatic and marine ecosystems; • further increase the extent of protected areas and their representativeness (e.g. non-mountain forests, marine and freshwater ecosystems); • further develop sustainable forest management and monitor voluntary protection of forests; • finalise and implement a programme for integrated coastal zone management and strengthen local planning authorities’ capacity in coastal zone protection; • strengthen the managementand restoration of streams,wetlands and meadow lands within a broader landscape policy; • further increase access to nature for all inhabitants and awareness of the related health and well-being benefits; encourage ecotourism.
2.
Towards Sustainable Development Integration of environmental concerns into economic decisions
Sweden gives high priority to sustainable development nationally, in Europe and globally. It adopted a national sustainable development strategy in 2002, with a secretariat in the prime minister’s office. The environmental component of sustainable development is well developed in the EQOs and practical interim targets, which help all levels of government move from aspiration to implementation. Sweden’s overall progress in decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth was remarkable over the review period, with significant improvements in emission intensity, energy intensity and material intensity. This progress reflects, in part, institution-based and market-based integration efforts. Sweden makes impressive use of market-based instruments in a wide range of areas, including the integration of environmental concerns in energy, transport and agriculture. The ongoing green tax reform is a logical extension of earlier use of economic instruments. Real efforts are being made to promote sustainable consumption and production, not only through economic instruments but also through policies favouring integrated product policy and green procurement. Overall pollution abatement and control expenditure has remained around 1.1% of GDP and broader environmental expenditure around 1.5%.
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Sweden’s decoupling progress has been less than satisfactory when it comes to municipal waste generation (whose growth was higher than that of GDP) and traffic volumes. While the decision to try a road congestion charge in Stockholm is significant and positive, growth in transport may still have a bigger future environmental impact than any other sector. Incomplete internalisation of externalities translates into transport subsidies. Moreover, road users are not subject to charges that fully reflect the (long-term marginal social) cost of the capital they use. Regarding the target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 4% by 2008-12 from 1990 levels, no allowance is made for the use of flexible mechanisms, though it is clear that this omission will not rule out working with other EU countries in the EU emission trading programme or in clean development mechanism and joint implementation projects; the government is considering establishing an objective that includes flexible mechanisms. While a shift to renewable energy sources is highly desirable, all energy production involves external costs (which should be internalised), so promotion of energy conservation should be prioritised over subsidisation of even the most environment-friendly types of energy use. In seeking to promote renewables, analysis of policies’ comparative costeffectiveness and distributive impacts needs to be better assured.
Recommendations: • in deciding on any further green tax reform, give more consideration to using the lowest-cost opportunities to abate GHGs, while also taking into account long-term perspectives; • reinforce efforts to remove remaining environmentally harmful subsidies; • review and revise transport prices to reflect all externalities, including damage associated with particulates, ozone and noise; implement road congestion charges in Stockholm and extend them to other major urban areas; • pursue efforts towards enhanced energy efficiency (in a range of sectors, including energy-intensive industry and the existing building stock); review in particular flexible mechanisms to maximise off-site life cycle energy saving opportunities; • strengthen institution-based integration among ministries and agencies, with particular attention to the integration of environmental concerns in industry, energy, transport, forestry and agriculture policies; • introduce cost-effective demand management measures to decouple growth in municipal waste generation and road traffic from economic growth, in line with Objective 2 of the OECD Environmental Strategy.
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Integration of environmental and social concerns Swedish environmental policies promote growth of the country’s environmental industries, thereby contributing to job creation. Concerning environmental democracy, Sweden has well-established mechanisms for public participation and consultation on environmental decisions. Under the Environmental Code, recent improvements have broadened public access to courts, giving civil associations and citizen groups a right of appeal against many government decisions related to the environment, but excluding planning decisions and most infrastructure projects. Local Agenda 21 is actively implemented, contributing to local environmental improvements and raising awareness on sustainable development issues. A vast amount of environmental information is freely accessible by all interested parties and the general public. The system of environmental education is very well developed at all stages, from day care to adult education. Concerning distributive issues, Sweden has guaranteed public access to nature and recreational resources. A number of regional and rural development programmes incorporate environmental sustainability considerations. The ongoing changes to the tax structure also have a distributive effect.
Recommendations: • continue active environmental employment policy, making it longer term and focusing on specific economic sectors; • develop economic information and analysis to support environmental management; streamline the system of environmental indicators; • ratify the Aarhus Convention and make the country’s environmental information access, public participation and access to justice practices consistent with the convention’s requirements; • further develop public participation and encourage citizen initiatives at regional and local levels (e.g. in EIA and Local Agenda 21 processes); • reinforce environmental sustainability aspects of current and future regional and rural development programmes; • enhance co-operation on economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development within and between local, regional and national levels; • strengthen research on and analysis of social disparities in access to nature and in pollution exposure.
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However, Sweden has not yet ratified the Aarhus Convention, and its practices concerning access to courts need further improvement. There is insufficient costbenefit analysis and economic information (e.g. on environmental expenditure, environment-related employment and energy prices) to support environmental management. The system of environmental indicators may require simplification and streamlining. Local Agenda 21 activities focus too much on local authorities and not enough on stakeholder and public participation. Issues of concern to the Sámi people related to land, water use and hunting rights in the north remain largely unresolved. Little attention has been given to distributive aspects of pollution exposure.
Health Sweden was one of the first OECD countries to publish a national environment and health action plan, and has since integrated its objectives into national policies related to environmental management and public health. Important results have been achieved, including reductions in pesticide use, releases of heavy metals to the environment and human intake of hazardous substances such as POPs and lead. Implementation of recent regulations on ventilation systems and radon concentrations in buildings has helped reduce health risks posed by indoor air quality, especially in new buildings. Although most objectives have been based purely on concern for public health and the precautionary principle, Sweden has used some economic instruments, such as a charge on NOx and a tax on pesticides, to increase the cost-effectiveness of its policy measures. Improvements in registration and labelling of chemical products are expected to translate into reduced health risks from chemical handling and use, albeit probably at high cost. Sweden gives high priority to supporting scientific research that explores the links between environmental exposure and health effects, and has contributed to international understanding of a range of environmental health issues, with a special focus on children’s health. Also at the international level, Sweden has shown leadership on chemical management issues and was instrumental in developing the OECD chemicals programme and the recent Stockholm Convention on POPs. Despite this clear progress, Sweden could still take further measures to improve its performance with regard to environmental health, in particular concerning reducing exposure to air pollutants, chemicals and noise and increasing access to green spaces for city dwellers. Systematic attention should be given to cost-effectiveness when choosing instruments to achieve environmental health objectives. Limits concerning exposure to noise are frequently exceeded in some areas, and the most important source, traffic, is expected to continue to increase. There is a need to improve communication with
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and education of the public concerning perceived health risks, particularly in cases where research has not quantified the extent of real risk (e.g. concerning exposure to electromagnetic radiation). Statistics show that the percentage of green areas is declining in municipalities with more than 10 000 inhabitants (where some 84% of the population lives) despite a national objective of increasing urban populations’ access to green areas in the interest of promoting physical exercise and general well-being. Combined with a more sedentary lifestyle, the decline in access to nature can be expected to contribute to growing public health problems, such as obesity and heart disease.
Recommendations: • step up measures to meet environmental and public health objectives, with appropriate attention to cost-effectiveness and the precautionary principle; • continue efforts to reduce health risks associated with indoor air quality; • reduce ambient air concentrations of fine particles and tropospheric ozone, with due attention to cost-effectiveness; • continue efforts to limit health risks associated with exposure to chemicals (e.g. chemicals in products, including construction materials) in the most costeffective way possible; • designate and protect more green spaces in or near urban areas, prioritising areas that can offer recreational services while protecting nature; • develop environmental health indicators for monitoring progress towards national objectives and informing policy decisions; further improve communication with the public regarding health risks stemming from environmental exposure; • take steps to more systematically incorporate national-level environmental health priorities into local-level planning and action.
3.
International Commitments
Sweden has continued to play a very active role in international cooperation for environmental protection at both the global and European levels. It is one of the few OECD member countries that are on track to meet their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to limit GHG emissions: while Sweden’s commitment is to limit growth in national emissions to 4% between 1990 and 2008-12, it has stabilised its emissions since 1990. Furthermore, in 2001 it
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OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Sweden
set two national GHG emission reduction objectives that go much farther than its Kyoto commitment. Its level of CO2 emissions per unit of GDP is among the lowest in OECD countries. It has met its commitments under the protocols of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, achieving significant reductions of emissions of SOx, NOx, heavy metals and organic pollutants, and came close to meeting its Sofia Declaration target. Recognising that seagoing ships represent a significant source of acidifying emissions, Sweden has experimented effectively with economic instruments to encourage the use of low-sulphur fuel and installation of NOx abatement equipment on ships. In addition, through improvements to municipal and industrial waste water treatment capacity, Swedish discharges of a range of heavy metals were reduced between 60% and 90% in time to meet the 1995 HELCOM target, although further action is still necessary. Sweden has taken strong measures to protect marine ecosystems and reduce fishing pressure in its national waters. Despite large government budget cuts in the late 1990s, it has held its level of official development assistance (ODA) at more than 0.7% of gross national income, thus meeting the UN target, and environmental aid is estimated to represent at least 10% of its total ODA. Sweden’s performance in implementing international agreements relating to transboundary shipments of hazardous waste and the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances is very good overall. There is room for Sweden to improve its implementation of international commitments and international co-operation. Although it has successfully used a range of economic instruments to implement its climate policy, Sweden does not systematically use economic analysis to identify the most cost-effective options. As its GHG abatement costs are quite high in some areas, the use of economic analysis to identify the most cost-effective options could help reap savings. Like other Baltic Sea countries, Sweden missed the original 1995 HELCOM targets for reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea and appears unlikely to meet the 2005 target for nitrogen unless additional measures are launched quickly; funding remains an issue. Although Sweden generally meets the annual target of inspecting 25% of foreign ships calling in its ports (under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control), a recent study suggested that steps should be taken to enhance the environmental aspect of inspection. Like other Baltic Sea fleets, Swedish fishing fleets continue to exploit several key stocks at what are considered unsustainable levels. Unless ways to enhance regional co-operation for responsible and sustainable management of shared fish stocks can be identified, Sweden is unlikely to reach its national target of ensuring that commercial fish catches do not exceed recruitment by 2008. Levels of certain POPs in Arctic and Baltic ecosystems are high, and are beginning to
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degrade the value of some natural resources (e.g. the northern Baltic herring fishery). While Swedish legislation on ozone-depleting substances does not allow exports of used products or equipment (e.g. refrigerators or freezers) whose operation relies on the supply of CFCs, halons or other ODS, some exporters are still not complying with the legislation. Sanctions on illegal trade in species protected by CITES remain low compared with the possible gains from trafficking.
Recommendations: • adopt and implement a national marine strategy; in particular, take further measures to reduce nitrogen loading to the Baltic Sea so as to meet the HELCOM target for 2005, as well as related national targets; step up preventive actions and sanctions concerning oil spills; take measures to strengthen regional co-operation for fishery management, working through the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission and the EU; develop a ship scrapping plan; • build on the recent International Maritime Organization designation of the Baltic as a “particularly sensitive sea area” and continue to promote regional action to decrease emissions to air of SOx, VOCs and NOx from ships in the Baltic, with an emphasis on economic instruments; • within the national climate protection programme, give priority to the most cost-effective instruments to promote energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources, and review exemptions (e.g. energy-intensive industry, peat use); • strengthen customs control of international shipments so as to prevent the exportation ofequipment containing (or outfitted to use) CFCs, halons or other ozone-depleting substances; • continue to integrate environmental concerns systematically into development assistance while maintaining or increasing overall levels of ODA; • increase environmental assistance and technology transfer to countries bordering the east of Baltic proper, so as to promote the achievement of shared environmental objectives (e.g. regarding nutrient loads, acid precipitation, flexible mechanisms on climate change); • step up inspection and enforcement against violations of CITES in control points, and raise applicable fines to enhance their deterrent function.
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2
IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES*
Features • • • • •
Legislative reform: the Environmental Code Planning reform: environmental quality objectives and targets Decentralised inspection and enforcement Extensive use of economic instruments Environmentally proactive industry
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the objective “maintaining the integrity of ecosystems” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy.
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • assure implementation of the Environmental Code across the country, strengthening guidance from the central government to regional and local authorities; • evaluate the environmental effectiveness and economic efficiency of different policy instruments and mixes of policy instruments nationally and internationally, and adjust policies accordingly; • review, and revise as needed, state, regional and local inspection and enforcement roles, improving the monitoring and evaluation of environmental inspections, focusing enforcement on the areas with the greatest compliance problems and strengthening administrative and judicial sanctions; • give greater importance to environmental concerns in spatial planning by harmonising the provisions of the Environmental Code and the Planning and Building Act and by improving municipalities’ implementation capacity; • further encourage the use of standardised environmental management systems by companies.
Conclusions Building on already very effective and innovative environmental policies, Sweden has achieved a range of environmental results over the review period in line with many of its domestic objectives and international commitments. The country has further strengthened its environmental legislative and planning frameworks and extended the use of economic instruments. This progress builds on the priority given to environmental protection by the government, the parliament, civil society, enterprises and the public. Objective setting is driven primarily by welfare concerns, environmental expertise and ultimately legislative processes, with economic analysis given a role at the implementation stage. In 1999, Sweden reformed its environmental legislation with the adoption of the Environmental Code. This comprehensive framework law not only consolidates previously fragmented legislation but also introduces environmental courts, environmental sanctions and ambient quality standards, clarifies the role of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and transposes the EU water framework directive and integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) directive, among others. EU environmental legislation has an important influence on Swedish legislation. The Environmental Code also spells out several principles relating to environmental policies. The 15 EQOs adopted by the parliament in 1999 provide long-term strategic orientation while their interim
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targets serve as environmental medium-term planning tools, accompanying decentralised implementation of environmental policies. Sweden has strengthened its position as a front-runner in the use of economic instruments, introducing new ones and increasing the rates of several taxes and charges. An ambitious tax shift has been initiated, involving higher rates of environmental taxes and charges, offset by reductions in labour taxation; the shift is expected to amount to SEK 30 billion over 2001-10. Overall there is little use of subsidies to protect the environment, as Sweden adheres strictly to the polluter pays and user pays principles. In particular, municipalities charge households the full cost of environmental services. Swedish business plays a proactive role in developing environmental management systems, eco-labelling and certification, environmental reporting and other voluntary actions. However, because Sweden’s “administrative pluralism” means the regional and local levels play key roles in the decentralised implementation of environmental policies, results will follow legislative and planning changes only if environmental governance at these levels receives sufficient guidance and resources, and the regional and local authorities strengthen their own environmental efforts. Uneven implementation could compromise the achievement of environmental objectives. Long permit processing periods mean high transaction costs and may hinder investment that would be beneficial for both economic development and environmental protection. Highly decentralised enforcement and inspection entails a risk of development interests too often overriding environmental considerations. Follow-up and evaluation of the effectiveness of inspection and enforcement are insufficient; while the new environmental sanctions and prosecutors could potentially strengthen enforcement, so far they have been used mostly for minor infractions. Coordination between the Environmental Code and other legislation should be enhanced (e.g. to clarify and streamline licensing and to co-ordinate EIA and planning procedures). Efficiency in using market-based instruments could also be enhanced: although such instruments are used extensively in Sweden, the levels of several environmental charges and taxes are still insufficient to induce changes in behaviour, and numerous exemptions to environment-related taxes are made; in the international context (both regional and global) what is required is a mix of credible national actions and an effort to capture the benefits stemming from differences in marginal abatement costs between Sweden and other countries as regards such issues as the Baltic, acid precipitation and climate change. The efficiency of mixes of policy instruments still needs more attention. Though Sweden’s overall record in transposing EU environment directives is among the best, implementation of some directives (e.g. on water, nitrates, dioxins, habitats and IPPC) deserves particular attention. ♦
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1.
OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Sweden
Institutional and Legal Framework
Sweden’s politico-administrative system is characterised by a high degree of devolution of decision making to county and municipal levels. Higher-level agencies generally do not give orders to lower agencies but work through advice, guidelines and sometimes funding. The fact that central and local authorities are both quite powerful has resulted in a kind of administrative pluralism, or “centralised decentralisation”, in which strong co-ordination mechanisms promote homogeneity in policy implementation across different levels, while simultaneously providing for extensive local autonomy (Box 2.1).
Box 2.1 Environmental institutions The Ministry of the Environment is small, with a staff of 160, and deals only with policy issues. The 13 agencies under the ministry’s aegis are responsible for policy implementation. The main agency is the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (550 staff members in 2004), whose mandate is to co-ordinate and promote environmental work nationally and internationally by designing targets, measures and control instruments and by implementing, monitoring and assessing environmental policy. Other agencies with important environmental management functions include the Chemicals Inspectorate (staff of 138) and Radiation Protection Institute (staff of 105). In addition, several other sectoral agencies have responsibilities related to environmental policy implementation. At regional level, there are 21 counties (län). The county administrative boards (largely autonomous central government agencies headed by appointed governors) have major environmental responsibilities. In addition, elected county councils are responsible for regional tasks, particularly health care (80% of expenditure). Sweden’s 289 municipalities also have considerable autonomy and important duties in areas such as provision of public services, physical planning and building, housing, and environmental and health protection. Municipalities and county councils both oversee provision of public transport. All three levels levy income tax. Local income tax, based entirely on earned and pension income, accounts for about 60% of municipalities’ and 74% of county councils’ revenue. The Environmental Advisory Council is a multistakeholder body providing advice to the government either on its own initiative or at the government’s request. It fulfils an important role in helping the government develop positions on how to handle environmental issues. While national environmental staff numbers have been little changed since 1997 (Table 2.1), environmental authorities’ budgets have increased despite general cuts in public expenditure in the late 1990s. Staff numbers in regional administrations have increased significantly, in line with the recommendation in the 1996 OECD Environmental Performance Review to develop county administrative boards’ environmental expertise and strategic capacity.
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Table 2.1
Environment staff, selected agencies, 1997-2002
SEPA Chemicals Inspectorate Radiation Protection Institute County administrative boards (environmental protection and nature conservation) Source:
33
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
422 140 112
461 140 116
484 124 107
485 122 109
476 135 103
482 138 105
539
580
685
747
803
895
Ministry of the Environment.
1.1
Reform of environmental legislation: the Environmental Code
As recommended in the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review (EPR) in 1996, Sweden completed the codification of its environmental legislation by merging provisions previously contained in 15 separate acts into a basic environmental framework law, the Environmental Code, which came into force on 1 January 1999. The code resolved several problems: the previous environmental legislation had been difficult to understand, some activities (e.g. roads and railways) had been inadequately regulated and new environmental problems had been discovered. The Environmental Code is founded on five fundamental principles, which constitute the basis of Swedish environmental policy: i) promotion of human health; ii) preservation of biodiversity; iii) preservation of cultural heritage assets; iv) preservation of ecosystems’ long-term production capacity; and v) wise management of natural resources. The code’s provisions apply to all activities with an impact on the environment or human health, whether specified in the code itself or regulated under other legislation. The code applies in tandem with other Acts (e.g. Forestry Act, Planning and Building Act). It also spells out several general principles and rules (Box 2.2), and it contains special provisions on the management of land and water in specified areas of Sweden and on environmental impact assessment (EIA), nature conservation, environmentally hazardous activities, contaminated sites, water projects, quarries, agriculture, genetic technology, chemicals, biotechnology, waste, licensing, litigation, inspection and enforcement, fines and other sanctions, and compensation for damage. It gives only general guidelines for environmental policy; more detailed provisions are contained in numerous ordinances (Table 2.2).
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Box 2.2
General principles of the Environmental Code
Precautionary principle: Persons pursuing an activity, or intending to do so, must take protective measures, comply with restrictions and take any other precautions necessary to prevent, hinder or combat damage or detriment to human health or the environment resulting from the activity. Best possible technology principle: Operators have an obligation to use the best possible technology to avoid damage to human health and the environment, even if they must go outside Sweden to acquire it. Knowledge principle: Persons pursuing an activity, or intending to do so, must possess the knowledge necessary, in view of the nature and scope of the activity or measure, to protect human health and the environment. This principle involves a reversal of the burden of proof: the operator must prove in advance that he can keep the activity from causing unacceptable harm to the environment. Appropriate location principle: The choice of an operation’s site must take into account the objectives and resource management provisions of the Environmental Code. The site must be chosen so as to make it possible for the activity to reach its objectives with a minimum of damage or detriment to human health and the environment. Resource management and eco-cycle principle: Operators shall conserve raw materials and energy, and reuse and recycle them whenever possible. Preference shall be given to renewable energy sources. These provisions (among others) apply in consideration of permits for environmentally hazardous activities. Product choice principle: Operators must avoid using or selling chemical products or biotechnical organisms that may involve risks to human health or the environment whenever products or organisms assumed to be less dangerous can be used instead. The same applies to goods containing or treated with such products or organisms. Polluter pays principle: Anyone who takes a measure that causes damage to the environment is responsible for remedying the damage or detriment until it ceases, as long as the remediation measures are considered reasonable. Where the code so stipulates, the operator may instead be liable for compensation for the damage or detriment. Stop rule: When, despite the protective measures and precautions stipulated by the code, an activity is likely to cause significant damage or detriment to human health or the environment, the activity may be undertaken only in special circumstances. An activity must not be undertaken if it is likely to lead to a significant deterioration in the living conditions of a large number of people or substantial detriment to the environment. The government can grant an exception for an activity of particular importance for reasons of public interest, but only if the activity is unlikely to be detrimental to public health.
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The Environmental Code stipulates that the government can issue environmental quality standards for land, water, air or the environment as a whole, and for specific geographic areas or for all of Sweden. This is relatively new in Sweden and a major step towards fulfilling the recommendation in the 1996 EPR to put more emphasis on ambient quality standards. Standards are issued when there is a need to specify minimum acceptable environmental quality in order to protect human health or the environment or to remedy adverse effects. Economic and technical factors are not supposed to influence standard setting. So far standards have been set for a number of
Table 2.2 1987: 10 1988: 220 1990: 613 1997: 185 1998: 23 1998: 50 1998: 808 1998: 179 1998: 812 1998: 899 1998: 900 1998: 901 1998: 905 1998: 930 1998: 1473 2000: 208 2000: 271 2000: 577 2001: 512 2001: 527 2001: 554 2001: 1063 2001: 1080 2001: 1084 2002: 187 2002: 956 2002: 1060 2002: 1086 2003: 65 2003: 112 2003: 432 Source:
Selected environmental legislation
Planning and Building Act Radiation Protection Act Act on an Environmental Charge on Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides in Energy Production Ordinance on Producer Responsibility for Packaging Ordinance on Support for Local Investment Programmes Aimed at Enhancing Ecological Sustainability in the Community Ordinance on Environmental Sanction Fines Environmental Code Species Protection Act Act on Specific Provisions on Water Related Activities Ordinance Concerning Environmentally Hazardous Activities and the Protection of Public Health Ordinance on Inspection and Enforcement According to the Environmental Code Operator Self-Monitoring Ordinance Ordinance on Environmental Impact Statements Ordinance on Environmental Risk Areas Ordinance on Environmental Damage Insurance and Decontamination Insurance Ordinance on Producer Responsibility for Electrical and Electronic Products Ordinance on the Contained Use of Genetically Modified Organisms Ordinance on Support for Environmental and Rural Development Measures Landfill Ordinance Ordinance on Environmental Quality Standards for Ambient Air Ordinance on Environmental Quality Standards for Fish and Shellfish Waters Waste Ordinance Exhaust Emission and Motor Fuel Act Ordinance on Noise Emissions by Certain Equipment for Outdoor Use Ordinance on Ozone Depleting Substances Ordinance on Voluntary Environmental Management and Auditing Waste Incineration Act Ordinance on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms Ordinance on National Emission Limit Values for Air Pollution Ordinance on Environmental Quality Standards for Benzene Ordinance on Environmental Quality Standards for CO
Ministry of the Environment.
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air pollutants (Ordinances 2001: 527; 2003: 112; 2003: 432) and for fish and shellfish waters (Ordinance 2001: 554), and are being considered for particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), benzo(a)pyrene, 1,3-butadiene and formaldehyde. The Swedish standards match or sometimes exceed those stipulated in the relevant EU directives. Compliance with many standards is required only after several years. Central and local authorities must ensure that standards are met when they consider permit applications under the Environmental Code and other legislation, such as the Planning and Building Act and the Roads Act; no permit may be issued for an activity that would entail a standard being exceeded. Standards must also be observed in project design and planning, and in municipal plans under the Planning and Building Act. It is unclear how far the standards have affected actual policy making and implementation, however; permit decisions, in particular, often continue to be made case by case as before.
1.2
EU environmental regulations
Before acceding to the European Union in 1995, Sweden negociated transition periods where its environmental standards (e.g. trade-related ones) were more stringent than those of the EU. Among the issues concerned were restrictions on cadmium in goods and in fertiliser and the classification and labelling of substances such as organic solvents, carcinogenic substances and allergens. In most cases, EU legislation has since become more stringent than, or as stringent as, the earlier Swedish legislation. Sweden has pushed for more stringent EU environmental requirements in areas such as chemical management and fishing quotas. Sweden’s record in transposing EU environmental directives is excellent. By the end of 2002, in only one case had Sweden not communicated on its measures to transpose a directive into national law; national legislation did not fully conform with directives in four cases, and minor implementation deficiencies (e.g. reporting measures) were identified for three directives. More recently, however, Sweden’s implementation of environment-related internal market directives has deteriorated: it had not implemented five out of the 85 directives by January 2004. Sweden gives priority in its EU work to instruments important for achieving its environmental quality objectives (EQOs) and to topics for which the European Commission is developing thematic strategies, such as the marine environment, air quality, sustainable pesticide use, sustainable resource use and recycling.
1.3
Environmental planning reform: EQOs and targets
The legislative reform resulting in the Environmental Code was accompanied by the parliament’s adoption in April 1999 of 15 national environmental quality
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Table 2.3
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Environmental quality objectivesa and interim targetsb
1.
Reduced Climate Impact – Average GHG emissions 4% lower than in 1990, by 2008-12.
2.
Clean Air – Annual average level of 5µg/m3 SO2 achieved in all municipalities by 2005. – Annual average of 20µg/m3 and hourly average level of 100µg/m3 NO2 achieved in most places. – Ground-level ozone concentrations < 120µg/m3 (eight-hour average). – NMVOC emissions reduced to 241 000 tonnes/year.
3.
Natural Acidification Only – No more than 5% of all lakes and 15% of the total length of running water affected by anthropogenic acidification. – Trend towards increasing acidification of forest land reversed in areas acidified by human activity, and recovery under way. – Atmospheric emissions of SO2 reduced to 60 000 tonnes/year. – Atmospheric emissions of NOx reduced to 148 000 tonnes/year.
4.
A Non-Toxic Environment – Data available on health and environmental properties of all chemical substances on the market. – All finished products labelled with health and environmental properties. – Phasing out of particularly hazardous substances (several targets). – Continuous reduction in health and environmental risks posed by other chemicals. – Guideline values set for ambient concentrations of or human exposure to at least 100 substances not covered by third target. – Contaminated site inventory finished and remediation started on 100, and completed at 50, high-risk sites by 2005.
5.
A Protective Ozone Layer – Virtually all emissions of ozone-depleting substances halted.
6.
A Safe Radiation Environment – Environmental concentrations of radioactive substances from human activity reduced to safe levels; additional individual dose to the public less than 0.01mSv/person/year from any given operation (e.g. a factory or laboratory). – Annual incidence of skin cancer caused by the sun no greater in 2020 than in 2000. – Risks associated with electromagnetic fields studied continually and preventive action taken as needed.
7.
Zero Eutrophication – Programmes of measures in line with EU Water Framework Directive established by 2009, specifying how to achieve good ecological status in lakes, streams and coastal waters. – Anthropogenic phosphorus discharges into lakes, streams and coastal waters continuously falling from 1995 levels. – Anthropogenic nitrogen discharges into areas south of the Åland Sea reduced by at least 30% from 1995 levels. – Ammonia emissions at least 15% lower than in 1995. – NOx emissions reduced to 148 000 tonnes/year.
8.
Flourishing Lakes and Streams – Action programmes drawn up by 2005 for valuable natural and cultural environments in or near lakes and streams; long-term protection provided by 2010 for at least half of these environments. – Action programmes drawn up for restoration of streams of high conservation value by 2005; at least 25% of these restored by 2010. – Water supply plans adopted by 2009 for all public and major private surface water sources. – No adverse effects on biological diversity from releases of aquatic animals and plants by 2005. – Action programmes introduced by 2005 for priority threatened species and fish stocks needing targeted measures. – Programme of measures in line with the Water Framework Directive established by 2009, specifying how to achieve good surface water status.
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Table 2.3 9.
Environmental quality objectivesa and interim targetsb (cont.)
Good Quality Groundwater – Water-bearing geological formations of national importance for water supply protected. – Land and water use not changing groundwater levels so as to adversely affect the water supply, soil stability or animal and plant life. – All major drinking water sources (>50 persons or >10m3 per day) meeting Swedish standards for good quality drinking water. – Action programmes adopted by 2009 in line with the Water Framework Directive, specifying measures needed to achieve good groundwater status.
10. A Balanced Marine Environment, Flourishing Coastal Areas and Archipelagos – Long-term protection provided for 50% of valuable marine and 70% of valuable coastal and archipelago areas. Five new marine reserves established, and other marine areas in need of long-term protection identified, by 2005. – Cultural heritage and agricultural landscape conservation strategy for coastal and archipelago areas adopted by 2005. – Action programmes prepared and introduced for priority threatened marine species and fish stocks by 2005. – Total annual by-catches of marine mammals <1% of each population. By-catches of sea birds and undesired fish species at sustainable levels. – Fish catches at sustainable levels by 2008. – Noise and other disturbance from boat traffic reduced to negligible levels in sensitive archipelago and coastal areas. – Oil and chemical discharges from ships reduced to negligible levels. – Action programmes adopted by 2009 in line with the Water Framework Directive, specifying how to achieve good surface water status. 11. Thriving Wetlands – National wetland strategy adopted by 2005. – Long-term protection provided for all wetlands in the Mire Protection Plan. – By 2004, no construction of forest roads adversely affecting valuable wetlands. – At least 12 000 ha of wetlands and ponds established or restored on agricultural land. – Action programmes introduced by 2005 for priority threatened species. 12. Sustainable Forests – Area of valuable forest land under protection increased by 900 000 ha. – Other increases: quantity of dead hardwood by >40% area of mature forest with a large deciduous element by >10% area of old-growth forest by >5% area regenerated with deciduous forest. – Damage from forest management eliminated for ancient monuments and minimised for other valuable cultural remains. – Action programmes introduced by 2005 for priority threatened species. 13. A Varied Agricultural Landscape – Area of traditionally managed meadow land increased by >5 000 ha and of the most valuable pasture land by >13 000 ha. – Small habitats preserved as much as today; by 2005, a strategy adopted to increase such habitats. – Number and extent of managed culturally significant landscape features increased by 70%. – National programme for plant genetic resources fully developed, and populations of indigenous domestic animal breeds sufficient to assure long-term conservation. – Action programmes introduced by 2006 for priority threatened species. – Programme prepared for conservation of culturally valuable farm buildings by 2005.
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Table 2.3
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Environmental quality objectivesa and interim targetsb (cont.)
14. A Magnificent Mountain Landscape – Negligible anthropogenic damage to soil and vegetation. – Noise in mountain areas from aircraft and off-road motor vehicles reduced: by 2015, >60% of light all-terrain vehicles at <73dBA by 2010, aircraft noise negligible in class A regulated areas under the Off-Road Driving Ordinance and in >90% of national park area. – Long-term protection, management and restoration provided for a majority of valuable mountain areas. – Action programmes introduced by 2005 for priority threatened species. 15. A Good Built Environment – Spatial planning based on programmes and strategies promoting transport efficiency, cultural and aesthetic values, preservation of urban green spaces and water, and sustainable energy. – Culturally valuable built environments identified and protection programme adopted, with long-term protection provided for >25% of them. – Number of persons exposed to traffic noise above guideline values for dwellings reduced by 5% from 1998. – Extraction of natural gravel <12 million tonnes/year; reused material >15% of aggregates used. – Landfilling of waste halved from 1994; total waste generation stabilised at 1994 level. – By 2008, all landfill sites in conformity with EU landfill directive. – Environmental impact of energy use in buildings lower than in 1995. – Ventilation efficient in all frequently used buildings by 2015; radon levels >200Bq/m3 in schools by 2010 and in all buildings by 2020. – At least 35% of organic waste from households, restaurants, large kitchens and shops recycled through biological treatment (e.g. composting). – All separated organic waste from food industry recycled through biological treatment. a) Numbered. b) Listed under each EQO (for 2010 unless otherwise indicated). Source: SEPA.
objectives to replace some 170 environmental goals hitherto set forth in environmental policy (Table 2.3). The EQOs provide strategic orientation for the long term (“within a generation”, i.e. up to 2020-25, or 2050 for climate change). A 16th EQO, on biodiversity, is under preparation. Under the EQOs are more concrete interim targets (usually for 2005-10), developed with environmental planning in mind. Currently numbering 71, the targets are reviewed and revised periodically, and, unlike most of the EQOs themselves, are measurable. The EQOs and targets provide guidance for application of environmental legislation; form a basis for regional and local efforts and for objective setting within sectors and environmental management systems; and inform Sweden’s positions in international negotiations.
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To achieve the EQOs, three strategies were developed, concerning i) more efficient energy consumption and transport, ii) non-toxic and resource-efficient cyclical systems and iii) management of land, water and the built environment. Perhaps the main change from the previous policy approach is the introduction of a framework for monitoring environmental progress. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has overall responsibility for monitoring and follow-up at national level, but eight other national authorities (e.g. the Chemicals Inspectorate, the Forestry Board and the Housing, Building and Planning Board) are also required to develop and implement policies pursuant to the EQOs, as well as to monitor and evaluate progress on objectives relevant to their sectors, in collaboration with other stakeholders. County administrative boards are responsible for follow-up at regional level, and municipalities at local level. The county boards have set up a network to develop a set of indicators. An Environmental Objectives Council was set up in 2002 with representatives from government agencies, county administrative boards, municipalities, businesses and NGOs. Its main tasks are to evaluate and report on progress, identify contradictions among EQOs and other objectives, propose indicators, co-ordinate regional adoption of national interim targets and coordinate national and regional information. The council publishes an annual progress report and is to issue an in-depth evaluation every four years; the first one came out in February 2004.
2.
Regulatory Instruments 2.1
Licensing
Sweden has had an integrated licensing system since 1969, based on a case-bycase approach rather than branch-specific ordinances. The environmental legislation reform that introduced the Environmental Code further strengthened this approach and brought it in line with the EU directive on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC). Five regional Environmental Courts, replacing the National Licensing Board for Environmental Protection and the Water Courts, were set up for cases concerning permits, compensation and damage. Installations with potentially harmful effects on the environment and human health are classified into three lists, depending on the risk involved. Almost 500 large point sources (A list) need an integrated license from an Environmental Court. About 6 000 installations (B list) get integrated permits from the county administrative boards or municipalities, while some 15 000 installations (C list) can operate after simply notifying a county administrative board or municipality. About 1 000 installations requiring permits are regulated under the IPPC directive and 133 under the Seveso II directive. Permitting in Sweden has
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largely been based on best available technology rather than on environmental quality standards. The Environmental Code imposed license requirements for several installations that previously operated without permits after receiving waivers from a county administrative board or SEPA. In exceptional cases, such as proposals to build large factories, refineries, nuclear power stations and large hydropower projects, the central government determines whether to grant a permit. If an installation is believed to involve a risk of significant pollution or damage, the supervisory authority (responsible for inspection and enforcement) may require a permit for an installation that would not normally need one. All permit holders must submit annual environmental reports to the supervisory authority. The reporting requirements are not harmonised with those prevailing under the EMAS and ISO 14001 environmental management systems. In principle, the licensing system provides a fair degree of uniformity, as all decisions are based on the same information about the best available techniques. Larger enterprises appear satisfied with this long-standing practice, but many smaller firms, whose transaction costs for obtaining a permit are relatively more significant, would prefer standardised, branch-related licensing. Moreover, the Environmental Code has been criticised as overly complicated and creating excessive bureaucracy. The average permit processing period is one and a half to two years for larger installations. A government committee recently proposed simplifying licensing and EIA procedures under the Environmental Code by, for instance, requiring only one consultation and allowing partial EIA and licensing when only part of an installation is modified. Care should be taken, in any amendment to the Environmental Code, to ensure that its environmental protection provisions are not weakened and that the public and other stakeholders continue to have adequate opportunities to voice their concerns.
2.2
Inspection and enforcement
Swedish environmental inspection and enforcement, called “supervision” in the Environmental Code, is highly decentralised. It is carried out by many authorities at regional and local level, and in a few cases at national level. Authorities carrying out inspection and enforcement include the surgeon general’s office, the county administrative boards, municipalities and a few authorities at the central level, e.g. the Chemicals Inspectorate. The code requires supervisory authorities to ensure that sufficient resources and competent personnel are available, draw up an inspection plan based on an examination of needs, keep a supervision register and follow up and evaluate supervisory activities. Preventive measures such as advice and information are considered essential elements of supervision. Twelve authorities at the central
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level, including SEPA, and the county administrative boards are responsible for guiding and supporting the supervisory authorities. The county administrative boards thus have the task of both carrying out inspection and enforcement and giving guidance to supervisory authorities in the municipalities. Attention is increasingly paid to selected installations seen as potentially posing the most risk and those that are important to achieving EQOs. All environmental impacts throughout the production cycle are considered. The system is designed for many different types of inspection, not just of industrial point sources. In addition to monitoring compliance, inspections focus on verifying that selfmonitoring by operators complies with the Environmental Code and functions as designed. The code, the Ordinance on Operator Self-Monitoring and regulations issued by SEPA specify requirements concerning self-monitoring and annual reporting (e.g. monitoring techniques, documentation of results and methods, and which aspects need monitoring). Larger installations are obliged to check monitoring procedures, take samples and assess risks and compliance with permit conditions. These tasks can be delegated to a consultant who also gives advice on aspects that need improvement. The supervisory authority may designate the consultant to be used. Supervision under the Environmental Code covers more than a million point sources, farms, natural and cultural objects, polluted areas and other activities. In 2002, about 3 700 out of the 5 500 licensed installations were inspected, including 82 of the 133 Seveso installations. More than 1 250 full-time officials work on environmental inspections. One-fifth of their time is spent on inspection and enforcement at licensed installations. The amount of resources invested in inspections varies greatly by municipality, even among those of similar size. On average in the late 1990s each inspector conducted nearly 100 inspections per year. The total estimated cost to municipalities for inspections in environment, health and animal protection was more than SEK 1 billion in 1999. Operator fees cover about one-fourth of inspection costs. While the delegation of many regulatory powers to local level improves consideration of local circumstances in implementation, it also creates some difficulties. One is the risk of environmental concerns being superseded by development interests in municipal decision making. In this and other aspects, the quality and breadth of supervision vary greatly by municipality, as does the balance between inspection and information activities. Smaller municipalities in particular, with fewer monetary and human resources for inspection, may find it hard to give sufficient priority to what is often considered a “policing” function. The lack of uniformity among municipalities as regards enforcement and inspection may hinder
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achievement of environmental objectives by enabling municipalities to de-emphasise enforcement as a means of attracting business. It also complicates efforts to guarantee a level playing field for businesses across the country. Another risk is confusion of responsibilities, stemming from the fact that only about one-third of Sweden’s municipalities now have a separate environment committee and environment administration, since most smaller municipalities have merged their environment committee and administration with the health or building committee and administration. Swedish law in fact requires that supervision be conducted by a municipal body other than the one carrying out the regulated activity, but this requirement is not always respected. Moreover, it concerns only the political level (municipal council committees composed of elected officials). At the administrative (civil servant) level, by contrast, it is not uncommon for the body managing a regulated activity to be responsible for its supervision as well. In cases of conflict (e.g. between environmental and economic objectives), arbitration is thus delegated to the administrative level, rather than to elected representatives. Approaches to assuring uniform implementation of environmental legislation and clarifying the roles of different authorities might include increasing co-operation among municipalities in carrying out supervision, strengthening guidance from county administrative boards and, ultimately, shifting inspection duties to county level. If inspection were recognised as an activity in its own right rather than combined with preventive measures under the broad heading “supervision”, its formal status would be clarified and enhanced. Follow-up and evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of supervision, as required by the Environmental Code, also need to be improved to provide a better basis for planning of supervision. In general, local authorities would like clearer guidelines from the central government on licensing and supervision.
2.3
Administrative and judicial procedures
Municipal decisions can be appealed to the county administrative board and thereafter to the relevant Environmental Court. Judgements and decisions by an Environmental Court can in turn be appealed to the Environmental Court of Appeal (a division of the Swedish Court of Appeal), which is also the final appellate body in cases where the initial decision has been taken by a municipality, county administrative board or other administrative authority. Judgements and decisions of the Environmental Court of Appeal in other cases may be appealed to the Supreme Court. To improve compliance with environmental legislation, the Environmental Code introduced environmental fines based on strict liability (regardless of intent or fault)
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and levied directly by the enforcement authorities when infringement is established. These civil fines, known as environmental-sanction fines, are imposed when operators fail to comply with the rules, e.g. where a licensable operation is begun without a permit. The fines range in amount from SEK 1 000 to SEK 1 million and apply to about 50 types of infractions. In 2002, out of a total of 1 276 fines generating SEK 14.5 million (Table 2.4), 135 were issued on controlled installations. Because it has been difficult to prove liability in more serious cases, these fines have generally concerned minor infringements, such as delays in submitting environmental reports.
Table 2.4
Environmental-sanction (civil) fines, 1999-2002 1999
Number of fines Amount collected (million SEK) Source:
824 ..
2000
2001
2002
2 283 18.1
1 558 14.5
1 276 14.5
SEPA.
The judicial system has been giving increasing priority to environmental crime in recent years. Since 1 January 2000, environmental cases have been handled by an environmental crime unit in the state prosecutor’s office and by about 20 specialised environmental prosecutors posted in six local units around Sweden. The numbers of suspected criminal offences reported have increased considerably since the adoption of the Environmental Code, to 3 097 cases in 2003; nevertheless, operator compliance is judged to be good. The numbers of cases taken to court have also increased steadily (Table 2.5), though criminal proceedings were instituted in only 11% of cases in 2003, considerably fewer than the previous year. The drop resulted largely from a change in prosecution rules: now criminal charges are not brought in cases where an environmental-sanction fine has been imposed, unless it is deemed to be in the public interest. This change is expected to lead to better allocation of resources by allowing authorities to focus on the most serious crimes. The courts have adopted a fairly lenient attitude towards environmental crime, as the penalty in almost two-thirds of cases has been a means-related fine based on a unit equal to one day’s revenue.
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The extent of organised environmental crime is not well known, but illegal exports of hazardous waste have been increasing, and other signs of organised crime related to waste have been observed. In an appeal currently pending in the Supreme Court, an operator fined in criminal proceedings who had already paid the civil environmental-sanction fine is arguing that the criminal penalty violates Article 4 of Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibiting double jeopardy and double punishment. The provisions of the Environmental Code concerning sanctions may need to be revised if the appellant wins.
Table 2.5
Environmental cases brought to court, 1999-2003 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
987 238
1 471 361
1 594 376
1 628 384
1 648 465
Environmental Courts Environmental Court of Appeal Source:
3.
National Courts Administration.
Economic Instruments
Sweden continues to use economic instruments on a wide scale in implementing its environmental policy. During the review period, several new instruments were introduced (e.g. municipal waste charges, landfill tax, gravel tax, annual excavation charge, airplane emission landing charge, oil transport duty, road user charge), several old ones were modified to better internalise environmental externalities, and levels of taxes and charges were raised. With almost 70 market-based instruments, Sweden probably has more economic instruments in use than any other country. Attempts have been made to estimate the effects of the major instruments; about 20 instruments have undergone comprehensive impact analysis so far, and a further 20 have been studied to some extent. Water users in Sweden pay a combined water supply, sewerage and waste water treatment charge, which varies greatly by municipality. Industries discharging into
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the public sewer system pay a charge linked to the pollution content of the effluent. An annual county district user charge, fixed by the regional Environmental Court, funds repairs of damage resulting from water use. Water charges do not seem to be based on the extent of externalities or aimed at encouraging environment-friendly behaviour. Other water-related economic instruments are the fishing charges and oil spill pollution fines (Chapter 3). The latter are considered effective in discouraging small oil spills; they have actually been used only in a small share of total oil spills. Waste management policy is based on a strict waste hierarchy approach, favouring reuse and recycling over incineration, which in turn is favoured over landfilling. To meet a national target of halving the amount of waste landfilled by 2005 from 1994 levels, landfilling has been banned for combustible waste (as from 1 January 2002) and will be banned for organic waste (2005). The landfill tax has been raised significantly since its introduction in 2000. Obligatory composting and a tax on incineration are being considered. Other economic instruments in waste policy include mandatory deposit-refund systems for aluminium and plastic beverage containers and voluntary ones for glass bottles. A fee is applied to batteries containing mercury, cadmium or lead; the extent to which it has contributed to the decline in sales of such batteries is unclear. A planned tax on non-recycled waste was postponed in 1998 because of uncertainty about its compatibility with EU regulations. Producer responsibility has been introduced for several product groups to stimulate recycling; the government recycling targets for some categories (e.g. cardboard and glass) have been reached while others (e.g. for plastic and metal) have not. Municipal waste charges, fixed so that waste management is self-financing, vary significantly. Many municipalities require households to separate compostable and combustible waste, and others charge more for unsorted waste to stimulate separation at source. In 2000, charges ranged from SEK 800 to SEK 3 800 a tonne and averaged SEK 1 400 per household. After rising 30% between 1999 and 2001, the charges are likely to increase further as a result of new regulations and greater transport distances. Given the diversity of local situations, the current policy of imposing uniform waste management targets on all municipalities might be reconsidered. In general, more attention should be paid to analysing policies’ cost-effectiveness and evaluating the effects of various measures. The sulphur tax accounted for an estimated 30% of the reduction in Sweden’s SO2 emissions between 1989 and 1995. The tax has accelerated the shift from heavy to light fuel oil and from oil to other fuel. It has also provided an incentive to use lower-sulphur fuel. However, the tax would need to be raised considerably to internalise all external costs associated with sulphur emissions; in addition, the many
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exemptions (e.g. for transport by water and for refineries) should perhaps be removed and the firms involved compensated via reductions in other taxes, employers’ social contributions or the like. The NOx charge is believed to have contributed not only to a reduction in NOx emissions but also to an increase in energy efficiency, since the charge is refunded in proportion to the amount of energy generated and in inverse proportion to emissions. Since the latest revision of the charge in 1997, the number of plants paying it has risen by 6%, as the minimum capacity limit has been progressively lowered. SEPA estimates that the charge has generally had a greater effect on emission reduction than plant-specific permit conditions have had, especially for larger plants. Administrative costs represent about 0.7% of the total charged. Opinions differ as to whether the tax on natural gravel has had any effect on use. The tax has had an impact on prices, but it is possible that the scarcity of the resource has been a greater factor over the long term. Abstraction of natural gravel was declining even before the tax was introduced. The cost-effectiveness and efficiency of these economic instruments have been studied only to a limited extent. In most cases, the taxes are too low to cover environmental externalities fully and to significantly affect behaviour. Some inefficiencies stem from exemptions, notably to the CO2 and energy taxes. “Bads” such as noise could be charged for more extensively. Overall, broader evaluation is needed on the effects of different instruments in “policy packages” that typically consist of a mix of information, economic, regulatory and voluntary instruments. A special challenge concerns liability and financing related to remediation of contaminated sites (Box 3.1).
4.
Other Instruments: Spatial Planning and EIA
Sweden has long benefited from an elaborate and effective spatial planning system, including comprehensive plans, detailed local land use plans and building permits. Over the years this system has increasingly incorporated environmental protection and natural resource management considerations. The population is ever more concentrated in the largest metropolitan regions (especially Stockholm, Malmö and Göteborg) while remote areas face economic stagnation and population loss. Urban sprawl is expanding and, as a result, commuting distances are growing. New housing tends to encroach on urban green areas, coastal/archipelago zones and other areas with high natural, cultural and recreational values (Chapter 4).
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4.1
Spatial planning
The 1987 Planning and Building Act assigns the principal responsibility for spatial planning to municipalities, giving them what amounts to a “planning monopoly”. The non-binding but obligatory comprehensive plans, detailed land use plans and building permits are the most important instruments through which environmental and sustainability concerns can be integrated into spatial planning. Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö have broader metropolitan area plans drawn up and adopted by the county councils. Though the Planning and Building Act stipulates that municipalities should regularly update their comprehensive plans, more than 25% of municipalities had not yet begun drawing up their second comprehensive plan by June 2002. Since 1994, the Planning and Building Act has required municipalities to carry out EIAs for their detailed land use plans if these are considered to have significant health or environmental effects. The central government can intervene through the county administrative boards if it suspects that a municipal plan conflicts with national or regional interests or jeopardises human health or security. The National Board of Housing, Building and Planning is in charge of developing spatial planning at the national level. Maintaining activity and populations in the northern regions and mountains remains a particular priority of regional policy, to which considerable funds have been devoted. Protection of rural landscapes and rural areas is also an objective that enjoys public support. Regional growth agreements (referred to since 2004 as regional growth programmes), mainly focusing on economic and industrial development, have been a key regional policy tool. While sustainability considerations are required to be integrated into these agreements, in practice industrial and economic interests continue to drive regional policy. The integration of environmental concerns in comprehensive plans varies greatly among municipalities. Economic interests often override environmental considerations in decisions concerning the detailed local land use plans and building permits. More efforts are needed from county administrative boards to enhance cooperation among municipalities, to co-ordinate planning within and between regions, to follow up on and supervise the quality of the EIAs carried out on detailed land use plans and to ensure that national interests and environmental concerns are adequately taken into account in local planning decisions. A national commission has been set up to re-examine the Planning and Building Act and look for ways to better harmonise the provisions of the Act with those of the Environmental Code. The commission could usefully address issues such as protection of watershed areas surrounding drinking water supplies, integration of Natura 2000 sites into spatial plans, healthrelated environmental concerns and co-ordination of permit evaluation under the Environmental Code and the Planning and Building Act.
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Environmental impact assessment
Environmental assessment was introduced in 1981, and ten years later environmental assessment requirements were established in some 20 laws. These assessments, partly subsumed in the permitting systems, were largely administrative in nature. The Environmental Code made the EIA process more stringent through specific EIA provisions as well as requirements on the contents of environmental impact statements, bringing Swedish legislation in line with that of the EU. No one authority deals specifically with EIA; the authority responsible depends on the case. EIAs are also required under other legislation such as the Forestry Act, Roads Act, Construction of Railways Act, Pipelines Act, Electricity Act, and Planning and Building Act. An environmental impact statement must be submitted with the permit application for many activities referred to in the Environmental Code. After a preliminary consultation among the relevant authorities and potentially affected parties, the county administrative board decides whether an activity is likely to have a significant environmental impact and thus require a comprehensive EIA, or whether a less comprehensive “mini-EIA” would suffice. As recommended in the 1996 EPR, the scope of EIA application has been extended, and legislation requires other alternatives to be examined in addition to that proposed by the operator. Comprehensive EIAs are required for a broad range of projects. The exact number of comprehensive EIAs carried out each year is not known, but the European Commission estimated the number of EIAs (possibly including “mini-EIAs”) at 3 000 to 4 000 in 1999, the second highest number among EU countries. Increased use of EIAs has led to new public participation opportunities, particularly at regional and local levels. A simplification of the process has been proposed, reducing the number of cases for which a comprehensive EIA is required and thus bringing Swedish practice in line with that of most other EU countries. Until recently, some activities covered by the EU directive on EIA were not subject to EIA in Sweden; they include rural construction, suburban shopping centres and parking areas, ski facilities and certain industrial activities. Swedish law is being modified to integrate the activities. Sweden is in the process of transposing the EU directive on strategic environmental assessment and the UNECE protocol on strategic assessment into its legislation.
5.
The Role of Industry
Major industrial branches in Sweden include iron and steel, motor vehicles, transport equipment, forestry products, food processing, chemicals, and electrical and
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electronic equipment. While long-established industries based on iron and wood still play an important role, services, engineering and high- technology sectors have been growing rapidly. Swedish companies often promote environmental management and other environmental initiatives, increasingly seen as competitive assets. Swedish eco-industry is particularly strong in areas characterised by strict regulation and incentives and rapid development of technology and management methods: e.g. water, waste water and waste management and technology. Exporting companies in these areas are expanding, assisted in some cases through the Swedish Environmental Technology Network and Swedish Trade Council. Enterprises primarily producing environmental goods and services accounted for 1-3% of employees, turnover, exports and operating profit in Sweden in 1999.
5.1
Environmental management and initiatives
Sweden has the world’s largest number of companies with ISO 14001 certification per unit of GDP, with 2 730 companies registered as of late 2002. In January 2004, 122 companies were certified under EMAS (only two of which registered in 2003). While 31% of firms declare that they have set some form of environmental goals, almost half (mostly smaller enterprises) have no formal environmental management system (EMS). Firms have indicated regret that there is no “reward” for adopting an EMS, such as simplified permit procedures or reporting requirements. Environmental reporting has spread substantially. The Swedish Association of Environmental Managers has about 300 member organisations, including municipalities and county administrations. In 2000 the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise presented a “Vision for Sustainable Industrial Development in the year 2025”. The Swedish Business Development Agency (known internationally by its Swedish acronym, NUTEK) proposed in 2003 that a national centre for environment-driven business development and environmental technology export should be established. Swedish industry has developed an environmental product declaration programme, primarily used in business-to-business commerce. The use of voluntary agreements (Table 2.6) increased somewhat during the review period but is not a key feature of Swedish environmental policy. In most cases, such agreements are used in combination with other instruments. They have mainly served as a substitute for, or in preparation of, legislation on a specific environmental issue. Only rarely have voluntary agreements set more ambitious objectives than those stipulated in legislation. The effectiveness and efficiency of the voluntary agreements have never been thoroughly assessed. Dialogues between government
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and business on promoting sustainable development exist in i) the building and property sector, involving 20 companies and three municipalities; and ii) the food retail sector, covering future logistics and sales channels and involving 16 companies.
Table 2.6 Transport
Industrial processes, including soil decontamination Industrial products, waste, recycling
Voluntary environmental agreements 1994 1996 1997 1997 1992 1993 2004 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998
Water and sewage Agriculture
1994 1995
Forestry
1998
Source:
Environmental quality classes for lead in petrol Pollution from shipping Environmental quality classes for petrol Decontamination of petrol stations Remedial treatment of mining waste in Falun Clean-up of Lake Järnsjön Energy efficiency in industry Chemical controls, including processes (various agreements) Recycling (packaging, tyres, recycled paper, PET bottles) Construction materials Recycling of NiCd batteries Recycling of office paper PCBs in buildings Sludge, including use in agriculture Pesticides Watercourse system co-operation (various agreements) Conservation of natural forests
SEPA.
5.2
Influencing product and production processes
Information instruments such as eco-labelling are well developed in Sweden. In 2004, 625 products and shops in 61 product groups carried the Nordic Swan ecolabel. Almost 90% of Swedes know what the label means. Work is under way to better co-ordinate the Nordic Swan and EU flower labels. The Bra Miljöval (“good environmental choice”) eco-label of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has been granted to 625 products so far. Some 3 900 products from a total cultivated area of 187 000 hectares have received the KRAV label for organic agriculture. More than half of Sweden’s productive forest area is certified by either the Forest Stewardship Council (over 10 million ha) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest
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Certification Schemes (3.8 million ha). Some environmental NGOs criticise the latter, which is particularly popular among private forest owners. Product policy has received considerable attention. A 2000 government strategy aims to reduce adverse impacts on human health and the environment arising from the production, use and disposal of products. Sweden has adopted the concept of integrated product policy, which aims to encourage a life-cycle approach by i) engaging all relevant actors to apply, combine and improve the efficiency of instruments such as EMS, eco-labelling, eco-design, green procurement and producer take-back and recycling responsibility; and ii) supplementing and supporting other strategies, such as those on climate and chemicals. Procurement policy can have a significant impact on products. Sweden promotes energy-efficient products, for example, through competitive technology procurement. The government is examining the possibility of requiring that social and environmental considerations be taken into account in all public procurement. Many of the government agencies whose activities have a considerable impact on the environment already use tools such as life-cycle assessment in procurement decisions. The government-appointed Committee for Ecologically Sustainable Procurement developed an Internet-based tool to help all agencies, as well as municipalities and county councils, in the greening of procurement; it is being refined by the Swedish Environmental Management Council. Since 1999, more than 20 000 companies have been required to include environmental impact information (e.g. on emissions to air and water and use of manufactured chemicals) in their annual reports. The 2000 Public Pension Funds Act requires the National Pension Funds to draw up a business plan describing how environmental and ethical considerations are to be taken into account in investment activities without detracting from the fundamental objectives of fund management. Each fund’s annual report must show how such considerations influenced the fund’s management. In addition, Sweden counted 34 environmental and/or ethical investment funds in 2002, the third largest number among EU countries. A commission appointed to investigate the environmental and socio-economic effects of producer responsibility supported the concept in its December 2001 report, concluding that the producer responsibility system in Sweden helped reduce quantities of waste going to landfill and of hazardous chemicals used, made material and energy use more resource-efficient, and, together with the deposit-refund system on beverage containers, helped reduce litter. The commission suggested there could be advantages in a voluntary approach to further extending producer responsibility.
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3
WATER MANAGEMENT*
Features • • • • •
Attention to aquatic habitat Persistent acidification and eutrophication The Baltic Sea Heavy metal pollution from old mine tailings Innovation in waste water management
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the objective “maintaining the integrity of ecosystems” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy.
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • approve and implement the action strategy for management of land, water and the built environment; • pay particular attention to the needs of aquatic habitat and river basin management in implementation of the Water Framework Directive; • consider the need for further nitrogen removal in sewage treatment in inland and coastal areas and phosphorus removal in individual rural treatment systems; • take further measures to reduce the impact of agriculture and forestry (e.g. nitrates, pesticides) on water systems and better protect streams and riverbanks in land use practices related to agriculture and forestry; • deal with combined sewer overflows and urban storm water run-off; • ensure that groundwater reservoirs used for drinking water extraction are adequately protected, including through more assertive municipal actions.
Conclusions During the review period, water management evolved significantly, with a strengthened local framework (the Environmental Code and transposed water-related EU directives) and clearer strategic and planning frameworks (e.g. EQOs and interim targets). Sweden also further improved its already very advanced urban waste water treatment, which includes tertiary treatment for phosphorus in 95% of the treatment plants. It has so far equipped 36% of treatment capacity with nitrogen removal, including three-quarters of coastal stations between Stockholm and the Norwegian border. Sweden met the 2000 deadline of the EU waste water directive for secondary treatment. It also met the overall 50% phosphorus reduction target of the Helsinki Declaration and the North Sea Conferences. Nutrient surpluses from agriculture were steadily reduced through a range of measures, such as limitation of stock numbers, the planting of catch crops on arable land over winter and construction of manure storage facilities. Acidification of sensitive lakes in south-western Sweden was reduced from 90% to 79% during the 1990s. Sweden also promulgated a comprehensive set of receiving water quality criteria, including for aquatic habitats, to guide local decisions on pollution permits. Nevertheless, water quality problems are far from being solved, partly due to continued transboundary deposition of contaminants and the extreme sensitivity of the Swedish environment to acidification and nutrient enrichment. Integrated river
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basin management and the use of water quality criteria, in line with the EU Water Framework Directive, are only just starting. Eutrophication of both inland and marine waters needs further attention (as recent European Commission legal action on waste water treatment in northern and central Sweden demonstrates) and will remain a problem for decades to come, given the inertia of the natural systems. Continuing restrictions on consumption of both freshwater and marine fish indicate that the same is true for persistent contaminants (e.g. dioxin and mercury in the Baltic). Despite reduction of agricultural inputs, measures taken so far to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture will not be sufficient in terms of the relevant EQOs. For efficiency’s sake, further progress is necessary on reducing nitrate surpluses from agriculture, since much reduction has already been achieved from municipal and industrial sources. The use of herbicides has risen again in recent years. Not all groundwater source areas intended for current and future drinking water supplies are adequately protected. Sweden also faces continued investment to renew older sewerage and sewage treatment infrastructure, to manage combined sewer overflows and storm water run-off from roads and to deal with phosphorus discharges from isolated dwellings (one-fifth of the total load). Remediation of old mine tailings and other contaminated sites will also be demanding financially. ♦
1.
♦ ♦
Water Management Objectives
The Environmental Code, which entered into force in January 1999, contains some water-specific provisions. It provides a legislative framework for water management based on previous Swedish water legislation and the large body of EU water-related directives. For instance, it allows for the establishment of water quality standards, including maximum or minimum levels or values relating to water level or flow in water systems, watercourses, groundwater or parts thereof. Environmental quality standards may also specify the maximum or minimum occurrence in surface water and groundwater of organisms that can serve as indicators of the state of the environment. So far, the only formal water quality standards that have been adopted concern fishing and shellfish waters, in accordance with the corresponding EU directives. Ordinances under the code specify effluent limits for sewage treatment stations, in line with the EU urban waste water directive. The code also rules out hydropower development on particular rivers and parts of rivers. At strategic level, water-related goals are present in seven of the 15 environmental quality objectives (EQOs) that Sweden’s parliament, the Riksdag,
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adopted in 1999 (Table 3.1). The EQOs are epigrammatic vision statements describing desired environmental states (e.g. “Flourishing Lakes and Streams”) to be achieved within a generation (by 2020-25). These national EQOs are further elaborated at regional level by the 21 county administrative boards (autonomous central government agencies headed by appointed governors). At planning level, in late 2001 the Riksdag approved a set of concrete interim targets associated with each EQO, usually with a deadline between 2005 and 2010 (Table 3.1). Most of the interim targets take the form either of statements about a desired reduction in environmental pressures or of programmes, including elements of the EU Water Framework Directive. Though the interim targets were adopted quite recently, for some it is possible to evaluate progress, as they are expressed in terms of a 1995 benchmark or they reaffirm a long-standing objective of Swedish water policy. The government proposes to achieve its water-related EQOs through an action strategy for management of land, water and the built environment covering physical planning, regulation and economic instruments. This is one of three strategies guiding efforts to implement the overall EQOs. As of early 2004 the action strategies had yet to be formulated in detail. Sweden’s water management performance can further be assessed against the recommendations of the 1996 OECD Environmental Performance Review (EPR): – formulate a strategy for dealing with the environmental effects of intensive agriculture; expand the range of measures to reduce nitrogen leaching from agricultural land in the most cost-effective manner; – give further attention to the appropriate use and disposal of sewage sludge; – set risk-based priorities for cleaning up old mine tailings and other contaminated sites and draw up a long-term plan for the financing of remediation measures; – step up efforts to reduce discharges of cadmium in order to meet North and Baltic Sea objectives; – place greater emphasis on receiving water and ecosystem conditions and move towards a river-basin perspective in water management; – improve the transparency of water-management enforcement activities through clear reporting of enforcement procedures and management outcomes. This chapter will show that Sweden has progressed on the first five of the OECD recommendations. The issue of the transparency of enforcement seems only partly resolved (Chapter 2).
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EQO
Selected water-related objectivesa
Sub-objectives To be achieved in one generation (by 2020-25)
3. Natural Acidification Only The acidifying effects of deposition and land use must not exceed the limits that can be tolerated by soil and water. 4. A Non-Toxic Environment The environment must be free from man-made substances and metals that represent a threat to human health or biological diversity.
Interim targets
Progress to date
By 2010 no more than 5% of all lakes In 2000, 10% of lakes larger than 4 ha were acidified; an improving trend and 15% of the total length of watercourses will be affected by accelerated in the 1990s. anthropogenic acidification. – Polluted areas have been investigated and cleaned up where necessary.
Polluted areas will have been identified, and, in the case of at least 100 of the areas prioritised on account of risks to human health and the environment, clean-up and remediation will have started by 2005. These operations will have been completed in at least 50 such areas.
About 30 000 sites have been identified and remediation has started at 30 of the highest-priority sites. The target is unlikely to be met.
7. Zero Eutrophication Nutrient levels – Deposition of airborne nitrogen in soil and water must not have compounds does not exceed the adverse effects on human health, critical load for eutrophication of the prerequisites for biological soil and water anywhere in Sweden. diversity or versatile land and water – Groundwater does not contribute to use. eutrophication of surface water. – The nutrient status of lakes and streams in forest and mountain areas is the same as in nature. – The nutrient status of lakes and streams in agricultural areas does not exceed natural concentrations, which means the water may at most be nutrient-rich or moderately nutrient-rich. – Nutrient concentrations in coastal waters and seas are essentially the same as in the 1940s, and nutrient inputs to the sea do not cause eutrophication.
By 2010 waterborne anthropogenic emissions in Sweden of phosphorus compounds into lakes, streams and coastal waters will have diminished continuously from 1995 levels. By 2010 waterborne anthropogenic nitrogen emissions from Sweden into the sea south of the Åland Sea will have been reduced by 30% compared with 1995. By 2010 ammonia emissions in Sweden will have been reduced by at least 15% compared with 1995 levels, to 51 700 tonnes. The ecological status of lakes and streams, as defined by the WFD,b is good. The ecological status of Sweden’s coastal waters, as defined by the WFD,b is good.
Over 1995-2000, P emissions fell by some 15% overall, with agriculture emissions down 19%, sewage treatment plants 10%, pulp and paper P&P sector 15%. N emissions fell by an estimated 11% over 1995-2000.
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Table 3.1
Emissions fell by 13% overall from 1995 to 2001, with agriculture down by 17%. Not yet assessed. Not yet assessed. 57
58
Table 3.1 EQO
Selected water-related objectivesa (cont.)
Sub-objectives To be achieved in one generation (by 2020-25)
– There are viable populations of fish 8. Flourishing Lakes and Streams and other aquatic species that are Lakes and watercourses must be directly dependent on lakes and ecologically sustainable and their streams. great variety of habitats must be – The natural flows and water levels preserved. Natural production in today’s unexploited and virtually capacity, biological diversity, unspoiled streams are maintained, cultural values and the and the flows in streams affected environment’s ecological and by regulation are adjusted water-regulating functions must be wherever possible to the needs of preserved even as recreational biological diversity. values are safeguarded.
Interim targets
Progress to date
By 2005 the relevant authorities will have identified, and produced action programmes for the restoration of, Swedish streams that need protection or that may be considered worth protecting after remediation. By 2010 at least 25% of valuable lakes and streams that are potentially worth protecting will have been restored. By 2009 water supply plans, including water protection areas and protective provisions, will have been adopted for all large public surface water sources, i.e. those supplying more than 50 persons or from which more than 10m3 per day is withdrawn, on average. By 2005 aquatic animals and plants will be released in such a way as not to adversely affect biological diversity.
Measures are being drawn up and carried out. Some funding for liming is being provided at central level and through national boards for fisheries and cultural heritage.
Protection areas have been designated for 42% of public water supplies.
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OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Sweden
National Board of Fisheries has adopted a policy on this issue.
EQO
9. Good Quality Groundwater Groundwater must assure a safe and sustainable supply of drinking water, as well as promoting viable habitats for plants and animals in lakes and watercourses.
Selected water-related objectivesa (cont.)
Sub-objectives To be achieved in one generation (by 2020-25)
– Groundwater quality is not adversely affected by human activities such as land use, natural gas extraction, pollution. – Levels of anthropogenic pollution in groundwater are low enough that its quality meets Swedish standards for good drinking water quality as well as good groundwater status under the WFD.b
10.A Balanced Marine Environment, – The surface water status of all Swedish coastal waters is good in Flourishing Coastal Areas and terms of the composition of species Archipelagos The North Sea and and physical and chemical the Baltic must have long-term characteristics as defined by the sustainable production capacity WFD.b. and their biological diversity must be protected. Coastal areas and archipelagos must have a high degree of biological diversity, opportunities for aesthetic experiences and natural and cultural values. Industrial activity, recreation and other uses of the sea, coastal areas and archipelagos must be carried out in a way that promotes sustainable development.
Interim targets
Progress to date
By 2010 the use of land and water will Not yet assessed. not cause changes in groundwater levels that adversely affect the water supply, soil stability or animal and plant life in adjoining ecosystems. By 2010 all water sources that supply May not be met because of aquifers’ more than 50 persons with drinking long response time. water or from which more than 10m3 per day is withdrawn, on average, will meet the Swedish standards for good-quality drinking water in terms of anthropogenic pollution.
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Table 3.1
Specific work has yet to begin. By 2009 an action programme will have been adopted under the WFDb with a view to achieving good surface water status.
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Table 3.1 EQO
11.Thriving Wetlands The ecological and water-conserving function of wetlands in the landscape must be maintained and valuable wetlands conserved for the future.
Selected water-related objectivesa (cont.)
Sub-objectives To be achieved in one generation (by 2020-25)
Interim targets
Progress to date
At least 12 000 ha of wetlands and ponds will be established or restored on agricultural land between 2000 and 2010.
1 160 ha had been established or was under construction by 2002.
a) Numbered and in bold. See also Table 2.3. b) EU Water Framework Directive. Source: Ministry of the Environment.
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2.
61
Performance Concerning Freshwater Resources
An abundance of water and low population pressure account for the fact that Sweden’s freshwater bodies are generally in a good state. For example, in 2002, 97.7% of freshwater bathing areas complied with the mandatory values of the EU bathing water directive and almost three-quarters also complied with the more stringent guide values. Nevertheless, the Swedish environment is particularly sensitive to certain pollutants (e.g. acidifying substances), while others (e.g. phosphorus, heavy metals) have accumulated in soil and sediment and will take a long time to dissipate. Moreover, Swedish rivers discharge into a marine environment that is extremely sensitive to pollution: the shallow, enclosed Baltic Sea, which has a large catchment and whose brackish waters have a residence time of as much as 30 years. Also, several airborne pollutants (e.g. nitrogen oxides, heavy metals) originate in upwind countries. Swedish water managers therefore must confront persistent problems that will affect water quality for years to come, even after pollution from current sources has been reduced to acceptable levels. The first EPR recommended that Sweden move towards a river basin approach and place greater emphasis on receiving water and ecosystem conditions; since then, the EU Water Framework Directive, which also focuses on the river basin approach and the ecological status of water bodies, has entered into force and Sweden has formulated EQOs for lakes, streams, groundwater and coastal waters to guide measures along these lines (Table 3.1). Sweden has just started river basin management: decisions on the formation of river basin authorities, based on groupings of county administrative boards, were taken in early 2004. Its management of water bodies as ecosystems is more advanced: the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has defined an extensive set of water quality criteria to help county administrative boards take the needs of aquatic biota into account in water management decisions. Also, as of late 2003, programmes for site protection and habitat restoration were being drawn up or implemented for around 20 threatened species associated with lakes and streams. Although the forestry sector has become more sensitive to how its operations affect stream and river banks, evaluation has shown that only about half of forestry projects include buffer zones. Moreover, fluctuations in water levels due to hydroelectric power generation continue to have a strong impact on aquatic habitat. Protection of drinking water source areas is the subject of an interim target in the “Flourishing Lakes and Streams” EQO: to provide legal protection for all 195 surface water sources by 2009. To date, 81 (42%) have such protection under either the Environmental Code or local regulations (Table 3.1). Although pesticide
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levels high enough to cause concern have been reported for 9% of municipal wells, municipalities have made less progress in protecting groundwater source areas, partly as a result of a perceived lack of legal instruments, but also for fear of having to pay compensation if use of overlying farmland were to be restricted. Recent judgements by the top Environmental Court suggest that existing laws allow municipalities to be more assertive than they have been so far; in any case, the compensation issue should not be allowed to thwart the protection of groundwater sources. In quantitative terms, pressure on Swedish water resources and per capita withdrawals of freshwater are low (Figure 3.1). Total withdrawals declined somewhat during the review period. In 2000, about 2.6 billion cubic metres of freshwater was withdrawn, going to public water supply (0.95 billion, down from 1 billion in 1995), industry (1.40 billion, of which pulp and paper accounted for 0.90 billion) and agriculture (0.17 billion). In addition, 8.5 billion cubic metres of seawater was used for cooling in nuclear power generation and 0.5 billion cubic metres for mining. The potential for new hydropower development is limited, and current government policy is not to expand it other than to improve the efficiency of existing equipment; there is some public debate on the more intensive use of water resources in the energy sector. Household water use amounts to 200 litres per capita per day.
Figure 3.1 Abstraction per capita
Intensity of freshwater use
300
Sweden Canada
1 420
USA
Water use, early 2000sa
1 790
Sweden
1.5
Canada
1.5
Austria
440
Austria
Finland
450
Finland
France
530
France
Netherlands
560
Netherlands
OECD Europe
560
OECD
4.2 2.1 16.2 9.9 14.2
OECD Europe OECD
910 0
19.0
USA
1 000
2 000 m3/capita
11.4 0
10
20
30
abstraction as % of available resources
a) Or latest available year. Source: OECD.
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2.1
63
Progress on acidification
Acidification of lakes and watercourses has been a major concern of Swedish water policy since the 1970s. Nearly 20% of the country’s lakes (accounting for about 5% of the total lake area) are noticeably acidified. Especially at times of high flows, roughly one-third of the 300 000 km of flowing water experiences acid surges strong enough to threaten fish and benthic fauna. More than 7 500 lakes have been limed thus far; the practice continues with some 200 000 tonnes of fine-ground limestone being spread every year in lakes and watercourses or their watersheds. Liming is merely a holding action until acid deposition falls below critical levels. Some progress has already been made towards the interim target of more than halving by 2010 the percentage of water bodies affected by acidification (Table 3.1). For instance, surveys of 55 acid-sensitive lakes in south-west Sweden, where the problem is most severe, showed that the share of acidified lakes fell from 90% to 79% over the 1990s. However, the Swedish authorities are diffident about reaching the 2010 target; though acid deposition has been strongly reduced, the critical acid load is still being exceeded in most of southern and central Sweden. Only 7% of the sulphate deposition originated in Sweden itself in 2000, so further reductions will depend on international action. Even if emissions were to cease altogether, it would take decades for the soil to recover its pre-industrial pH level and neutralisation capacity.
2.2
Dealing with eutrophication
As for the state of freshwater bodies, no general trends can be discerned in the total phosphorus levels measured in lakes or rivers over the past decade. According to the latest national inventory, about 6% of the 54 789 lakes in Sweden greater than 0.04 square kilometres show elevated phosporus concentrations (6.5% for nitrogen concentrations). Toxic cyanobacterial blooms have been noted in some 90 eutrophic lakes. Eutrophication is particularly acute in southern Sweden, where both nitrogen loadings from agriculture and deposition from the air are strongest. The amount of phosphorus stored in soil on arable land has not diminished. Concerning pressures on freshwater bodies, estimates suggest that the overall load of phosphorus compounds to lakes, streams and coastal waters may have been reduced by 15% between 1995 and 2000, in line with an interim target of the “Zero Eutrophication” EQO (Table 3.1). About 95% of municipal and industrial waste water treatment plants remove phosphorus from their effluent. Trends in releases from farmland into water bodies are uncertain. Other remaining sources include
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phosphorus seepage from milking sheds and other farm facilities, as well as rural household septic tanks. After decreasing about 25% between the late 1980s and 1995, nitrogen losses to freshwater are believed to be unchanged since, despite falls in nitrogen oxide deposition from both domestic and foreign sources (Swedish emissions fell by almost 25% over 1990-2001). Ammonia emissions, 85% of which derive from agriculture, decreased by 13% from 1995 to 2001; about half the reduction was due to improved manure handling, the other half to reductions in numbers of pigs and cattle.
2.3
Toxic contaminants
At the time of the first EPR, Sweden had yet to meet the 50% reduction target under the Baltic Sea Declaration for cadmium (Chapter 8). The target was met during the period covered by this review, thanks to measures in several areas. The permitted cadmium content of commercial fertiliser was reduced from 25 to 10 grams per tonne of phosphorus and the use of cadmium in electroplating and pigments was regulated. Cadmium use is to be phased out altogether by 2010 under the “Non-Toxic Environment” EQO. Nevertheless, in southern Sweden deposition from the air still exceeds the rate at which cadmium is flushed from the soil, and some direct discharges to water from the pulp and paper sector have not yet been eliminated because of the high costs involved. Emissions to air should be further reduced as the 1999 heavy metal protocol under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution is implemented. Mercury concentrations in pike have declined by about 20% since the 1980s. Although deposition from atmospheric dispersal of mercury has decreased, leaching of accumulated mercury from soil and contaminated sites (Box 3.1) probably accounts for the fact that concentrations in pike, perch and similar predatory fish species continue to exceed the national health limit of 0.5 mg/kg in about half of all Swedish lakes. The National Food Administration has issued general recommendations on limiting consumption of predatory fish from Swedish lakes. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are advised not to eat this kind of fish at all. Concentrations of some persistent organic pollutants (e.g. DDT, HCB, α-HCH) in fish and other aquatic species continued to decline throughout the 1990s, though at a lower rate than that recorded in the 1970s and ’80s. Concentrations of other organic pollutants that had continued to rise until the late 1980s (e.g. PBDE, a brominated flame retardant, in pike in Lake Bolmen in southern Sweden) began to decline in the 1990s. Trends in concentration of toxic chemicals in marine species are mostly comparable with those in the freshwater environment. An exception is cadmium
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Box 3.1
Contaminated sites: liability and public funding
The Environmental Code authorises supervisory authorities (i.e. those responsible for inspection and enforcement) to determine clean-up liability and require a person or persons responsible for damage to the environment or human health to take remedial measures (only for activities undertaken since 30 June 1969). The extent of the liability is assessed on the basis of what is deemed reasonable. Where an operator cannot be found or cannot reasonably be required to bear the remediation costs, the property owner may be made liable, provided he was or should have been aware of the contamination. The Environmental Code introduced an environmental clean-up fund to cover costs of cleaning up damage from an environmentally hazardous activity when the responsible party has been identified but is unable to pay. SEK 152 million was allocated for this purpose in 2001, rising to SEK 550 million annually by 2005. A county administrative board may declare an area an environmental risk area if restricting land use is deemed necessary to protect human health or the environment. Old spoil heaps and tailings at abandoned mines are a significant long-term source of heavy metals in the Swedish water environment. Several lakes and watercourses close to mines have been seriously contaminated. As the mine waste slowly weathers over the centuries to come, the risk of leaching will gradually increase. At some sites, mine waste has been covered with soil to arrest weathering and decrease the leaching of metals into surrounding waters. SEPA is making an inventory of contaminated sites and estimates there are 38 000 contaminated or supposedly contaminated sites in Sweden, of which 30 000 have been identified. About one-fourth of all sites are believed to entail “very great risk” or “great risk”, based on evaluations of contamination level, chemical hazard, transport of contaminants in soil, human sensitivity and conservation value. The inventory is supposed to be completed by 2005, including regional remediation programmes and priority lists. By that time, remediation is to have been initiated on 100 high-risk sites and completed on at least 50 of them. As of 2003, work had started on about 30 of the highest-priority sites. The target of 100 is unlikely to be met on deadline. It is estimated that more than half of all the contaminated sites will either be orphan sites or will prove to involve activities undertaken before 1969. Since no more than “reasonable” remediation can be required of responsible parties, the state will probably have to bear a significant portion of clean-up costs, even where liability can be clearly established. The government has spent about SEK 1 billion so far on remediation, a relatively modest sum compared to that spent in many other OECD countries. Cleaning up all priority sites is expected to cost an additional SEK 25 billion. SEPA has made funds available for municipal studies and remediation of contaminated sites.
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levels in Baltic herring, which have shown a rapid increase, possibly as a consequence of increased cadmium leaching from acidified soil.
2.4
Groundwater quality
While the quality of groundwater is generally high, several issues need to be resolved if Sweden is to meet drinking water standards for all aquifers used for that purpose, as required under an interim target of the “Good Quality Groundwater” EQO (Table 3.1). Nitrate levels high enough to be seen as a cause for concern (though not necessarily exceeding the national health limit of 50 mg/l) have been reported at 7% of municipal drinking-water wells. Low-pH water in shallow, excavated wells in southern and western Sweden will probably take several decades to recover; meanwhile there is a risk of higher concentrations of harmful metals and other quality problems in tap water drawn from public systems and private wells. In some counties (e.g. Uppsala, Gotland), pesticides are causing concern, as are rising chloride levels near roads salted in winter in southern and central regions and along the northern coast.
3.
Performance Concerning the Baltic and North Seas
The seas around southern and central Sweden are subject to many pressures from shipping and a diverse assortment of riparian states and continue to experience eutrophication (Chapter 8). Large parts of the Baltic and the Kattegat suffer from severe oxygen deficiency. In 2002, in a large part of the deep Baltic oxygen was replaced by hydrogen sulphide. In August 2002, serious oxygen depletion was also observed in shallow waters in large areas of the Kattegat, the Belt Sea, the Sound and the western Baltic Sea. Huge cyanobacterial blooms, often toxic, have become more common; very extensive ones appeared in the summers of 1997 and 2002. On the other hand, the situation can change quite quickly after an inflow of oxygen-rich water from the Kattegat, as in early 2003. It is difficult to assess the effectiveness of actions to protect coastal areas and the open sea around Sweden because the natural processes involved are hard to quantify and manifest themselves differently in different parts (the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic proper, the Kattegat) and at different depths. Reductions in the gross nutrient load to freshwater do not immediately translate into the same reductions in the amount of nutrients reaching coastal waters via rivers. Also, the natural background nutrient load is of the same order as the anthropogenic one and fluctuates from year to year (Table 3.2). Moreover, changes in nutrient inflows show no clear correlation with changes in recorded marine nutrient levels. The picture is further complicated by the
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contribution from air pollution, which accounts for roughly one-third of the nitrogen reaching the Baltic. It will be difficult to meet the overall 50% nutrient reduction targets (base year 1985-87) of the North and Baltic Seas agreements by 2005, particularly as far as agriculture is concerned (see below). Sweden is responsible for 21% of the total landbased input of nitrogen to the Baltic Sea (including the Kattegat) and 12% of the phosphorus. Swedish waterborne anthropogenic nitrogen emissionsinto marine areas south of the Åland Sea, which according to the interim target should be reduced by at least 30% by 2010 (base year 1995), had already been reduced by 11% by 2000 (Table 3.1). Direct phosphorus and nitrogen emissions from point sources (towns and industry) along Sweden’s coast account for a minor portion of the total input of nutrients and fell by 8% over 1995-2000 as a result of improved waste water treatment. No long-term decrease has been detected in the river inputs of phosphorus or nitrogen to the sea over the last few decades, however.
Table 3.2
Reduction in Swedish nutrient discharges to the Baltic, by source, 1995-2000 (000 tonnes/year)
Gross dischargesa Municipalities Industry Arable land Total anthropogenic load Load to the sea Net anthropogenicb Gross background Net background
1995
Nitrogen 2000
Change (%)
25.9 5.4 65.6 97.0
19.0 4.5 57.4 80.9
–23 –18 –13 –16
0.5 0.4 1.7 2.6
0.4 0.4 1.4 2.2
–11 –9 –19 –15
65.9 .. ..
55.2 66.6 53.9
–16 .. ..
.. .. ..
.. 3.5 ..
.. .. ..
1995
Phosphorus 2000
Change (%)
a) Anthropogenic load at point of discharge. b) Net anthropogenic load including retention. Source: HELCOM; Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings.
4.
Waste Water Treatment
Sweden has a very high standard of sewage treatment. Since 1995, nitrogen removal has progressed to the point that 36% of the connected population is served by
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such plants. In coastal cities between Stockholm and the Norwegian border (including the large cities, Stockholm, Botkyrka, Malmö and Helsingborg), where effluents are discharged directly into marine waters, about three-quarters of treatment plants remove nitrogen. Phosphorus removal is nearly ubiquitous: about 95% of the connected population is served by biological/chemical treatment plants that have an additional chemical stage to remove phosphorus. The remaining 5% has secondary treatment only (Figure 3.2). Sweden has met the 2000 deadline of the EU urban waste water directive and will meet the 2005 deadline for secondary treatment. Sweden is doing better than the directive requires as regards phosphorus removal. But the European Commission has recently taken legal action (i.e. the second step of three the Commission must take against a member state before filing a case in the European Court of Justice) as regards upgrading waste water treatment in northern and central Sweden with reference to the waste water directive. The concentration of contaminants in sewage sludge has decreased and more than half of the sludge is sold for agriculture, topsoil production and other purposes. Public resistance to the use of sludge persists, however, and the government is looking for better long-term solutions (Box 3.2). All seven Swedish industrial discharges on a list of “hot spots” identified in 1992 by the Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Committee had been cleared from the list by late 2002. Five of the discharges involved the pulp and paper industry, which stopped using chlorine in bleaching plants and thereby removed the major Swedish source of chlorinated organic pollution to the marine environment. Reporting by the Swedish chemical industry indicates that discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus and metals to water from chemical plants continued to decline significantly during the review period but that the figures for COD and BOD appear to have stopped falling. As municipal and industrial treatment improves, other sources of pollution gain in importance. In urban areas, significant investment will be required to treat run-off from roads and wet weather overflows, given that 20-30% of older urban sewerage receives both waste water and storm water. In rural areas, discharges of phosphorus from septic tanks represent 20% of the total anthropogenic phosphorus load to water (Box 3.2).
5.
Integrating Agricultural and Water Policies
Swedish efforts to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture have been quite effective in reducing the amount of agricultural inputs used, but the environmental results are as yet insufficient to meet domestic and international
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Figure 3.2 Population connected to public waste water treatment plant
State, early 2000sa Sweden
86
Canada
72
USA
71
Primary treatment only
Austria
Secondary and/or tertiary treatment All treatment
86
Finland
81
France
77
Netherlands
98
OECD Europeb
67
*OECDb
64 0
30
60 90 % of total population
Waste water treatment in Swedenc %
100
Chemical treatment
No treatment
Biological treatment
80
60
Sedimentation
Biological-chemical treatment
40
20 Biological-chemical and complementary treatment (filtration, etc.) 0 1965
1970
1975
1980
a) Or latest available year. b) Secretariat estimates. c) Agglomerations of more than 2 000 population-equivalent. Source: Statistics Sweden; OECD.
© OECD 2004
1985
1990
1995
2000
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Box 3.2
Innovation for sustainable sewage treatment
The first municipal waste water treatment plants in Sweden were built in 1897 to protect human health and improve sanitary conditions. Environmental protection became an additional concern in the 1960s. Now increasingly the focus is on moving towards an ecocycle society, including possible cost savings through resource recovery and recycling. Nutrients are recycled in sludge for agriculture. Energy from digester gas is used to operate treatment works or is sold. Heat retrieved from treated waste water is upgraded by heat pumps and used for district heating. Considerable efforts are also being made to reduce chemical usage in phosphorus and nitrogen removal. Biological waste water treatment techniques are being optimised to achieve biological reduction of the two nutrients. New approaches combining chemical and biological processes are also being further developed. A promising nitrogen reduction method is to pass waste water through a wetland as the final treatment stage before discharging it into receiving waters. The ecocycle approach is also behind the search for system solutions regarding the safe use of sewage sludge. Phosphorus from sludge should be part of natural environmental cycles; the long-term aim is to return to the soil all nutrients that can be recovered from waste water. The Swedish government intends to develop technology aimed at i) increasing the recovery of phosphorus, sulphur, nitrogen and potassium from waste water; ii) reducing the quantity of hazardous substances discharged onto arable land and into waste water; and iii) reducing the risk of spreading infection. Alternatives to conventional waste water treatment are also being investigated. Several small municipalities are considering designs based on separating out the grey (from bath and kitchen), black (faeces) and yellow (urine) components of waste water, or approaches in which all or part of the treatment processes do not involve the usual basins and tanks. This has led to intense debate about the comparative advantages of the old and new approaches. The debate is part of a wider one about sustainable management of the urban water cycle, which seeks an integrated approach to water supply, waste water treatment and storm water management. Stockholm, for example, is implementing a storm water strategy aimed at reducing the impact of urban run-off on receiving water quality.
commitments. Although farm production fell by 10% during the 1990s, agriculture is still the main source by far of anthropogenic nutrients discharged to water. In 2000 the sector was responsible for 71% of Swedish nitrogen discharges to the Baltic and 63% of the phosphorus discharges (Table 3.2). Concentrations of pesticides in streams in intensively farmed parts of southern Sweden are generally low, but levels that could be harmful for aquatic organisms are still recorded in some cases.
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Sweden has applied a wide range of agri-environmental policy instruments since the late 1980s. Regulation has been used to control density of pigs and cattle, impose good manure management practices and compel farmers to plant green cover in autumn and winter. Financial incentives under the Swedish implementation programme for EU agri-environmental regulation 1257/99/EC support investment in manure management and compensate for the loss of production caused by the growing of catch crops, planting of riparian zones and establishment of wetlands and ponds. Financial disincentives in the form of taxes on pesticides and the nitrogen and cadmium content of fertiliser discourage unnecessary use of commercial inputs. Other instruments include voluntary approaches, extension programmes and information campaigns (e.g. Focus on Nutrients), and research and development. Sweden has designated the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea as vulnerable zones under the EU nitrate directive. Largely as a response to European Commission pressure in 2002 and 2003, Sweden designated more inland areas as vulnerable zones. The zones are all within the catchment areas of four big lakes (Mälaren, Hjälmaren, Vänern and Vättern) or drain directly to the Baltic. Sweden also designated lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren under the directive. The European Commission has no further such claims on Sweden and the case was closed in December 2003. An action programme for the most recently designated areas comes into force in 2004 and 2005. Most indicators tracking agricultural inputs show declining trends: application of phosphorous fertiliser has decreased by as much as 70% since the mid-1970s; application of nitrogenous fertiliser decreased by 37% in the last ten years (Figure 3.3); cadmium input from phosphorus-based fertilisers declined from 1.4 grams per hectare to 0.07 over 1985-2002. Although pesticide use has not shown the same downward trend since the mid-1990s (partly as a result of the growing use of glyphosate herbicides on green cover planted to reduce nitrogen leaching), the Chemicals Inspectorate states that the risk to the environment from the use of plant protection products has fallen by 65% since the mid-1980s. The reduction in nutrient inputs has led to a decline of nutrient losses to the environment, albeit not in the same proportion. Phosphorus losses from farmland to water are thought to have fallen by 19% over 1995-2000. Some model calculations suggest that nitrogen leaching from the root zone of agricultural soil decreased by just over 25% in 1985-99, whereas other figures indicate no clear reduction during 19952000. Ammonia emissions from agriculture declined by 17% for 1995-2001. While these results are largely positive, they are not enough to meet the targets of the “Zero Eutrophication” EQO. It remains an open question whether additional measures now being taken (such as the building of new wetlands as nutrient sinks) or still being considered will make up the difference, or whether the EQO can be achieved only through a more fundamental reform of agriculture.
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Figure 3.3
Agricultural inputs
Use of nitrogenous fertilisers, early 2000s
Use of pesticides, early 2000s
7.1
Sweden
Sweden
3.7
Canada USA
12.8
0.27
OECD Europe
8.6
10
0.82
Netherlands
0.20
OECD
6.3 0
0.44
France 29.5
OECD
0.07
Finland
Netherlands OECD Europe
0.21
Austria
6.7
France
0.18
USA
8.5
Finland
0.10
Canada
6.1
Austria
0.06
20
30
40
0.0
0.5
tonnes/km2 of arable and permanent crop land
1.0
tonnes/km2 of arable and permanent crop land
Trends in fertiliser consumption and crop output, 1995-2001 1995 = 100
Crop outputa 100 Fertiliser consumptionb 75
50
25
0 1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
a) Based on values at producer prices expressed in USD at 1995 prices and purchasing power parities. b) Apparent consumption of NPK commercial fertilisers. Source: FAO; OECD.
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Expenditure and Water Charges 6.1
Expenditure and financing
Water-related pollution abatement and control (PAC) expenditure amounted to SEK 7.1 billion in 2000 for households and small industry, and SEK 2.7 billion in 2002 for industry (of which SEK 1.3 billion was for investment). This suggests that total water-related PAC expenditure is of the order of 0.43% of GDP. Total expenditure on public water supply amounted to SEK 6.0 billion in 2000. Concerning financing, Swedish law requires municipalities to recover the full cost of providing municipal water services through taxes or charges. There are no financial transfers from central government for this purpose. In practice, 99% of costs are recovered through charges. Municipalities set charges on the basis of the benefit derived rather than on the cost of providing the service, suggesting there may be some cross-subsidies between household and small industrial users, though it is not clear in what direction. There is no differentiation of charges on social grounds (e.g. ability to pay). Central government funding is made available for the protection and restoration of water bodies, as follows: – liming acidified water bodies: SEPA provides 85% of the circa SEK 185 million annual cost under a ten-year National Plan for Liming Surface Waters adopted in 1999. – agri-environmental grants: the Board of Agriculture annually provides SEK 3 billion (including EU contribution) for such measures as establishment and maintenance of wetlands and ponds in the agricultural landscape. – fish protection: the National Board of Fisheries gives financial assistance for measures with long-term effects, such as projects to promote natural reproduction or give long-term protection to particularly valuable species and populations. Biological restoration of limed waters involves supplementing liming with measures to re-establish animal species, such as habitat management, building of fish passes, removal of barriers to migration and restocking. – cultural environment grants: the National Heritage Board provides grants for the conservation and maintenance of buildings (e.g. restoration of old water mills). – local investment programmes: these help municipalities in projects involving local companies and organisations, and can include support for investments that enhance the ecological sustainability of aquatic environments.
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6.2
Water charges and economic instruments
Municipal water charges have increased somewhat in recent years: the weighted average of the total (fixed plus variable) charge combining water supply, sewerage and waste water treatment services rose from SEK 21.17 to SEK 25.15 per cubic metre (current prices, including VAT) between 2000 and 2003. In 2003, the fixed charge averaged some SEK 10.86 per cubic metre for households, and the weighted average of the variable charge amounted to SEK 14.29 per cubic metre. In addition, a one-off connection charge applies. Charges for industries discharging into the public sewer system vary with the pollution content of the effluent. Sweden has adopted three economic instruments in the field of water management: – county district user charges aimed at financing remediation of damage resulting from water use. Anyone holding an environmental permit for waterrelated activities, such as hydropower generation or water withdrawal, must pay an annual charge fixed by the county Environmental Court. For example, hydropower installations pay on the basis of kWh of installed capacity. – fishing charges. If a licensed activity has a clear impact on fish life, the county Environmental Court may impose this charge as a contribution to research into fish conservation. – oil spill pollution fines, whose level depends on ship tonnage and the size of the oil spill. Revenue amounted to SEK 625 000 in 2000. The fines were increased in 2002. Enforcement needs strengthening. The Swedish pollution permitting system is one of the few in the OECD based on a case-by-case negotiated approach rather than branch-specific ordinances. The former has the advantage of flexibility and adaptation to local circumstances, while the latter is more transparent and provides a level playing field for industry. As practised in Sweden, the case-by-case approach provides a fair degree of uniformity, as all decisions are based on the same information about best available technology. Larger enterprises appear satisfied with this long-standing practice (recently confirmed in the Environmental Code), but the transaction costs of obtaining a permit are relatively greater for smaller firms, many of which would prefer standard, branchrelated permits.
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4
NATURE CONSERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY*
Features • • • •
Forest protection and sustainable forestry Protection of agricultural landscape Nature protection at local level Shore protection
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the objective “maintaining the integrity of ecosystems” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy.
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • further improve the knowledge base for nature conservation and biodiversity management (e.g. inventory of key habitats, indicators, economic analysis), especially regarding aquatic and marine ecosystems; • further increase the extent of protected areas and their representativeness (e.g. nonmountain forests, marine and freshwater ecosystems); • further develop sustainable forest management and monitor voluntary protection of forests; • finalise and implement a programme for integrated coastal zone management and strengthen local planning authorities’ capacity in coastal zone protection; • strengthen the managementand restoration of streams,wetlands and meadow lands within a broader landscape policy; • further increase access to nature for all inhabitants and awareness of the related health and well-being benefits; encourage ecotourism.
Conclusions Over the review period, Sweden gave nature conservation and biodiversity a considerably higher priority than before, as recommended in the previous OECD review. Funding contributing to nature conservation has strongly increased, with public funding doubling at national level and rising at local level and with considerable EU agri-environmental support to improve environmental performance in agriculture, combined with higher funding of forest protection and increased sustainable forestry practices. The area of site protection has increased to 8.1% of the national territory. More environmentally sound forest management practices have gained ground, and a comprehensive regulatory framework has been established to this effect. The National Forest Policy of 1998 sets environmental protection and wood production as the two equal, overarching priorities for forest management. Voluntary protection of forests has become more widespread. Large forest companies practice ecological landscape planning and green accounting, and over half of the country’s productive forests now have certification from the Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes. The cutting of forests containing red-listed species has decreased significantly.
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Despite these efforts, however, nature conservation and biodiversity face major challenges. Biodiversity in the marine environment has received insufficient attention: there are only eight exclusively marine nature reserves; species decline seems to be accelerating; the country lacks a coherent, integrated policy on marine issues; and coordination among the many institutions responsible for marine environment needs to be enhanced. Coastal areas in general, and archipelagos in particular, are subject to strong development pressures, and exemptions to coastal protection are sometimes granted too easily. Overfishing has reduced populations of cod and Baltic herring to well below sustainable limits, and inadequate control of releases of fish threaten local stocks, notably in freshwater environments. Statutory protection of forests lags behind targets, and the representativeness and permanence of voluntary protection are uncertain. Pressures for more intensive exploitation of productive forests jeopardise the achievement of protection targets. The vast majority of protected areas are still in the mountainous regions of the north-west, while southern areas and aquatic habitats remain under-represented. The knowledge base required for the development of protection measures, as well as for monitoring and follow-up of such measures, is insufficient, especially as regards aquatic environments. Progress in the establishment of freshwater protected areas, the protection and restoration of wetlands and the drawing up and implementation of species protection programmes has been slow. County and municipal authorities lack the personnel to carry out nature protection measures and related cultural heritage protection measures, and face tensions among stakeholders. ♦
1.
♦ ♦
Policy Objectives
Several of Sweden’s environmental quality objectives (EQOs) relate to nature conservation and biodiversity, most notably “Flourishing Lakes and Streams”, “Thriving Wetlands”, “Sustainable Forests”, “A Balanced Marine Environment, Flourishing Coastal Areas and Archipelagos”, “A Varied Agricultural Landscape”, “A Magnificent Mountain Landscape” and “A Good Built Environment”. In 2003, at the request of the government, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) drew up a proposal for a 16th EQO, concerning the preservation of biodiversity, which is likely to be adopted by 2005. The proposed overall aim for biodiversity protection is to ensure that all species indigenous to the Swedish natural environment can continue to flourish in the long term without depletion or loss of genetic variation.
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The 1996 OECD Environmental Performance Review (EPR) recommended that Sweden: – accord higher priority to nature conservation; – set quantitative targets in goals for protected areas in terms of total area and representativeness and minimum size of individual parks and reserves, and take steps to reach these goals; – create marine protected areas in the Swedish part of the Baltic Sea; – implement the biodiversity action plan and make biodiversity protection a basic principle of the proposed Environmental Code; – further integrate environmental concerns in forestry policies and ensure that forestry practices evolve further towards a sustainable and environmentally conscious approach, with appropriate goal setting and monitoring of performance. “A Comprehensive Policy on Nature Conservation”, a government communication submitted to the parliament in March 2002, is a key element in efforts to protect outdoor recreation amenities and biodiversity. It stresses: – the strengthening of local nature conservation activities, especially in urban areas; – links between nature conservation, outdoor activities and public health; – nature conservation in aquatic environments; – increased linking of nature protection with other policy areas (e.g. preservation of cultural heritage); – stakeholder involvement, information and education concerning biodiversity and nature conservation; – international aspects of nature conservation.
2.
State of Nature and Biodiversity 2.1
Species
The number of living species in Sweden is estimated at 58 000. Of the 20 000 species whose status was examined in the latest assessment of threatened Swedish species in 2000, 4 120 (21%) belong to one of the six red list categories. Some 14% of vascular plants, almost 50% of reptiles and amphibians and 22% of mammals are classified as critically endangered or vulnerable (Figure 4.1). More taxa have been assessed since the previous assessments in the mid-1990s, resulting in an 18% rise in the number of red-listed species. In 2001, the Species Information Centre,
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Figure 4.1 Fauna and flora
State in Sweden, early 2000s total number of species
Mammals
67
Birds
253
Freshwater fish
50
Reptiles
6
Amphibians
13
Vascular plants
2 272 0
20
40
60
80
100 percentages
Threateneda
Not threatened
Threatened speciesa
Mammals Sweden
13
33 11
USA
Netherlands
25
6
12
6
7 82
27 50
75 100 %
0
25
33
42
14
16 0
1
2
13
20
France
3
26
12
Finland
14
8
7 26
Austria
Vascular plants
16
19
22
Canada
Fishb
Birds
50
75 100 %
0
25
50
75 100
35 0
%
a) IUCN categories “critically endangered”, “endangered” and “vulnerable” in % of know species. b) Freshwater fish only in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. Source: OECD.
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50
75 100 %
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run jointly by Swedish Agricultural University and SEPA, was assigned the task of describing the country’s living species, a project expected to take at least 20 years. Voluntary organisations have an important role providing basic data, particularly concerning bird populations. The decline in populations of forest species (i.e. species with forest as habitat) continues, but at a slower pace than previously; 2 101 appear on the red list. About 20% of species with habitats in the Swedish agricultural landscape (notably pastures and meadows) are threatened by extinction. Among freshwater species, some are recovering thanks to liming of lakes, while increasing hydropower development of small rivers threatens others; 15 species living in lakes and streams are on the red list. Marine species’ decline continues, due to eutrophication, overfishing and damage from trawling. Among the approximately 5 000 marine species, 202 (mostly molluscs) appear on the red list. Roughly 270 wetland species are threatened. In 2003, there were an estimated 2 000 brown bears, 60-80 wolves, 1 200 lynx and 350 wolverines in Sweden. Action plans, last updated in 2003, are in force for all four species. The brown bear population is stable or increasing. The lynx population has decreased in the reindeer herding areas, but may be slightly increasing in more southern areas. The wolf and wolverine populations are not increasing. Illegal hunting is a major problem for lynx, wolf and wolverine. Measures should be taken to eliminate illegal hunting, to supply information so as to increase public acceptance of large predators, to prevent predator damage to livestock and to make it easier to obtain economic compensation for damage.
2.2
Habitats
Productive forest covers 55% of Sweden’s land area. Two-thirds of the forests are within the boreal belt; consequently, 84% of the growing stock consists of conifers. About 95% of productive forests are managed for timber. Over several decades, Swedish forestry methods have reduced the area of suitable habitats for many forest species, but the forest area itself has not decreased. The mixed forests of central and southern Sweden and the deciduous woodlands of the far south tend to be richer in biodiversity than the coniferous forests. Lakes cover 9% (42 000 km2) of Sweden’s total area. They range from clear, lownutrient mountain lakes to high-nutrient lowland waters. Some 2 000 phytoplankton species, 50 zooplankton species and 40 fish species are found in Swedish lakes. Many low-nutrient lakes are exposed to acidification, while lakes in high-nutrient areas often suffer from eutrophication. Many lakes and streams have also been subject to physical disruption through drainage, logging and exploitation for hydroelectric power. The
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country has some 60 000 km of streams and rivers. In the north these are an important repository of biodiversity in an otherwise species-poor landscape. Wetlands cover almost 25% of the land area (100 000 km2). Since subsidies for drainage were abolished about 15 years ago, the rate of decline in wetland area has decreased considerably. Mountains (in the north and west) and farmland cover 10% and 8.6% of the land area, respectively. The Baltic Sea is the world’s largest brackish-water sea. The waters and archipelagos along its coasts constitute a unique ecosystem, hosting a number of species not found elsewhere. Eutrophication (Chapter 3) and the accumulation in the food chain of toxins such as DDE, DDT, PCBs and other chlorinated hydrocarbons (Chapter 7) continue to threaten biodiversity in the Baltic. Sweden lacks a comprehensive national system to identify and classify habitats and biotopes; existing systems need to be streamlined to provide transparency, alleviate conflicts and improve public support. This lack is particularly acute for aquatic and marine habitats. By contrast, national inventories of wetlands and wet forests, as well as grazed and mowed grasslands, have provided a good knowledge base in those areas.
3.
Policy Responses
Together with laws such as the Forestry Act, the Environmental Code contains the main legislative elements governing nature protection in Sweden. SEPA plays a key role in fostering implementation of policies for nature conservation and biodiversity. The National Forestry Board, the Board of Agriculture, the National Board of Fisheries, the National Heritage Board and the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning also have responsibilities in the protection of nature, biodiversity and cultural heritage. County administrative boards and ten regional forestry boards exercise overall responsibility at regional level. The role of municipalities has been strengthened; they directly influence nature conservation and biodiversity through physical planning and the designation and management of protected areas, as well as projects in the local investment programmes of 1998-2002. Sweden gave higher priority to nature conservation in the review period, in line with the recommendation of the 1996 EPR, and has clearly translated this priority into funding. National funding for nature conservation doubled from SEK 704 million in 1994-95 to SEK 1.4 million in 2004. While no quantitative estimates of funding by local authorities and county councils are available, the local investment programmes (Chapters 5 and 6) covering nature conservation have contributed to local funding. The government’s recent decision to allocate SEK 300 million for local nature protection measures in 2002-04 will assure the
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continuity of local conservation efforts. Central government funding for the establishment of forest protection areas reached about SEK 600 million in 2001. Moreover, forest owners may be compensated for opportunity costs as a result of requirements to set aside 500 000 hectares of productive forest and to increase the share of broadleaved trees and dead hardwood being left in forests. The Environmental and Rural Development Programme represents a further major contribution (about SEK 750 million a year) to agri-environmental measures. In addition, increased funds have been allocated to biodiversity research in recent years. Responsibilities for setting up targets derived from the EQOs and for implementing and evaluating policies are assigned to public agencies, private companies and other organisations in various sectors, notably agriculture, fishing, forestry, energy, transport, tourism, development co-operation and cultural heritage.
3.1
Protected areas
Protected areas in Sweden now total about 50 000 km2, compared with 35 000 km2 in 1995. Accordingly to the IUCN, about 8% of the country’s land area (a relatively small share, compared to the OECD average of 14.6%) is under some form of protection, half of it in IUCN categories I and II (Figure 4.2). Nature reserves, which constitute more than 80% of the protected area, account for most of the increase (Table 4.1 and Box 4.1). Four national parks were established in the review period, in southern and central Sweden, bringing the total to 28. The European Natura 2000 network currently includes 3 991 sites in Sweden, of which about 60% are already protected.
Table 4.1
National Parks Nature Reservesa Cultural Reserves Fauna Protection Areas Biotope Protection Areas Natural Monuments Total
Types of protected areas, 2002
Number
Area (000 ha)
Area (% of total)
28 2 519 4 1 040 2 986 1 436
692.5 4 200.5 2.8 107.5 8.8 –
13.8 83.8 0.06 2.1 0.2 –
5 012.1
a) Includes Environmental Conservation Areas established before the Environmental Code entered into force. Source: Statistics Sweden; SEPA.
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Major types of protected areas
The parliament can establish national parks on state land, and a county administrative board or a municipality can designate areas as nature reserves, cultural reserves or natural monuments. To provide special protection for specific plants or animals, a county board or municipality can establish fauna or flora protection areas in which hunting or fishing rights, or the rights of the public or a landowner to stay in the area, are limited. The National Forestry Board and county administrative boards can designate habitats of threatened species and otherwise especially valuable areas as biotope protection areas (Table 4.1). Shore protection generally covers all land and water up to 100 metres from the shoreline, but in individual cases can be extended to as much as 300 metres. Nature protection agreements are concluded under civil law between a forest owner and the regional forestry board for a specified period, usually 50 years. The forest owner receives compensation for part of the commercial benefit he loses in deciding to stop harvesting trees. Voluntarily protected forest is defined as a contiguous area of at least 0.5 hectares of productive forest land in which no forestry or other activities that can damage natural and cultural assets are permissible.
Figure 4.2 Protected areas,a 2003 Sweden
8.0 9.9
Canada
24.9
USA Austria
36.4
Finland
9.1
Categories I-II (strict nature reserves, wilderness areas and national parks)
13.3
France Netherlands
Categories III-VI
25.3
No category
12.6
OECD Europe
14.6
OECD 0.0
15.0
30.0
45.0
% of total area
a) IUCN management categories I-IV and protected areas without IUCN category assignment; national classifications may differ. Source: IUCN.
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Municipal authorities can initiate the designation of nature reserves and other nature protection actions (Box 4.2). Under the local investment programmes, an average of SEK 317 million per year, or 6% of the funds provided, went to nature and biodiversity protection, which is seen as going hand in hand with human health and well-being. This funding is no longer available now that climate investment programmes have replaced local investment programmes (Chapter 5). However, SEK 300 million in national funding will go to municipal nature conservation projects for 2004-06, and is to constitute no more than half the total funding of each project.
Box 4.2 Nature protection at local level Increasing public health problems related to inactivity and the disappearance of natural areas around urban agglomerations have led the government to pay more attention to nature protection at local level. About 13% of the nature reserves designated between 1991 and 2001 were declared at local level, though efforts vary greatly by municipality. Some 30% of the country’s municipalities have drawn up special nature conservation programmes. The fact that municipalities own most of the land in urban areas gives them a good opportunity to establish protected areas. National government support for nature protection and biodiversity preservation amounted to SEK 317 million a year or about 6% of total financing in the local investment programmes. At least 50% of financing for an individual project had to come from sources other than the central government. It was not easy for local actors to develop good nature protection projects that would also meet the other programme criteria. This difficulty stemmed partly from a lack of any real tradition of nature protection work within municipalities and partly from trouble with quantification of environmental impacts, which was a selection criterion for nature protection measures. In partial replacement of local investment programme financing, the government is making SEK 300 million available in 2004-06 for municipal nature protection projects aimed at combining biodiversity protection with promotion of human health and well-being. Sweden so far has seven foundations for nature protection and recreation. Such foundations may be regional in scope or aim at protection of a specific habitat. The foundations can acquire financing for their projects (for instance, from EU structural funds) and mobilise actors at local level. The government has proposed making national aid available for establishing such foundations. Stockholm’s national urban park is an important recreation area for residents and tourists. Other urban parks have been proposed in the vicinity of the country’s largest cities.
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Forestry
Forest-related products have represented 13% of Sweden’s total export value and 5% of GDP in recent years. A downward trend for mature forests with a large deciduous element was halted in the mid-1990s, and such forests are expected to expand by some 10% by 2010. However, harvesting practices (e.g. clear-cutting), logging of valuable natural forests, drainage and use of fertiliser and pesticides have put pressures on forest ecosystems. The diversity of forest species such as lichens, fungi and invertebrates has diminished. Insufficient attention is given to preserving dead wood, small habitats, red-listed species and buffer zones along water bodies. Forestry operations often damage elements of the cultural heritage, largely through a lack of knowledge concerning such sites. Forest road building can harm wetlands that represent significant natural or cultural assets. About 75% of the Swedish forest area is in private ownership. The state-owned forest company, Sveaskog, is the largest public owner with 3.5 million hectares. In addition, about 20 state authorities or state enterprises manage some 2.2 million hectares. While state forest management can serve as an example of sustainable forest management for the whole sector, the fragmented character of state forest management may hamper further efficiency gains. The 1993 National Forest Policy established sustainable forest production and environmental protection as two equal, overarching objectives for forestry. These aims were confirmed in the 1998 Forest Policy, which set environmental objectives for the forest sector for five years. The “Sustainable Forests” EQO set concrete interim environmental targets for 2010: protecting more productive forest land of high conservation value (+900 000 hectares); increasing the amount of dead hardwood (+40%) and the area of mature highly deciduous forest (+10%) and old forest (+5%) as well as areas regenerated with deciduous forest; avoiding damage to ancient monuments; and initiating action programmes for threatened species in need of targeted measures. The county administrative boards and regional forestry boards have proposed regional targets. By the end of 2002, 3.97% of productive forest land was protected as national parks, nature reserves, biotope protection areas or through nature protection agreements (Table 4.2). Most of the new protected forests are in central and southern Sweden, which have generally had the weakest protection. Despite this increase, however, only about 1% of forests outside mountainous regions are protected. Progress in statutory protection has been slow: in the four years to 2002 only 15% of the target for 2010 was protected. Identification of key forest biotopes and other valuable sites remains incomplete. The management of protected areas is still insufficient, though funding for management more than doubled in the review period.
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Sveaskog has ambitious environmental targets (notably to set aside 20% of productive forest for protection and for sustainable forest practices) and aims to set a good example for the private forest sector in sustainable forest management. The company seems, however, to have difficulties achieving its environmental targets and combining production objectives with those relating to environmental protection. Increased attention must be paid to ensuring that protection is targeted at the areas with the highest conservation value, especially outside mountainous regions. Voluntary protection has progressed rapidly: some 810 000 hectares of forest has been set aside voluntarily since 1996, about half of it on land owned by the eight largest forest companies. Much of the voluntary protection involves forest certification through the Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes, which together cover more than half of Sweden’s productive forest. However, most of the areas set aside voluntarily are in northern Sweden and other mountainous areas, and it is estimated that only onefourth of them contain key biotopes. A significant share of the protected area lacks documentation, especially on small forest owners’ land. The prospects of meeting the interim targets to increase the quantity of dead hardwood, mature forest and old-growth forest seem good, despite the considerable uncertainties involved. The regional forestry boards provide advice programmes promoting forest management that would allow the targets to be met. The National Forestry Board, together with SEPA and the relevant county administrative boards and regional forestry boards, is identifying key ecological landscape areas where
Table 4.2
Protected forest areas, 2002 000 ha
National Parks and Nature Reserves Nature Protection Agreements Biotope Protection Areas Voluntarily Protected Forests Total
% of productive forest
872.4a 16.6 8.4 990.0
3.86a 0.07 0.04 4.38
1 707.4b
8.87
a) 2000. b) Includes long-term and short-term set-asides within certification standards and nature reserves owned by forest companies, about 25% of estimated area with key habitat quality. The degree of permanence cannot be guaranteed. Source: SEPA; National Forestry Board.
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green forest management plans would constitute the basis for multiple use of forest land. In 2000, such plans covered about 600 000 hectares of private land. Large forest companies generally apply ecological landscape planning and green accounting. The government forest management organisation uses an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. In 2001, the central government spent some SEK 600 million on forest protection under the Environmental Code. In 2002, it allocated SEK 665 million to increase protection in non-mountainous areas (e.g. in the south): SEK 500 million to establish nature reserves and SEK 165 million to set up biotope protection areas and conservation agreements. SEPA and the National Forestry Board estimate that some SEK 1.4 billion a year will be needed for forest protection in 2003-10, including compensation payments and capacity building in forest reserve designation and management for county administrative boards.
3.3
Agriculture
Since EU accession in 1995, Swedish agriculture has undergone significant structural changes. Between 1996 and 1999 the number of farms dropped by 11%, from 90 488 to 80 199, and the number of farms of more than 100 hectares increased by 10%, from 4 697 to 5 181. This has entailed some negative trends for biological diversity and cultural heritage, but overall these trends now seem to have at least slowed, and there are cases of improvement. The Swedish Environmental and Rural Development Programme for 2000-06, based on the EU Rural Development Regulation (1257/99), is the centrepiece of policies integrating environmental concerns with agricultural policy. The Board of Agriculture is responsible for the general implementation while the county administrative boards manage the programme at their level. Measures under the programme are financed jointly by the Swedish government and the EU. The emphasis is on compensatory payments to farmers for measures such as preservation and restoration of pastures and meadows; preservation of valuable natural and cultural environments in the agricultural landscape and reindeer herding areas; protection of threatened breeds of domestic animals; reduction of nitrogen leakage; restoration and creation of wetlands; and environmentally sound production methods. For 2000-06, SEK 14.7 billion is being allocated for sustainable development in rural areas, including SEK 9.6 billion for environmental support per se. More than half of all farmers receive agri-environmental support. Support payments have helped reverse the declining trend of meadow and pasture land in most of the country. The area of grazing land has increased in coastal
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and archipelago areas since 1995, especially in remote areas. While quantitative targets are being met, the quality of the measures is uncertain, partly because a broader landscape perspective is lacking and sometimes because of outright management errors. Better information is needed to orient measures to the most valuable features and types of pasture. Payments may not be sufficient to retain farming in areas where there is pressure from such social and demographic factors as isolation, long distances to services and lack of alternative employment for other family members. The disappearance of small-scale habitats on farmland and culturally significant landscape features seems to have halted; such habitats and features are increasingly covered by agri-environmental measures and protected under the Environmental Code. Progress varies widely by region, however. Sweden has a target of expanding the area under organic farming to 20% of the total arable area by 2005 (from 16% in 2002); by 2002 it had already met its target of increasing the share of organic dairy and beef cattle and lamb production to 10% of total production. Support for organic farming amounted to SEK 462 million in 2002. The government has decided to significantly increase support for marketing and research on organic production.
3.4
Freshwater fishing and ecosystems
Overfishing, the disappearance of small fishing villages and by-catches are the main pressures from marine fisheries on nature, biodiversity and cultural heritage (Chapter 8). The increasing value of the fish catch has more than compensated for a slight decline in total catch and a significant drop in the number of fishers (Table 8.4). Small-scale fishing remains an important livelihood in sparsely populated areas, and about one in five Swedes practices recreational fishing, with a total catch of nearly 60 000 tonnes in 2000, or about 20% of the total marine catch. Fish are released into freshwater to improve fishing and to conserve threatened species and stocks. The policy of the National Board of Fisheries is to minimise such releases, and local stocks are given preference in releases. The control and supervision of large-scale releases to inland waters are often inadequate, posing a threat to aquatic biodiversity. Moreover, illegal stocking is assumed to be relatively common. Aquatic environments have long received relatively low priority in nature and biodiversity conservation. Although recent progress should be noted, much remains to be done. Some 750 freshwater habitat types have been incorporated into the Natura 2000 network. In addition, 28 water bodies have been designated as areas to be
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protected under the 2001 Ordinance on Environmental Quality Standards for Fish and Shellfish Waters. Among other measures for long-term conservation, the authorities are working to acquire land and/or hydroelectric rights for the protection of streams of particularly high conservation value. Government grants for small-scale hydropower, available since 1997 but now abolished, often led to conflicts of interest between nature/ heritage conservation and electricity production. Overall, 70 of Sweden’s roughly 2 500 nature reserves have freshwater conservation among their aims. Six of the 21 counties draw attention to lakes and/or rivers in their cultural environment profiles. Streams and rivers are currently being restored, mostly through one-off projects in the framework of the liming programme, fishery conservation programmes or municipal initiatives. National funding for river and stream restoration is limited, though the local investment programmes helped many municipalities enhance sustainability in aquatic environments. The National Board of Fisheries is analysing the effects of leisure and subsistence fishing on fishery resources in mountain areas.
3.5
Shore protection, land use changes
Structural changes in the fishing, shipping and agriculture sectors have adversely affected the cultural heritage in coastal and archipelago areas. Traditional open farming landscapes (especially pastures) become overgrown and farm buildings are demolished or converted to new uses. Property price increases have forced out permanent residents in some places; second homes now dominate some coastal communities. Coastal areas, especially those with nature and recreation value in the south, are under increasing pressure from construction, but it is difficult to obtain a comprehensive picture of areas that are still accessible to the public, and of development in coastal zones. Urban green areas are being built upon, most rapidly in communities of more than 10 000 inhabitants. Seashores and all shores of water bodies are protected under the Environmental Code by a buffer zone extending up to 100 metres on both sides of the shoreline. County administrative boards often delegate to municipalities the power to grant exemptions to shore protection. Confronted with development pressures and economic difficulties, local authorities often grant such exemptions too easily. Several single exemptions, which individually would not have major impact, often add up to a major loss of natural and recreation values. Moreover, the local building committees responsible for deciding on the exemptions often have insufficient knowledge and experience in matters relating to protection. The county boards do not have enough resources to follow up, supervise and guide municipalities in implementing Environmental Code provisions and in granting exemptions. In recent years planning resources have decreased in many municipalities. Strategies are being
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prepared to address these issues in line with the EU recommendation on integrated coastal zone management.
3.6
Wetland protection
The 1994 Mire Protection Plan now covers 502 sites with mire area of 3 920 km2, or 6% of the country’s remaining mire area (peat bogs). The number of fully or partly protected sites has increased from 150 to 246 since 1994 and the share of the protected areas included in the plan has grown from 62% to 70% of the total area. The present rate of protection is insufficient to achieve the interim target set by the parliament. One-fourth of the sites in the protection plan are not yet included in the Natura 2000 network. The interim target of building or restoring at least 120 km2 of wetlands on farmland between 2000 and 2010 will also be hard to achieve, given the present rate of restoration. Sources of financing have included the Environmental and Rural Development Programme, the local investment programmes, the Swedish Wetlands Fund and WWF Sweden. Support for wetland restoration and protection should be increased, and co-ordination between the agricultural and environmental authorities improved, to enable more comprehensive and planned protection and restoration measures. Peat should no longer be exempt from the CO2 tax, given the significant (albeit local) harmful impact of peat abstraction on wetland ecosystems. The country’s 51 Ramsar sites cover 5 280 km2, the third-largest area among Ramsar countries (after Australia and the UK). In 2001, 21 sites were added and ten enlarged. An inventory of Swedish wetlands, begun in the 1980s, is to be finalised in 2004. The development of a national strategy for wetland protection was initiated in the autumn of 2003. On the initiative of WWF Sweden, NGOs are preparing their own wetland protection strategy, which could become part of the national strategy.
3.7
International co-operation in nature conservation
In 1999 Sweden ratified the agreement on conservation of African-Eurasian migratory birds under the Bonn Convention. The use of lead in bullets used in hunting in wetlands was banned in 2002. Sweden is working on a bat conservation action plan as outlined in the agreement on conservation of populations of European bats. Sweden ratified the biodiversity convention in 1994 and has provided two national reports to the convention secretariat. The national action plan for biodiversity contains 68 proposals, most of which have been at least partly implemented. Sweden’s implementation of the convention is expected to be evaluated soon.
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5
ENVIRONMENTAL-ECONOMIC INTERFACE*
Features • • • • • •
Sustainable development: progress on decoupling Sustainable development: strategy, institutions Sustainable development: green tax shift Environment-energy integration Environment-transport integration Environmental expenditure
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the objective “decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy. It takes into account the latest OECD Economic Surveys of Sweden.
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • in deciding on any further green tax reform, give more consideration to using the lowest-cost opportunities to abate GHGs, while also taking into account long-term perspectives; • reinforce efforts to remove remaining environmentally harmful subsidies; • review and revise transport prices to reflect all externalities, including damage associated with particulates, ozone and noise; implement road congestion charges in Stockholm and extend them to other major urban areas; • pursue efforts towards enhanced energy efficiency (in a range of sectors, including energy-intensive industry and the existing building stock); review in particular flexible mechanisms to maximise off-site life cycle energy saving opportunities; • strengthen institution-based integration among ministries and agencies, with particular attention to the integration of environmental concerns in industry, energy, transport, forestry and agriculture policies; • introduce cost-effective demand management measures to decouple growth in municipal waste generation and road traffic from economic growth, in line with Objective 2 of the OECD Environmental Strategy.
Conclusions Sweden gives high priority to sustainable development nationally, in Europe and globally. It adopted a national sustainable development strategy in 2002, with a secretariat in the prime minister’s office. The environmental component of sustainable development is well developed in the EQOs and practical interim targets, which help all levels of government move from aspiration to implementation. Sweden’s overall progress in decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth was remarkable over the review period, with significant improvements in emission intensity, energy intensity and material intensity. This progress reflects, in part, institution-based and market-based integration efforts. Sweden makes impressive use of market-based instruments in a wide range of areas, including the integration of environmental concerns in energy, transport and agriculture. The ongoing green tax reform is a logical extension of earlier use of economic instruments. Real efforts are being made to promote sustainable consumption and production, not only through economic instruments but also through policies favouring integrated product policy and green procurement. Overall pollution
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abatement and control expenditure has remained around 1.1% of GDP and broader environmental expenditure around 1.5%. Sweden’s decoupling progress has been less than satisfactory when it comes to municipal waste generation (whose growth was higher than that of GDP) and traffic volumes. While the decision to try a road congestion charge in Stockholm is significant and positive, growth in transport may still have a bigger future environmental impact than any other sector. Incomplete internalisation of externalities translates into transport subsidies. Moreover, road users are not subject to charges that fully reflect the (long-term marginal social) cost of the capital they use. Regarding the target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 4% by 2008-12 from 1990 levels,no allowance is made for the use of flexible mechanisms, though it is clear that this omission will not rule out working with other EU countries in the EU emission trading programme or in clean development mechanism and joint implementation projects; the government is considering establishing an objective that includes flexible mechanisms. While a shift to renewable energy sources is highly desirable, all energy production involves external costs (which should be internalised), so promotion of energy conservation should be prioritised over subsidisation of even the most environment-friendly types of energy use. In seeking to promote renewables, analysis of policies’ comparative costeffectiveness and distributive impacts needs to be better assured. ♦
1.
♦ ♦
Decoupling of Environmental Pressures from Economic Growth
Within the context of a growing and open economy (Box 5.1), Sweden has achieved major successes in decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth. Future prospects for decoupling, however, are unclear. Unless active measures are taken, environmentally harmful emissions, energy use and resource use will probably increase considerably in coming decades, since efficiency gains are unlikely to overcome the volume effects of increased consumption and production.
1.1
Emission intensity
Reduction of air emissions from major point sources has been the most successful aspect of Sweden’s decoupling effort. Large declines in emissions of key pollutants such as SO2 have been recorded over the last three decades, including the 1990s. Today, less than 10% of sulphur deposited on Swedish soil is from
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Box 5.1 Economic context Sweden is a prosperous country with a high standard of living. Measured using current prices and current purchasing power parities, GDP per capita is slightly above the OECD average. After a deep recession in the early 1990s (GDP declined almost 5% in real terms between 1989 and 1993), the country experienced exceptionally strong growth in the second half of the decade. Over 1990-2002, however, the economy grew more slowly than those of other EU and OECD countries, on average (Figure 5.1). The levels of inflation (2%) and unemployment (5%) have remained moderate. Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 but decided to remain outside the European Monetary Union, a decision confirmed by referendum in September 2003. Sweden has a highly open economy (exports represent 43% of GDP). The composition of employment has dramatically shifted, in sharp contrast to the OECD as a whole. The business sector employs around 6% fewer workers today than in 1960, while employment in the general government sector is 2.5 times larger than it was 40 years ago, reflecting the build-up of the welfare state. In 2000, public consumption represented 26.2% of GDP and general government current disbursements 52.4% of GDP, the highest shares among OECD countries. At 32% of GDP, net cash public social expenditure was also an OECD high. An impressive consolidation of public finances took place over the mid-1990s, with central government finances moving from a deficit of 13% in 1993 to a surplus of 0.5% in 1998. Recently the fiscal position has worsened, but a general government surplus was expected for 2003. Traditional industry based on the country’s most important raw material resources, iron ore and wood, still plays an important role, but since the government began ending subsidies to inefficient industries some branches, such as shipyards and textiles, have virtually ceased to exist while others have sharply downsized and concentrated on narrow market segments. Services, engineering and various high-tech branches have grown in significance, reducing the export sector’s vulnerability to international fluctuations. Industry employs some 18% of the workforce, agriculture 2% and services 80%. Nearly half of Sweden’s industrial output is based on mechanical engineering; other important branches include medical products, information and communication technology, and environmental technology. Because Sweden’s tax, social security and labour market regulations do not favour smaller firms, the industrial structure tends to be centred on large, capital-intensive companies. Industrial branches such as telecommunications and energy were opened to competition in the 1990s and the Swedish product market is now one of the least regulated in the EU. International economic competitiveness is high, although competition is still weak domestically in some sectors (e.g. construction and food).
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Figure 5.1 Economic structure and trends GDPa in Sweden, 1980-2002 billion SEK
2 000 1 500 1 000 500 0 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002
GDPb growth, 1990-2002
GDPb per capita, 2002
25.0
Sweden
Sweden 38.8 40.7
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
29.0 25.1 24.1 35.4
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
OECD Europe OECD
27.4 33.0
OECD Europe OECD
0
10
20
Sweden G-7 countries OECD
16.8 21.4
Sweden G-7 countries OECD
17.9 22.0
30
40
50 %
27.8 32.1 24.7 24.0 23.8 24.9 18.9 22.1 0
10
20 30 40 USD 1 000/capita
43.3
Exports as % of GDP, 2002 37.2
Sweden G-7 countries OECD
Imports as % of GDP, 2002
4.0 6.4 6.9 0
Unemployment rates,c 2002 20
40
60 %
a) GDP at 1995 prices. b) GDP at 1995 prices and purchasing power parities. c) % of total labour force. Source: OECD.
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Swedish sources. A further success is the absolute decoupling of NOx emissions (–25%), from GDP growth (+25%) since 1990 (Figure 8.2). CO2 emission reductions of recent decades mainly took place in the 1980s with the expansion of nuclear power and energy efficiency improvements. Since introduction of the CO2 tax in 1991 the reduction has been only moderate, albeit absolute (Figure 8.2). In industry, changes in the energy tax when the CO2 tax was introduced led to lower energy end-user prices. Although energy sector CO2 emissions fell by 7% from 1990 to 2001, transport sector emissions rose 8% with an increase in road traffic. For effluent discharges creating biological oxygen demand (BOD) in water bodies, a declining trend occurred as early as around 1960 when a major programme to improve sewage treatment began. Absolute or relative decoupling has also been observed for some
Table 5.1 Decoupling: economic trends and environmental pressures (% change) 1980-90
1990-2002
Selected economic trends GDPa Population Agricultural production Industrial productionb Total primary energy supply Energy intensity (per unit of GDP) Road freight trafficd
24 3 7 28 17 –6 24
25 4 –10 36 9c –11c 13c
Selected environmental pressures CO2 emissions from energy usee SOx emissions NOx emissions Water abstraction Nitrogenous fertiliser use Pesticide use Municipal waste
–30 .. .. –28 –13 –47 27
0c –43c –25c –9f –6c –27 30
a) At 1995 prices and purchasing power parities. b) Includes mining, quarrying and manufacturing. c) To 2001. d) Based on values expressed in tonne-kilometres. e) Excludes marine and aviation bunkers. f) To 2000. Source: EMEP; FAO; IEA; OECD.
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heavy metals. The trend for nuclear waste, however, has been increasing. Commercial nitrogenous fertiliser and pesticide use has decreased (Table 5.1). Because a significant proportion of air pollution in Sweden is imported, emission reductions may not result in substantial declines in concentrations of pollutants. Thus, decoupling of emissions from economic growth does not necessarily imply decoupling of concentrations. An air quality index prepared by Swedish government agencies, summarising the trends in concentrations of sulphur, nitrogen and other major pollutants since the late 1980s, suggests that concentrations are levelling out but notes a risk of worsening in respect of soot (particulate matter). Ground-level ozone, largely imported, is also not declining.
1.2
Energy intensity
The energy supply increased by 9% from 1990 to 2002 while GDP rose by 25%. Sweden’s economic structure, low population density and climate affect energy use levels. While energy intensity has dropped since 1980, the drop since 1990 is limited. Sweden remains more energy-intensive than most of the rest of OECD Europe (Figure 8.1). Reductions in energy intensity have been achieved in industry and the residential sector; gains have been modest in the services sector and very slight in the transport sector. Cross-border electricity trade has increased since deregulation in 1996. Although electricity prices were stable until 2001, they have recently been less so.
1.3
Material intensity
Since the mid-1950s, decoupling has occurred for a number of major material flows. The amount of raw materials used per unit produced was approximately halved even as the volume of production more than tripled. A major factor in this progress was a shift towards knowledge-intensive production. Resource efficiency trends in terms of waste are of concern. Industrial waste intensity (kg/GDP) is relatively high by OECD standards. There is no decoupling concerning municipal waste generation: it grew by 30% while GDP rose by 25% (Table 5.1). Household waste volumes are increasing, though the proportion sent to landfill or incinerated is falling, and material recovery and composting are rising. Natural gravel extraction, which is environmentally damaging, has declined substantially since 1990, replaced in part by use of crushed rock. A tax on natural gravel may have contributed somewhat to the decline. A key issue of concern with materials is dissipative use or losses (e.g. copper emissions from brake linings) rather than overall usage rates or stock quantities. The
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toxicity of materials is also very important. Thus, while reducing material throughput increases eco-efficiency generally, crude material flow indicator trends should be interpreted with caution. The government-appointed Resource Efficiency Commission, reporting in 2001, expressed concern that levels of certain toxic and environmentally harmful materials are rising in Sweden. While the use of mercury has declined, the aim of phasing it out by 2003 was not achieved. Major knowledge gaps remain. An increase in the number of chemical products registered annually is not necessarily a problem if more toxic chemicals are replaced by less toxic ones, but knowing the properties of these substances is critical. Addressing toxicity and dissipation into the environment requires attention to product and process design rather than a general focus on decoupling.
2.
Towards Sustainable Development 2.1
Sweden’s sustainable development strategy
The government has committed itself to making Sweden “one of the countries leading the way in the transition to development that is sustainable in all its dimensions, economic, social and ecological.” The national strategy for sustainable development (March 2002) sets out a vision of the future and lists eight strategic core areas. The vision “should remain valid for a generation” while the core areas “may need to be reassessed at more frequent intervals”. The strategy includes both international and local activities. To co-ordinate the government’s work on sustainable development, a Secretariat for Sustainable Development was established within the prime minister’s office in December 2003. The strategic core areas, chosen to emphasise the importance of integrating the social, economic and environmental aspects of development, are: 1) the future environment; 2) limitation of climate change; 3) population and public health; 4) social cohesion, welfare and security; 5) employment and learning in a knowledge society; 6) economic growth and competitiveness; 7) regional development and cohesion; and 8) community development. Sustainable consumption and production is also given some recognition, as part of Sweden’s international activities on sustainable development and as an issue under core area 6. Implementation of the strategy is seen as a long-term, continuing process. The strategy is intended to be a living document, continuously monitored and evaluated. A first set of sustainable development indicators, developed in 2001, will be revised and adapted to the sustainable development strategy.
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Institution-based integration
Integration of environmental concerns in other policy areas Since 1 January 2003 the Constitution has stated that “public activity shall promote sustainable development leading to a good environment for present and future generations”. The framework of environmental quality objectives serves as guidance for all policy work with potential environmental implications. For example, the Swedish Energy Agency is obliged to “analyse developments in energy markets and the energy system in terms of the environment”. Evidence of integration of environmental concerns can be seen at central government level in the activities of many ministries and sectoral planning agencies. For example, the Ministry of Finance’s annual examination of product and capital markets builds in environmental considerations, and the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications takes environmental concerns into account when developing energy policy. Nevertheless, there may be something in the perceptions of some stakeholders that certain ministries are not always sufficiently attuned to what other ministries are trying to achieve, that there are inter-agency disparities in approach and that environmental considerations are sometimes given short shrift in planning processes in some sectors (e.g. fisheries). Some evidence (e.g. a recent study by the National Institute of Economic Research analysing the cost-effectiveness of nitrogen pollution abatement policies concerning the Baltic Sea) suggests there may be more scope to lower costs through better policy co-ordination. Integration is examined further below for the transport, energy and agriculture sectors (Section 3). The 1996 OECD Environmental Performance Review of Sweden recommended the integration of environmental issues into all central government preparatory and decision-making processes. The government has since introduced environmental management systems for government agencies and ministries. Over 230 public agencies, and all ministries, have been required to adopt such systems, which cover not only direct environmental impact (e.g. of procurement) but also indirect impact (e.g. resulting from decisions, funding and training). This development has been particularly important for the 30 to 50 or so central agencies with a significant environmental impact. Examples include the National Road Administration, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Board of Agriculture. While the use of EMS is advancing well overall, implementation gaps remain. Clear instances of high-quality institution-based integration also exist at the regional and local levels. Examples include the Agenda 21 programmes of Göteborg and Stockholm and these cities’ work on integrated planning and development. Local involvement in Agenda 21 is widespread: over 70% of the country’s 289 municipal
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councils have adopted Agenda 21 plans or programmes. Many of these are highly developed, providing for environmental action and monitoring along with careful consideration of the environmental aspects of matters such as waste management, chemicals, housing, transport and energy use. Municipalities often form associations to reduce monitoring costs (e.g. for air quality). The government has supported local efforts since 1997 with sustainable development grants under the local investment programmes, and the climate investment programmes that succeeded them in 2002 (with SEK 900 million allocated for 2002-04). The former programmes, with both employment and environmental objectives, made an impact in both areas. For example, they appear to have helped reduce carbon, SOx and NOx emissions. Their cost-effectiveness in terms of employment impact alone was low, however.
Environmental and sustainability assessments The National Rail Administration, the National Road Administration and the county administrative boards undertake long-term planning (currently for 2004-15). Their proposals must include strategic environmental assessments, in accordance with the EU Directive on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Plans and Programmes on the Environment (2001/42/EC). Similar assessments are required in other transport policy planning. Environmental impact assessments, as required by the 1999 Environmental Code (Chapter 2), cover environmental, economic and health impacts. All government bills and communications include economic and environmental assessments. Health impact assessments are also used to analyse and clarify the public health effects of current policies well as proposals for new policies in areas related to public health. A variety of processes exists for appraising proposals in a range of policy areas against the government’s sustainable development objectives, but so far no systematic assessment of options through cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis or multicriteria analysis is required. In short, sustainability assessments are not yet required for policy proposals. Such an approach is being developed, however, and is expected to have a significant impact on an international scale, as well as the national, regional and local levels.
Integration of economic objectives into environmental policy In any country, there may be tension between sustainable development aspirations, which tend to be generally defined, and more specific environmental aspirations. Sweden’s Environmental Code states, for example, that environmental quality standards shall specify levels of pollution or other disturbance to which
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humans or the environment can be subjected without any risk of significant or substantial detriment. This is a highly ambitious aspiration, which in practice the standards probably do not meet. Indeed, some actors in society may see environmental objectives as being balanced against other dimensions of sustainable development (i.e. economic growth and social objectives), which leads to environmental quality standards being set more as pragmatic “bottom lines”.
2.3
Market-based integration
In its spring 2003 budget statement, the government declared: “One key task for environmental policy is to establish a system in which the party responsible for environmental impact is also made to bear the cost to the general economy”. Sweden has used economic instruments to integrate environmental concerns into policy in a way that materially influences development and thus advances sustainability. It was among the first countries to introduce a significant CO2 tax (1991), and it now has a wide variety of economic instruments. In 2002, environment-related taxes generated SEK 68 billion, or 5.8% of total tax revenue (Table 5.2). The tax reform known as the “green tax shift” is another component of this policy (Box 5.2).
Table 5.2
Revenue from selected environment-related taxes, and energy and vehicle taxes (SEK billion in current prices)
Energy tax Petrol Electricity Other Carbon dioxide tax on petrol other Sulphur tax Special tax on electricity Motor vehicle tax Tax on natural gravel Tax on fertiliser and pesticides Tax on waste Total revenue Source:
Ministry of Finance.
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2002
38.3 19.3 11.3 7.7 12.0 4.6 7.4 0.1 1.7 7.0 0.1 0.4 1.1 60.7
37.2 17.2 14.0 6.0 19.9 7.9 12.0 0.2 1.8 7.5 0.1 0.4 0.9 67.9
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Box 5.2 Green tax shift The 2000 spring finance bill introduced an environmental tax reform called the green tax shift: a reallocation of taxes from labour to environmentally harmful activities, notably energy production and use. It is estimated that the green tax shift in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 budget bills amounted to EUR 0.8 billion. Several taxes, including those on CO2, energy, electricity, landfill and gravel, were increased while others were decreased, especially the basic income tax threshold and employers’ social contributions. In a further EUR 0.2 billion shift proposed for 2004, the CO2 tax is to be raised again, by 18%, to around EUR 90 per tonne of CO2. Energy and CO2 taxes, in particular, influence the energy and transport sectors (Section 3). The overall goal is a green tax shift of EUR 3 billion for 2001-10. Some evaluations of the effectiveness of tax instruments in achieving environmental objectives have been made in Sweden, but more are needed. Taxes often take time to have an impact, as long-term elasticity may be higher than shortterm responses. One evaluation suggests that the mix of instruments in use in 2001 to address GHG emissions (including the CO2 tax) will reduce emissions by 15-20% by 2010 from what they would otherwise have been. A study of the green tax shift’s distributional effects indicates that its average net impact has amounted to less than 1% of disposable income in all social groups (Chapter 6). As well as advancing environmental objectives, the green tax shift aims to increase employment. Lowering tax rates on labour and increasing the income tax threshold can be expected to have medium-term benefits for employment, though the short-term effects may well be small.
Climate change “Limitation of climate change” is a core area of the sustainable development strategy, and “Reduced Climate Impact” is the first of Sweden’s 15 environmental quality objectives (EQOs). Although the country’s share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is small, Sweden’s commitment to contribute to the global effort to reduce emissions is strong because of the potential future impact of climate change worldwide. Emission reduction policies affect many other policy areas, such as transport, energy and forestry; hence, climate change presents some difficult sustainable development and integration challenges for Sweden (Chapter 8). The introduction of the CO2 tax in 1991 was an important example internationally of attempting to price the externalities (including risks) associated with CO2 emissions. The price was set too low to achieve Sweden’s emission reduction goals, however (particularly when rebates were taken into account), so the
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government appointed a Green Tax Commission to review the tax structure. As a result of the commission’s report in 1997, a reallocation of the tax burden, the “green tax shift”, was begun. This reform has carried internalisation further and demonstrated the potential for revenue recycling through reduction of employer tax contributions and an increase in personal tax thresholds. To address international environmental problems cost-effectively, low-cost options should be taken up before high-cost policies are adopted. This principle is the basis for the emerging EU emission trading programme, for instance. Arrangements for integrating Swedish climate change policy with the flexible mechanism available in this EU programme remain to be finalised. Given the desirability of limiting costs through the flexibility to exploit low-cost opportunities first, the case for raising the CO2 tax rate as planned (from around EUR 76 per tonne to around EUR 90) is not clear. Rather than stemming from a need to meet CO2 objectives per se, this plan may have more to do with a desire to expand use of renewables to fill the gap if nuclear power is phased out. If the tax rate substantially exceeds the traded price of CO2 over the next decade or so, premature costs may be incurred. Under the “Reduced Climate Impact” EQO, the interim target (reducing GHG emissions by 4% from 1990 levels by 2008-12) makes no allowance for the use of flexible mechanisms such as the clean development mechanism. Full participation in flexible mechanisms is in fact envisaged, however, allowing cost-effective emission reductions to be achieved and the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change advanced through, for example, assistance to developing countries. In practice, development aid to Baltic and eastern European countries since the early 1990s has been a cost-effective way for Sweden to “buy” emission reductions. Any concern that Sweden will not achieve its 4% GHG reduction target should be seen in the light of i) the success the country has already achieved in cutting its own GHG emissions to relatively low levels, and ii) the desirability of extending the search for cost-effective reductions beyond Sweden’s borders via flexible mechanisms. In the longer term, a higher price on CO2 may be necessary if Sweden is to make adequate progress towards meeting its goals of reducing annual per capita GHG emissions to 4.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050 and phasing out nuclear power. The longer-term position should perhaps also take into account data on carbon embodied in Sweden’s net imports: one estimate is that the CO2 content of Swedish imports exceeds that of exports by around 7 million tonnes annually (by comparison, Swedish production generates 53 million tonnes of CO2 per year). In the meantime, Sweden’s work to develop a positive role for trading within the EU is important and so could be strengthened, as could its support for wider use of flexible mechanisms, so as to make emission reductions cost-effectively.
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Table 5.3
Selected environment-related taxes on energy and transport
Instrument (year introduced)
Rate
Remarks
ENERGY
SEK 0.76/kg CO2
The rate was last raised by SEK 0.1/kg in the 2003 green tax shift. A further increase of 18% is proposed for 2004.
CO2 tax on fuel (1991, revised 2002) Combined energy and CO2 tax SEK 3.12-3.66/litre on fuel (1991, revised 2002) (diesel)
The rates, differentiated according to the fuel’s environmental properties, were raised by 15% on 1 January 2002.
SEK 4.6-5.30/litre (petrol)
Industry, agriculture, forestry and fishing are exempt from the energy tax and pay only 30% of the CO2 tax. For energyintensive industry, if the CO2 tax incurred by a company exceeds 0.8% of turnover, the company is entitled to a reduction so that only 24% of the tax burden on the excess is paid.
SEK 3.12/litre (alkylate petrol)
Around 50 companies are entitled to a reduction of the CO2 tax. If the CO2 tax incurred exceeds 1.2% of turnover, no tax is paid for the excess. In practice, this applies only to a handful of companies. A lower rate applies to ethanol and rapeseed methyl ester used in pilot projects.
SEK 1.07/m3 (natural gas and methane for transport) SEK 1.30/litre (LPG for transport)
The following are exempt:
SEK 1575/1000m3 (natural gas and methane for stationary use)
– –
SEK 2028/1000m3 (LPG for stationary purposes) SEK 1865/tonne (coal and coke) SEK 2505/m3 (crude pine tree oil for heating)
– – – –
– – – – – – – – – – –
all fuel used for commercial air navigation aviation spirit and jet fuel used for private air navigation petrol used in aircraft fuel delivered to another EU member state for use by diplomats and the like, as well as such use in Sweden fuel used in ships and boats, except for private use fuel used for other purposes than in motors and for heating fuel used in a process where the fuel to a major extent is used for other purposes than in motors and for heating methane produced through biological processes fuel sold in one-litre packages losses in connection with fuel production, storage and transport fuel used in trains or other rail transport fuel used in the production of petroleum, carbon fuel and petroleum coke fuel used in electricity generation fuel used in heat production in a combined heat and power plant for the proportion related to the heat generation (only half of the energy tax and no CO2 tax is exempted) petrol used as solvent electricity produced and consumed on a ship or other means of transport electricity produced in an emergency generator
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Selected environment-related taxes on energy and transport (cont.)
Instrument (year introduced)
Rate
Remarks
A new tax on alternative motor fuel came into effect in 2003: such fuel was exempted from the CO2 tax if its net contribution to GHG emissions is limited, and pilot projects involving such fuel were made eligible for exemption from the energy and CO2 taxes. In the 2004 budget bill the strategy was changed: renewables will be exempt from excise tax. Electricity tax
SEK 0.223/kWh (households in southern Sweden) SEK 0.161/kWh (households in northern Sweden)
Information on the changes introduced in 2003 green tax shift remain to be confirmed. The 2004 budget bill recommends that electricity used in industry no longer be exempt from electricity tax but that a tax level of SEK 0.005/ kWh be introduced, corresponding to the minimum suggested in the new EU energy tax directive.
SEK 0.195/kWh (gas heat or water supply)
Exempted is electricity:
Electricity certificate trading system (2003)
Tax on nuclear power (1983, revised 2000)
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– produced and consumed on a ship or other means of transport – produced in an emergency generator – used for other purposes than in motors and for heating – generated by wind power – produced for own use in a plant with capacity of <100 kW – produced in a power plant with capacity of < 50kW and delivered without payment to a consumer with no common interest with the producer – consumed in electricity production and distribution – used in manufacturing and agriculture, including commercial greenhouses – used in trains or other rail transport – used in producing petroleum, carbon fuel and petroleum coke – produced in a combined heat and power plant and used internally in production of electricity, gas, heat and water – used in transmission on the electrical grid Electricity suppliers and users must buy a certain number of electricity certificates per year. Producers of electricity from renewables receive from the government a certificate for each MWh of electricity produced. Certificates can be sold on the market to provide extra revenue.
SEK 5514/MW and month
The tax is now based on the highest thermal production capacity in the nuclear plant. Before 1 July 2000 it was related to the quantity of electricity produced. The rate was then SEK 0.027/kWh.
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Table 5.3
Selected environment-related taxes on energy and transport (cont.)
Instrument (year introduced)
Rate
Remarks
Sulphur content tax (1991)
SEK 27/m3 per 0.1% of sulphur content by weight (light and heavy fuel oil, diesel)
Exemptions:
SEK 30/m3 per kg of sulphur content (coke, coal, petroleum coke, peat)
TRANSPORT Annual vehicle tax
SEK 110 (motorcycles <75kg) SEK 585 (petroldriven cars <900kg) SEK 734 + SEK 149 per 100kg above 900kg (petrol-driven cars >900kg) SEK 390-984 (petrol-driven buses; depends on weight)
– all fuel, except petrol, used for commercial air navigation, in ships and boats (except for private use) and in trains or other rail transport – fuel whose sulphur is not emitted to the atmosphere through binding in the process or in the ashes – oil with < 0.05% sulphur content – fuel used for purposes other than motors or heating – fuel used in metallurgy, in the production of goods from mineral compounds other than metal and in soda recovery boilers – fuel used in the production of petroleum, carbon fuel and petroleum coke – The tax is refunded at the same rate for each kilogram of sulphur removed from emissions. Exemptions: – – – – –
vehicles registered in the Military Vehicle Register electric and hybrid vehicles (first five years) diesel-driven semi-trailers with a total weight >3000kg diesel-driven passenger cars motorcycles, passenger cars, lorries and buses 30 years old or more – agricultural tractors Company cars pay 60% of the tax for a comparable diesel or petrol vehicle, up to a maximum of SEK 16 000 (electric and hybrid-electric vehicles) of 80% with a maximum of SEK 8000 (alcohol and gas cars).
SEK 720-1545 (diesel-driven buses; depends on weight) SEK 390-984 (petrol-driven lorries; depends on weight) SEK 370 (on-road tractors) SEK 150 or higher (trailers; depends on weight and type)
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Selected environment-related taxes on energy and transport (cont.)
Instrument (year introduced)
Rate
TRANSPORT (cont.)
SEK 137-15 097 + SEK 217 per 100kg above 23 000kg (diesel-driven lorries; depends on weight, number of axles and presence of towing mechanism)
Annual vehicle tax
Remarks
SEK 9443 + SEK 172 per 100kg above 18 000kg (airplanes) SEK 25 932 + SEK 185 per 100kg above 23 000kg (airplane motors classification 1 according to LTO cycle Petroleum transport duty (1998)
Road user tax (1998, revised 2001)
Source:
OECD.
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SEK 3.40-5.30/unit of gross tonnage (vessels that do not transport oil in bulk)
Rates vary according to emissions of NOx and SO2 per unit of gross tonnage. Exempted: cruise liners, and vessels used in oil rigs and for coast guard services or other local services with a gross weight < 400 tonnes.
SEK 3.7-5.3/unit of gross tonnage (vessels that transport oil in bulk)
Rates vary according to emissions of NOx and SO2 per unit of gross tonnage.
SEK 7247-15 086/ year (lorries with a total weight of >12 000 tonnes)
Rates vary according to the number of axles and, since April 2001, the performance level as measured by the EURO standards and criteria. Exempted: vehicles belonging to the military, police, civil defence, fire brigade or other rescue service, and those used only for road maintenance.
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Other market-based instruments Although Swedish environmental policies favour extensive use of economic instruments, the potential for further progress remains. Sweden could make even more use of such instruments; moreover, of the many it now uses, some are too low and others are weakened by exemptions, and overall their effectiveness has not been analysed sufficiently. Sweden has a range of energy and transport taxes relating to the environment (Table 5.3). Current discussions about a possible tax on incinerated waste include consideration of a link with the energy tax. Changes to the energy tax are planned: the exemption on electricity for industry will be removed, and in July 2004 the rate on electricity will be raised to the minimum specified in the EU energy tax directive, in conjunction with a new Swedish law on voluntary energy efficiency improvements. Taxes and charges on products such as batteries could be adjusted to increase policy effectiveness, and “bads” such as noise could be charged for more comprehensively. Inefficient exemptions in charging regimes include the waiver of fairway dues for ships operated by public agencies or used within one county and the sulphur tax exemptions for water transport and for fuel used in fuel production (e.g. at refineries) and industrial processes. The rate of some taxes may be too low to provide sufficient incentive to change behaviour. Since the marginal cost of abatement in certain cases (e.g. nitrates and acid precursors) is much higher in Sweden than elsewhere in the region, cost-effectiveness in a national context may not always be the best criterion; cost-effectiveness at regional level should be considered in such cases.
Environmentally harmful subsidies In a recent evaluation of environmentally harmful subsidies, the principal finding was that potentially harmful direct subsidies to the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting) in the late 1990s exceeded the environmental taxes paid by the sector. Large subsidies also went to the housing and construction industry in the form of interest reductions. Reforms to the EU Common Agricultural Policy can have important environmental results in Sweden, as elsewhere. Agri-environmental subsidies and cross-compliance mechanisms are steps in the right direction. More market-based price signals at EU level for farm production would reduce production-related agricultural support and might prove beneficial for the environment. Minor subsidies with environmentally harmful effects include tax relief for commuting to work when annual expenses exceed SEK 7 000. Aimed at improving labour market flexibility, the subsidy also increases road travel and CO2 emissions.
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Another example is a product transport subsidy paid largely for mining, quarrying and manufacturing operations in sparsely populated areas. It is intended to encourage rural area processing but is also likely to increase transport and emissions.
3.
Sectoral Integration 3.1
Integration of environmental concerns into energy policy
Energy efficiency and demand Sweden’s energy intensity is significantly higher than the OECD and OECD Europe averages (Figure 8.1). This is partly due to the size of energy intensive industry and partly reflects lower electricity prices than in most other OECD countries. As a result, energy efficiency is an important policy goal and one of the main aims of the green tax shift. Several recent programmes have allocated funds for energy efficiency. A 19982002 programme totalling SEK 3.5 billion included SEK 450 million for energy efficiency, and a 1998-2005 programme of SEK 5.3 billion for research, development and demonstration includes commercially viable technologies to enhance energy efficiency. A 2003-07 programme allocates SEK 135 million for information, education and testing, SEK 540 million for local and regional initiatives such as municipal energy advisers and regional energy offices, and SEK 325 million for coordination of technological procurement and market introduction. In addition, an information project on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction in industry, commerce and households was run in southern Sweden in 1999-2002. The costeffectiveness of these and other such programmes is uncertain. One significant demand-side development is that Svenska Kraftnat, the national grid operator, has been given explicit responsibility for assuring sufficient electricity reserves by making load reduction agreements with major electricity consumers. Further scope for promoting efficiency and demand-side management exists in the building and construction sector and in energy-intensive production (mining, pulp and paper, iron and steel, chemicals), among other areas. Current plans call for companies to retain their electricity tax exemptions when the new energy tax goes into effect on 1 July 2004 if they promise to take measures to increase energy efficiency. However, they will only have to make electricity-saving investments, and in particular those yielding a payback in three years or less. Appropriate calculation of the payback period should be used. Moreover, this agreement could include flexible mechanisms to maximise off-site life-cycle energy saving opportunities.
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Industry and agriculture pay no energy tax and receive substantial rebates on the CO2 tax. The energy tax concessions create distortions in that energy subsidies are effectively provided to these users, with the most intensive energy users benefiting most. Related boundary or definitional issues, as a recent review of business energy taxation noted, are likely to conflict with EU state aid rules. It would be preferable to end the concessions and compensate industry for the resulting costs, for example through a tax credit.
Electricity Sweden’s intensity of electricity use is among the world’s highest. The reasons include the country’s climate and economic structure, as well as measures to reduce the share of oil in the energy supply. Electricity prices for industry are exceptionally low (the lowest in the OECD until recently). Nevertheless, industrial electricity use has stabilised in the last decade. Electricity prices for households have been around the middle of the OECD range because of a significant tax component. The electricity market was deregulated in 1996. Very dry conditions in 2002-03 contributed to significant price increases in those two years. Growth in residential electricity use has slowed since 1995, partly because grants have been provided for conversion from electric heating to more environment-friendly systems. Electricity generation from renewable sources has also increased. Wind power and biofuel-based combined heat and power (CHP) production is subsidised.
Renewable energy sources The government has invested heavily in research and development to promote renewables. It set up a research, development and demonstration programme on biofuels, wind power and solar energy in 1998, with funding of EUR 560 million over seven years. Since 1 May 2003 energy suppliers have been obliged to hold renewable electricity certificates. In 2003, 7% of all electricity consumed in Sweden was to come from renewables that meet the requirements for such certificates, and the aim is to increase the proportion to 17% in 2010. In important segments of industry the goals for renewables are considered unachievable except in the long term, and there are fears of measures’ distorting the electricity market. Some uncertainty exists concerning the optimal policy mix to achieve the 2010 target and whether renewables in general or wind energy in particular should be promoted. A recent independent review of the energy research, development and demonstration programme concluded that “new renewables” are often not yet competitive and/or not available on the scale required.
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The CO2 tax created a price differential in favour of renewables. A further “environmental bonus” for wind power was introduced in 1997. In 2002 it was decided to phase out this bonus over a seven year transition period and launch the renewable electricity certificate programme. At the same time, other measures to promote wind power were introduced. A wind power “planning objective” of adding 10 TWh by 2015 was set, and support for expansion of wind power in coastal or mountain areas was decided. It is not clear what the basis for this support is, whether there is a reason to favour wind power over other renewable energy generation that might have less environmental impact, especially with respect to the EQOs on “Flourishing Coastal Areas” and “A Magnificent Mountain Landscape”.
Objective setting and pricing Environmental considerations clearly affect energy supply and use decisions in Sweden but their overall impact in this area is not entirely certain. The Environmental Code states that “preference shall be given to renewable energy sources” and that “energy supplies are to be based increasingly on renewable energy sources, and the use of fossil fuels is to be kept at a low level”. There are, however, tensions with other aims, e.g. maintaining an “efficient electricity market to generate a secure supply of electricity at internationally competitive prices”. Similarly, the preference for renewables conflicts with the promotion of gas-fired CHP through energy and CO2 tax rebates from 2004. Reducing reliance on nuclear power while cutting GHG emissions (especially to the extent required to meet the target for 2050) without any new hydroelectricity development will be especially challenging. Overall, Sweden’s treatment of energy provides some basis for the concern that resource users have yet to face the full resource and externality costs of resource use and that more effective ways to integrate environmental costs into economic and social decision-making models are needed.
3.2
Integration of environmental concerns into transport policy
Road freight traffic grew more slowly than GDP over 1990-2001 but nevertheless rose by 13%. The proportion of freight carried by road continues to grow (it is projected to reach 46% by 2010, from 40% in 1997). Car traffic has been increasing rapidly for several decades, and car passenger-kilometres are expected to grow by 29% over 1997-2010. In the wider domestic transport sector (including rail and air travel) a 24% increase in total passenger-kilometres is projected, but with bus use growing by only 8% and foot/bicycle travel dropping by 6%. Concerning Sweden’s road fuel prices, the levels for diesel fuel are comparable to those in other European countries and petrol prices are somewhat lower (Figure 5.2).
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Objectives An underlying tension exists in Swedish transport policy between the desire to provide for growing mobility and economic growth (e.g. in the preamble to the 2001 infrastructure bill) and the aim of limiting growth in transport consumption to sustainable levels, for example by ensuring that consumers pay the full marginal social (including environmental) costs of transport (stated elsewhere in the bill). People in rural areas can take tax deductions on expenses above SEK 7 000 a year for commuting to work, for instance, which is likely to increase long-distance commuting and is inconsistent with the goal of having consumers pay the full marginal social cost of transport. Similarly, the “Good Built Environment” EQO refers to “reduce[d] car use”, but no such aim is found in the national transport policy. A third instance is the energy and CO2 tax exemption for water transport, which is a high consumer of heavy fuel oil (and in 1995 accounted for 10% of CO2 emissions). The new EU energy tax directive rules out tax exemptions for fuel used in ships. Swedish transport policy does, however, recognise important links between the transport system and environmental issues, including public health issues. The 1998 transport policy objective, reaffirmed in 2001, is to assure economically efficient and sustainable transport for citizens and industry nationwide in a system whose design and function meet requirements for a good, healthy living environment.
Fiscal instruments The transport policy objective is reflected in fiscal instruments, among other measures. These include the energy, CO2 and annual motor vehicle taxes, road charges, and tax reductions for alternative fuels and alternative-technology vehicles, which all affect land transport; landing charges for aircraft, which influence air transport; and port and fairway dues, affecting sea transport. While the energy tax was originally levied to raise revenue, tax code design now appears to be influenced more by a desire to change behaviour that affects the environment. Sweden uses several fiscal instruments aimed at altering behaviour of transport users. The tax on diesel fuel is higher for propellant use than for heating. Natural gas and LPG (which have CO2 benefits compared with gasoline and diesel) are exempt from energy tax when used as propellant. Alkylate-based petrol (free of certain hazardous substances, such as benzene) is taxed at a lower rate. The vehicle tax is environmentally differentiated, with the top class in terms of environmental performance (e.g. electric vehicles) exempt for the first five years. Since 2001, the VAT rate for local public transport has been 6% instead of the standard 25%. Aircraft landing charges and ship port and fairway dues are environmentally differentiated,
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Figure 5.2 Road fuel prices and taxes
Trends in Sweden,a 1990-2002 Diesel fuelb
Unleaded petrol
SEK/litre
SEK/litre
8.0
8.0
6.0
6.0
4.0
4.0
2.0
2.0
0.0 1990
1994
1998
2002 Tax
0.0 1990
1994
1998
2002
Price excluding tax
State,c 2002 Unleaded petrold
Diesel fuelb 0.68
Sweden
0.53
Canada USA
0.59
Canada
0.35
USA
0.41
Austria
0.65
Austria
Finland
0.65
Finland
1.08 1.10
France
0.70
France
Netherlands
0.71
Netherlands
0.0
0.4
0.8
1.2 USD/litre Tax
a) At constant 1995 prices. b) Automotive diesel for commercial use. c) In USD at current prices and purchasing power parities. d) Unleaded premium (RON 95); Canada: unleaded regular. Source: IEA-OECD.
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0.94
Sweden
0.0
Price excluding tax
0.95
1.22 0.4
0.8
1.2 USD/litre
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the former on factors including hydrocarbons and NOx, the latter on NOx and SOx emissions. The CO2 tax, from its inception in 1991, had reducing vehicle fossil fuel use among its aims. The 2002 budget bill includes an exemption from the CO2 tax for carbonneutral motor fuel, and a proposal in the 2004 budget bill would exempt such fuel from the energy tax as well, though in light of the variety of externalities from transport it is not clear why the exemption should be thus extended. Environmentfriendly alternative fuel technologies are favoured by a 40% reduction in the taxable benefit value of electric and hybrid cars that companies provide for employees (a 20% reduction applies to cars fuelled with natural gas, biogas or alcohol). This provision could lead to such cars being too lightly taxed, but the number of vehicles involved is likely to be small. Future fiscal measures being discussed include a kilometre charge for heavy vehicles and a CO2-related vehicle tax for cars. A Road Tax Commission investigating these options was due to report in 2004.
Other policy instruments: congestion pricing and land use planning Following a 1998 study of road congestionin urban areas, the 2001 infrastructure bill instructed the Stockholm Transport Commission to consider congestion pricing options. In a recent poll, Stockholm residents identified a reduction in city-centre traffic as their top priority. Current plans are to test a cordon toll system from March 2005 to September 2006. It will include a SEK 20 charge to pass the cordon and a SEK 10 charge to cross a line between north and south within central Stockholm. Modelling of congestion reduction in Stockholm suggests the CO2 emission reduction and air quality benefits, with associated health gains, are likely to be significant. Important links between transport planning and land use exist, e.g. regarding provision for walking, cycling and public transport. In Sweden, as in other countries, the risk is that open space and “green infrastructure” will be lost to road building or come under pressure from other infrastructure development and urban expansion. Swedish road traffic projections may not be fully consistent with the interim target under the “Good Built Environment” EQO for spatial and community planning based by 2010 on programmes and strategies ensuring among other goals that “the percentage of hardened surfaces does not increase”.
Outlook on air emissions Despite notable successes in reducing air pollution, some areas are proving difficult, including CO2 emissions from transport. Results to date suggest that
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transport may impede Sweden’s achievement of its overall CO2 target. This issue is challenging in many OECD countries, and Sweden is performing comparatively well. Nevertheless, as Swedish transport emissions have grown about 8% since 1990, it is possible that Sweden will not meet its 4% interim target for CO2 reduction, given this sector’s emission growth. The Environmental Objectives Council, set up in 2002, reports that ozone, particulate and carcinogen levels in urban air are still too high, and that PM10 and carcinogen targets for 2020 are not likely to be reached in ambient air in city streets, which is important in terms of health. Sweden needs to address this domestically but also in conjunction with neighbouring countries, since ozone, ozone precursors and fine particles are transported long distances.
3.3
Integration of environmental concerns into agriculture policy
The Swedish Board of Agriculture, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and National Heritage Board jointly evaluate the environmental effects of the Common Agricultural Policy every year. Measures to integrate economic and environmental goals in agriculture and rural development policy are found mainly in the 2000-06 Environmental and Rural Development Programme (Sweden’s agrienvironmental programme). Based on EU rural development regulations, it includes support for environmentally sounder production, conservation of natural and cultural assets and enhanced competitiveness in rural areas. Its annual budget exceeds SEK 3 billion, including EU funds. The programme is founded on a multisectoral strategy that emphasises the many roles of agriculture, including preservation of natural and cultural heritage. It has two priorities: environmentally sustainable agriculture, and economically and socially sustainable development in rural areas. The first involves compensation for collective goods, such as preservation of biodiversity, the cultural heritage and open, varied landscapes. The second involves activities to promote the adaptation and development of rural areas.
Nutrients The “Zero Eutrophication” EQO requires that, within a generation, “nutrient inputs...are not detrimental to biological diversity” and “the nutrient status of lakes and streams in agricultural areas does not exceed natural concentrations, which means that the water may at most be nutrient-rich or moderately nutrient-rich” (Chapter 3). This EQO is also related to Swedish commitments concerning nitrogen discharges to the Baltic Sea (Chapter 8). The goals involved are ambitious; the 2000 Government Bill on the EQOs noted that the interim targets “will require vigorous measures, in particular in agriculture and on the part of municipalities”. Nitrogen management in
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agriculture is also important because of nitrogen’s health impacts. The risk of nitrogen seepage from farms to water bodies and coastal areas varies (e.g. with commercial fertilisers and manure quantities, crop and soil type, precipitation, irrigation and harvesting). Use of nitrogenous commercial fertiliser grew after the Second World War but later stabilised and recently has begun to decline (Figure 3.3).
Fiscal instruments The main economic instruments used in relation to agricultural emission goals are taxes on commercial fertiliser, pesticides and cadmium, introduced in 1984 and revised in 1995. Their respective annual revenues are around SEK 360 million, SEK 40 million and SEK 10 million. An evaluation of the fertiliser tax suggests that the use of part of the tax revenue to finance information efforts and advisory services has helped reduce nitrogen use. The tax has also raised awareness of the damage that intensive application of commercial fertiliser can entail. The cadmium tax has a large incentive effect, since farmers using low-cadmium fertiliser can avoid paying the tax.
Other instruments Greater sustainability in agriculture is also promoted through measures such as information, counselling, education and training. Focus on Nutrients, a joint initiative of farmers, the county administrative boards and the Board of Agriculture, aims to educate and motivate agricultural stakeholders in regards to nutrient leaching. A significant issue in agriculture, and as concerns the “Non-Toxic Environment” EQO, is the impact of pharmaceuticals on human and ecosystem health. Sweden is working within the EU to follow up a survey of regulations and directives on human and veterinary pharmaceuticals with preparation of new legislation, expected to be completed in 2004.
4.
Environmental Expenditure and Financing 4.1
Overall environmental expenditure
Swedish data on environmental expenditure remain patchy, particularly for public expenditure. Data from various years and sources indicate that Sweden’s pollution abatement and control (PAC) expenditure has continued to represent about 1.1% of GDP in recent years while environmental protection expenditure amounts to about 1.5% of GDP. In other words, growth in GDP has been accompanied by similar growth in environmental expenditure. This means Sweden’s remarkable progress in decoupling environmental pressures from GDP has been achieved at relatively lower cost than in more populated and more densely industrialised countries such as Austria, the Netherlands and Germany.
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Figure 5.3 Private sectora investment and current environmental expenditure, 1999-2002 SEK million
7 000
Investment (INV) CUR
Other Waste Water Air
6 000 CUR
5 000
CUR
4 000 3 000
INV
Current environmental expenditure (CUR)
INV
INV
Fees and other R&D Administration Waste Water Air
2 000 1 000 0 1999
2001
2002
a) Enterprises. Source: Statistics Sweden.
Private (business) PAC expenditure is best known; it amounted to SEK 8.9 billion in 2002 (60% for operations and 40% for investment). Environmental investment represented about 5% of total investment by industry (Figure 5.3). Public PAC expenditure has totalled around SEK 16 billion in recent years (about 20% national and 80% local; almost 66% water-related). It is not clear how much the local investment programmes mobilised new and additional resources for PAC, nor how much of agri-environmental subsidies went to water pollution abatement (e.g. nitrate pollution). Concerning environmental expenditure (i.e. PAC expenditure plus water supply and nature protection expenditure), almost half is related to water supply and water pollution (Chapter 3), while nature protection accounts for less than 10%, though it has increased very significantly since the mid-1990s (Chapter 4).
4.2
Financing environmental research and technology
Sweden’s investment in research and development, in relation to GDP, is among the world’s highest. Increased investment by business, which accounts for 80% of the total, lifted the level to 4.3% of GDP in 2001. Environmental research should be seen in this context.
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Funding for research in environmentally sustainable development from research councils, private foundations and government agencies totals around SEK 1 billion per year. This figure excludes large demonstration projects, such as development of new energy systems and combustion research. The three largest funding bodies are FORMAS (SEK 300-450 million per year), MISTRA (SEK 200-250 million) and the EU (SEK 150-200 million). In addition, universities and institutes have their own budgets in this area, totalling around SEK 500 million per year.
4.3
Local investment programmes
In the local investment programmes, the government gave municipalities some SEK 6.2 billion over 1998-2004 to speed the transition to sustainability and provide employment (Table 5.4). The grants were intended to have a strong catalytic effect by attracting about twice that much in co-funding. Over the period, 211 programmes in 163 municipalities were approved and total environment-related investment reached almost SEK 21 billion. About 20-25% of the grant funds were unused, however, and were returned to the national budget. It is estimated that the programmes created 2 000 permanent jobs. Estimated environmental effects included a reduction in energy use of 2.1 billion kWh (with a concomitant decline in CO2 emissions) and a significant reduction of waste sent to landfill. The climate investment programmes that have replaced the local investment programmes have a clearer focus on measures aimed at reducing GHG emissions; their grant allocation totals SEK 840 million for 2003-04.
Table 5.4 Number of programmes
1998-2000 1999-2001 2000-2002 2001-2003 2002-2004 Total Source:
Local investment programmes, 1998-2004 Total investment (SEK million)
Environment-related investment (SEK million)
Grants (SEK million)
Number of permanent jobs created
42 47 57 40 25
12 835 4 902 5 836 2 705 980
7 776 4 562 5 056 2 415 928
2 320 1 432 1 487 733 236
474 664 567 214 82
211
27 259
20 738
6 210
2 000
Ministry of the Environment.
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Environmentally motivated subsidies
Swedish national accounts indicate the trend in total environmental subsidies rose during the early 1990s, peaked in 1998 and dropped back to around 0.1% of GDP by 2000 (Table 5.5). That percentage represents less than 10% of environmental expenditure; agri-environmental subsidies account for more than 85% of total environmental subsidies.
Table 5.5
Environmentally motivated subsidies, 1993-2000 (SEK million in current prices)
1993
1994
1995
Resource-related subsidies Nature in agricultural sector Other measures in agricultural sector Landscape conservation Environment in agricultural sector Subsidy for fish cultivation Research Council on For. & Agricult. Research Subsidy for environmental work Energy-related subsidies Energy efficiency Energy technology New energy technology Energy research Bio-energy research Heat and power in southern Sweden Energy efficiency in eastern Europe Transport-related subsidies Electric and hybrid vehicles
248 226 – 17 5 0 0 0 0 121 23 – – 86 12 – 0 0 0
296 250 – 30 1 2 2 11 0 71 .. – – 64 11 – 0 0 0
1 110 245 825 4 1 0 6 26 3 152 3 – – 134 15 – 0 14 14
Total environmentally motivated subsidies (% of GDP) (% of total subsidies)
369 0.02 0.62
367 0.02 0.63
1 276 0.07 2.08
Source:
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
947 – 890 0 1 3 7 38 8 141 5 – – 122 14 – 0 2 2
1 638 – 1 410 0 8 1 4 204 11 165 1 – – 164 0 – 0 3 3
2 694 – 2 446 0 15 4 5 209 15 178 13 – 0 165 0 0 0 3 3
2 423 – 2 188 0 5 0 4 226 0 191 12 51 67 43 0 15 3 14 14
2 028 – 1 786 0 13 0 2 223 4 154 6 27 32 66 0 23 0 0 0
1 090 0.06 1.98
1 806 0.10 3.74
2 875 0.15 6.77
2 628 0.13 6.54
2 182 0.10 6.44
Statistics Sweden.
Subsidies can be environmentally motivated or designed for other purposes, such as regional development, with environmental effects being incidental. Large transport subsidies (e.g. for public transport) are not included in the above trend description,
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since their main justification is regional, not environmental. National support to local governments through the local investment programmes is also excluded. Overall, the polluter pays principle (in the OECD sense) is followed in Sweden, though it is necessary to watch out for departures from rigorous application of it. Less than 10% of the total of environmental subsidies (1% of PAC expenditure) is energyrelated, and it mostly aims to increase energy efficiency and improve energy technology. As noted earlier, several energy-intensive industrial branches receive significant tax exemptions. Sectors receiving no payments or environmentally motivated subsidies include mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade and financial intermediation. Close to 90% of the environmental subsidy total (representing about 10% of PAC expenditure) is resource-related, mostly aimed at agriculture and including both nature protection and pollution abatement. In the local investment programmes, support to municipalities came to less than 5% of PAC expenditure.
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6
ENVIRONMENTAL-SOCIAL INTERFACE*
Features • • • • •
Social context Environmental employment Progress with public access to courts Distributional aspects of environmental policies Sámi development policies
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the objectives “social and environmental interface” and “improving information for decision making” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy.
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • continue active environmental employment policy, making it longer term and focusing on specific economic sectors; • develop economic information and analysis to support environmental management; streamline the system of environmental indicators; • ratify the Aarhus Convention and make the country’s environmental information access, public participation and access to justice practices consistent with the convention’s requirements; • further develop public participation and encourage citizen initiatives at regional and local levels (e.g. in EIA and Local Agenda 21 processes); • reinforce environmental sustainability aspects of current and future regional and rural development programmes; • enhance co-operation on economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development within and between local, regional and national levels; • strengthen research on and analysis of social disparities in access to nature and in pollution exposure.
Conclusions Swedish environmental policies promote growth of the country’s environmental industries, thereby contributing to job creation. Concerning environmental democracy, Sweden has well-established mechanisms for public participation and consultation on environmental decisions. Under the Environmental Code, recent improvements have broadened public access to courts, giving civil associations and citizen groups a right of appeal against many government decisions related to the environment, but excluding planning decisions and most infrastructure projects. Local Agenda 21 is actively implemented, contributing to local environmental improvements and raising awareness on sustainable development issues. A vast amount of environmental information is freely accessible by all interested parties and the general public. The system of environmental education is very well developed at all stages, from day care to adult education. Concerning distributive issues, Sweden has guaranteed public access to nature and recreational resources. A number of regional and rural development programmes incorporate environmental sustainability considerations. The ongoing changes to the tax structure also have a distributive effect.
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However, Sweden has not yet ratified the Aarhus Convention, and its practices concerning access to courts need further improvement. There is insufficient costbenefit analysis and economic information (e.g. on environmental expenditure, environment-related employment and energy prices) to support environmental management. The system of environmental indicators may require simplification and streamlining. Local Agenda 21 activities focus too much on local authorities and not enough on stakeholder and public participation. Issues of concern to the Sámi people related to land, water use and hunting rights in the north remain largely unresolved. Little attention has been given to distributive aspects of pollution exposure. ♦
1.
♦ ♦
Environment and Employment
Unemployment in Sweden rose from 1.7% in 1990 to 5.4% in 2003, but remained well below the 2003 OECD average of 7.1% (Box 6.1). The country’s environmental industry (environmental manufacturing and services) has contributed significantly to the low unemployment rate.
1.1
Employment effects of environmental policy
The government’s active environmental policy combined with broad environmental awareness among consumers and producers has resulted in the development of a strong environmental industry. Since 1998, the Environmental Advisory Council has drafted several strategies for the development of an environmentally sustainable business and industry sector. Environmental industry development directly benefits from targeted environment-friendly public procurement. The Committee for Ecologically Sustainable Procurement took measures in 1998-2001 to encourage the use of public procurement (which totalled SEK 400 billion in 2002, or 18% of GDP) as an instrument for promoting environmentally sustainable development. The government invests heavily in environmental research and development as well, spending about SEK 40 billion, or 1.8% of GDP, in 2002. The most significant example of a targeted national government effort to create environmental jobs is that of the local investment programmes for sustainable development. In 1998-2002, these programmes provided local authorities with SEK 6.2 billion in grants to move towards sustainable development practices and create jobs. Projects funded were designed to reduce environmental impacts, support
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Box 6.1
Social context
Population. Sweden’s population is 8.95 million (2003). At 0.2% per year, population growth is modest. By 2020, the population is expected to be 9.7 million. Net immigration exceeds 30 000 per year (2002), and 5.3% of the population is foreign-born (Figure 6.1). Recent immigration from non-European countries has generated some housing and cultural segregation, unemployment among certain immigrant groups, and cultural friction. Urban settlements. Sweden has low average population density (under 20 inhabitants per square kilometre), with about 85% of the population living in the southern half of the country and 63% in urban areas (Figure 6.1). More than one-third of these urban dwellers are concentrated in the three main metropolitan areas: Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö. Most other urban areas are relatively small and widely scattered. Unemployment. For many years, Sweden had one of the world’s lowest unemployment rates. In the early 1990s the situation changed dramatically: unemployment rose from 1.7% in 1990 to 8.2% in 1993. By 2000 government action had helped reduce the rate to 4%. In May 2004, the unemployment rate was 5.9%, well below the OECD average. Social welfare and poverty. Since the 1930s Sweden has built a welfare society providing a high level of benefits and community services. With Denmark and Finland, Sweden has the lowest income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) among OECD countries. However, the changing demography and recent efforts to improve Sweden’s economic competitiveness and reduce public debt have resulted in significant cuts in family benefits, unemployment insurance, pensions and health insurance compensation. Still, Sweden has the world’s lowest relative poverty (only 6.6% of the population has income below 50% of median income) and among the highest life expectancy and education levels (Figure 6.1). Gender issues. The government regards gender equality as an integral part of sustainable development. Female participation in the labour force is among the highest in the OECD: about 75% of working age women are employed. The Equal Opportunities Act focuses on equality in the workplace and employers’ responsibility in combating gender discrimination. The Equality Between Men and Women Act, which entered into force in 2001, aims to provide new solutions to make gender equality a reality in the workplace. Gender equality considerations permeate all aspects of government policy. For example, the government strives to assure equal numbers of men and women on decisionmaking committees and in reference groups and official delegations. Women are active in Swedish political life and occupy almost half the seats in the parliament.
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125
Social indicators
Population and ageing Population trends, 1990-2002 Sweden
Population change
4.3
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
13.4 15.5 5.5 4.3 4.9
3.4
0.1
net migration
‰
4.1
3.5
1990
2002
5.6
5.3
1990
2002
0.99
0.95
Foreign population %
6.1
Ageing
10.1
0.0
10.0
5.0
15.0 %
2002
‰
7.7
OECD Europe OECD
1990
natural increase
over 64/under 15
ratios
Settlement and mobility Population by type of region
Population density, 2002 Sweden
19.8
Canada 3.2 USA 30.0 Austria 97.1 Finland 15.4 France 108.3 Netherlands OECD Europe OECD
19.8
1.6
270
intermediate
43.2
15.9
58
rural
37.0
82.5
10
1990
Early 2000s
Mobility
104.8 100
urban
387.8
car ownership
32.7 0
Early 2000s % population % area density
200
300 400 inhabitants/km2
veh./100 inh.
42
45
billion pass.-km
6.3
8.1
GDP/inh. variation coefficient Labour force participation total rate % female rate % Unemployment total rate % female rate %
Early 1990s 10.4 1990 84.5 82.3 1990 1.6 1.6
Late 1990s 10.9 2002 78.0 76.1 2002 4.0 3.6
1990
2001
..
80.6
1990
2002
rail traffic
Income and employment GDP per capita, 2002
Regional disparities
Sweden
112
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
126 145 112 109 108 112
OECD Europe OECD
86 100 0
40
80
160 120 OECD = 100
Health and education Upper secondary or higher education, 2001 Sweden
80.6
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
81.9 87.7 77.0 73.8 63.9 65.1
OECD Europe OECD
63.1 64.3 0
Source:
20
40
60 80 100 % of adult population
Statistics Sweden; OECD.
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Educational attainment upper secondary
%
Life expectancy at birth:
total
years
77.6
79.8
female
years
80.4
82.1
at age 65: male female
years
15.3
16.9
years
19.0
20.0
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more efficient use of energy and other natural resources and promote the use of renewable resources such as biogas. The government grants usually covered 30% of the costs; total cumulative expenditure through June 2002 (i.e. including contributions by local authorities and enterprises) was SEK 27 billion. The 164 participating local authorities estimate that 19 000 full-time jobs were created. In 2003, these programmes were replaced by climate investment programmes aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with SEK 900 million in grants allocated for 2003-04. The National Labour Market Board has for many years been engaged in longterm efforts to integrate environmental concerns into its activities. Jointly with the National Forestry Board, it has been implementing the Green Jobs programme, which helps unemployed people find jobs in the forestry sector. Out of over 1 500 participants, about 55% have found permanent environmental jobs. Environmental technology exports are promoted through the Swedish Environmental Technology Network (annual budget SEK 7 million), which focuses primarily on end-of-pipe technology. In addition, an environmental export centre was established in July 2004 to support cleaner technology exports.
1.2
Environmental employment market
The Swedish environmental industry is large and growing rapidly. In 1998 (the latest year for which such figures are available) the country had over 6 700 environmental enterprises employing nearly 95 000 people (about 1.5% of the labour force), mostly in waste management and natural resource-related companies. The turnover of the environmental industry was about SEK 163 billion, or 4% of Swedish industry’s total (Table 6.1). In 2003, the Swedish Trade Council surveyed 528 environmental exporting companies throughout the country (mostly small and medium-sized enterprises in both products and services) and reported that the business trend for 1999-2002 was favourable. Environmental companies formed Sweden’s fastest growing exporting industry in 2002, with annual export growth of 8.4% and turnover of SEK 39 billion (including SEK 14 billion in exports, or 1.6% of total exports). Water technology and services account for 63% of the total environmental export volume; in the domestic eco-industry market, waste management holds the largest share. The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics in Lund has reported continuous growth in the number of Sweden’s environment-related jobs. In the years ahead, more and more people will devote at least some of their working hours to environment-related tasks.
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Table 6.1 Structure of the Swedish environment sector,a 1998 Environmental activities
Number of enterprises
Pollution management, including Solid waste management Waste water management Analytical services, data management Other Resource management, including Recycled materials Renewable energy Energy saving and management Sustainable agriculture & fishing Indoor air pollution control Other Cleaner technologies and products Other environmental activities Grand total
2 997 1 967 164 636 230 2 820 169 195 382 1 038 893 143 191 719 6 727
Number of employees
42 016 17 321 5 154 12 156 7 385 38 812 4 707 6 981 4 029 2 612 17 578 2 905 5 451 8 628 94 907
a) Public and private activities for the production of environmental goods and services. Does not include environmental administration staff per say. Source: Eurostat.
2.
Environmental Democracy: Information, Participation, Legal Recourse and Education
Sweden signed the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in 1998, but has not ratified it yet. The necessary legislative changes are under review, and ratification is expected in 2004.
2.1
Availability of and access to environmental information
Environmental data and reporting Sweden has a long tradition of collecting and publishing environmental data to enable assessment of actual environmental conditions, evaluation of environmental policies’ effectiveness and dissemination of environmental information.
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These data have provided a factual basis for national reporting on the state of the environment. A fact-based national environmental report is presented every year to the parliament by the Environmental Objectives Council. Most county administrative boards prepare regional state of the environment reports at varying frequency. More than 100 local authorities publish environmental balance sheets describing the local environment situation. These statements detail measures by local authorities to reduce environmental impacts and presenting indicators (e.g. on energy use and waste generation per capita). Often they also discuss environmental challenges facing the local authority. Over the 1990s, Statistics Sweden developed a system of physical environmental accounts linking environmental statistics with sectoral production and consumption data. So far, these accounts mainly contain information on energy use, emissions and waste. Data on chemicals, material flows and natural resources are expected to be added. The accounts will also be a source of indicators and of sectoral profiles combining economic and environmental data. Sweden does not regularly produce public and private environmental expenditure data, and there is insufficient economic information overall (e.g. on expenditure, employment, water prices) to support environmental management.
Indicators In 1999, the government introduced Green Headline Indicators to provide feedback to decision makers, major stakeholders and citizens regarding the state of the environment. Five relate to particular environmental issues: energy use, emissions of acidifying substances, CO2 emissions, benzene concentrations in the air, and nitrogen and phosphorus input into the sea. The indicators serve as a natural link to objectives and indicators developed at all levels. Green indicators have often been part of Local Agenda 21 activities. In addition, since 2001 the Environmental Objectives Council has used about 100 indicators to track progress towards the 15 national environmental quality objectives (EQOs) and associated interim targets, and to report results annually to the government. Eighty national-level indicators are regularly updated at the website www.miljomal.nu, and 60 are also presented at the regional level. In 2001, Statistics Sweden, in co-operation with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), introduced 30 sustainable development indicators. This was the first attempt to formulate indicators describing Sweden’s progress towards sustainable development in environmental, economic and social terms. A new national report on indicators for sustainable development is expected in 2004.
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However, all this good progress involves an overabundance of environmental and sustainable development indicators and an overflow of information. The intention now is to integrate the green and sustainability indicators with those for the EQOs and link the latter with the system of environmental accounts. The principle of public access free of charge, to all official government documents (unless national security or individual privacy would be compromised) is laid down in the Constitution. Concerning the environment, SEPA emphasised in 2000 that information instruments should be regarded as complements to economic and regulatory instruments. SEPA has a policy of producing information and circulating it to decision makers, environmental managers, public authorities whose work affects the environment, business leaders, educators and the public at large. The agency also has to reply to routine public requests for information and engages all technical personnel in responding to inquiries. When ratified, the Aarhus Convention may lead to more comprehensive access to environmental information.
Access to information Further to an OECD recommendation, in 2003 Sweden signed the Aarhus Convention Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs). In May 2003, it released its first Internet version of a national register of discharges and transfers, which includes at least 86 pollutants generated by industrial sources. All the data in the national PRTR are obtained from environmental reports from large industrial facilities subject to integrated pollution prevention and control permitting. Pollution data on small and medium-sized enterprises and diffuse emissions are not included.
2.2
Public participation
With the environment largely seen as part of welfare by the Swedish population and its government, public participation in environmental decision making has been mostly institutionalised through the Swedish “committee system”: it is common practice for representatives of large NGOs, businesses and trade unions to join advisory committees or special reference groups. The Environmental Advisory Council is a permanent multistakeholder body providing initiatives, advice and opinions to the national government. Officials also solicit public comment on all major environment-related policies and programmes. In addition, NGOs are engaged in environmental permitting processes. Swedish environmental NGOs have a close relationship with the Ministry of the Environment and SEPA and are supported by authorities at all government levels via project-specific grants, as well as general contributions (mostly for smaller
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organisations). Some NGO members usually sit on official consultative committees, and two environmental NGOs are represented on the Environmental Objectives Council. There is extensive consultation with NGOs before EU negotiations on environmental issues. The largest of the country’s environmental NGOs is the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation at 170 000 members.
Environmental impact assessments The institutionalisation and use of project EIAs has largely been prompted in Sweden by EU legislation along with more traditional physical planning practices. The use of EIAs has generated new public participation opportunities and practices. At the regional and local levels, NGOs are associated with EIAs, although the degree of public participation is generally lower than at the national level (Chapter 2).
Local Agenda 21 Local Agenda 21 (LA21) is another important vehicle for the involvement of civil society in sustainable development in Sweden. LA21 activities in Sweden initially focused mainly on traditional environmental issues such as waste separation, recycling, composting and water quality. Later the focus shifted renewable energy, biodiversity issues and green purchasing by local authorities. More recently, the range of activities has been further extended to social issues such as public health, environmental education, international co-operation and democracy. In 1995, an Agenda 21 National Committee was set up to co-ordinate, develop, monitor and support LA21 activities. In 2000, the National Committee on Agenda 21 and Habitat was appointed, extending the previous committee’s activities to the Habitat Agenda of the 1996 UN Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul. All Swedish local authorities have been involved in Agenda 21 activities in some way. Almost 70% of the country’s 289 municipalities have adopted local action plans. LA21 programmes have helped raise awareness of environmental issues and contributed to closer contacts between local authorities and local enterprises. Land use planning has become more of a tool for sustainable development, and the building and construction sector has improved its environmental profile. Involvement of the political leadership has been the essential factor in generating broad stakeholder support for Agenda 21 programmes and in the allocation of necessary resources. However, not all local authorities translate commitment to LA21 into actions and results. Between 1998 and 2001 almost 40% of local authorities reduced their budgets for LA21 activities, about 20% allocated more resources and there was no change in the remainder. Some LA21 co-ordinators report a lack of dedication and interest on the part of local political leaders, civil servants and citizens. Local authorities do not
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always engage stakeholders and the general public in their LA21 activities. Lack of support from the national level was also cited, for example the lack of clear-cut guidelines on practical implementation of measures to promote sustainable development.
2.3
Legal recourse
Sweden has made substantial progress in expanding the legal rights of civil associations and citizens with respect to environmental matters. Before the Environmental Code, only public authorities or a person directly affected by a government decision could appeal. Environmental associations are now entitled to appeal judgements and government decisions within the scope of the Environmental Code, including the granting of environmental permits and the conditions therein, as well as establishment or relaxation of environmental requirements. Any non-profit environmental association with 2 000 or more members that has operated in Sweden for at least three years has the right to appeal an environment-related decision to a regional Environmental Court. In 1999-2002, 5 588 environment-related suits and appeals were filed in Sweden’s district courts, and 1 359 cases were brought before the Environmental Court of Appeal. Many were initiated by the central office or local branches of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. Further, the Group Proceedings Act (2002) introduced private group action suits in 2003. Such a suit can be filed to claim some types of environmental damage and to seek injunctions against activities deemed environmentally hazardous under the Environmental Code. However, planning decisions and most infrastructure projects cannot be legally challenged by NGOs or citizen groups because they are outside the scope of the Environmental Code. NGO representatives express hope that ratification of the Aarhus Convention will expand access to justice in environmental matters.
2.4
Environmental education
Environmental education, along with the information access described in the previous section, is seen in Sweden as a way to provide people with knowledge and awareness about environmental issues so they can make responsible choices as citizens to maintain and improve the quality of their own life and that of future generations. Teaching of basic environmental issues begins at day-care centres and preschools. The School Education Act and school curricula make clear that teaching sustainable development is compulsory, and they offer support for such teaching. Sustainable development has a prominent place in the syllabuses for the nine-year
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compulsory school and upper secondary school (where more specialised environmental subjects are also covered). It is not taught as a subject on its own but must be combined with all other subjects (i.e. traditional natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities). Environmental education is also emphasised in newteacher training programmes and supplementary training. A survey in 2001 by the national network Swedish Ecodemics indicates that sustainable development is not yet integrated at university level but is basically treated as a special interest. The comprehensive environmental education system in Swedish schools results in high awareness of environmental issues from early childhood. A survey in 2001 by the National Agency for Education showed that 76% of school-aged children were concerned about environmental problems and tried to behave in environment-friendly ways in everyday life, and that 92% thought most environmental problems can and must be solved. To encourage schools to become involved in the process of achieving sustainability, those that excel in environmental teaching may receive a Green School Award. The National Agency for Education has set the criteria to be met to qualify for the award, which cover schools as teaching and working places. Schools are expected to review their activities and the impact they have on the environment and health, develop an action programme and present the environmental and health improvements they have achieved. The Keep Sweden Clean Foundation has established a similar award, the Green Flag, for schools and day-care centres. The democratic principles of being able to influence, take responsibility and participate are seen as central to the development of the environmental and health dimension at school and apply to all pupils and staff members. Environmental education for adults is provided in courses administered by local authorities, in study circles arranged by local educational associations and at the workplace by enterprises. The education focuses mainly on the effects of lifestyles on the environment, public health and community development. Educational associations aim to reach people who are not involved in the formal education system and lack access to private-sector in-service training programmes.
3.
Distributional Aspects of Environmental Policies 3.1
Access to nature, pollution exposure
Regional economic disparities, which long were small, have been increasing over the past ten years, though they remain among the lowest in the EU and the OECD. Differences in GDP per capita are highest between the Stockholm region and the central-eastern regions.
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An equalisation system was introduced in 1996 to reduce differences in income and expenditure needs among various municipalities and counties. Those with taxation capacities above the national average pay a charge to the state, which distributes the money to the economically disadvantaged areas. Under the historical right of public access, everyone in Sweden is entitled to cross anyone’s land, at least on foot, and pick flowers, berries and mushrooms. The right does not extend to hunting and fishing, and in some recent cases private beaches have been closed to public access. The right of public access to nature can be concisely expressed in the phrase “do not disturb, do not destroy”; it is specified in several provisions of the country’s environmental laws. Sweden’s hunting policy has been brought to the European Court of Justice because it modifies some rights of the indigenous Sámi people in designated areas (Box 6.2). In its public health objectives, the government set a goal of creating conditions for good public health “on equal terms for the entire population” and pointed to the need to counteract differences in public health related to gender, social class or ethnic group. Yet the extensive environmental health research carried out in Sweden pays little attention to social aspects of exposure to pollution risks, and there is insufficient information to determine whether social or geographic disparities in pollution exposure exist.
3.2
Distributional effects of the green tax shift
In its 2001 budget bill, the government presented a green tax shift strategy, aimed at making taxes greener through burden reallocation to increase economic efficiency, environmental effectiveness and employment gains. Initial steps included changes in the energy and CO2 taxes to bring in SEK 3 billion in additional revenue, and in the income and labour taxes to raise the threshold of non-taxable income (reducing revenue by SEK 2.5 billion) and reduce employer payroll taxes (for SEK 0.5 billion less). Further steps were taken in the same direction with proposals in the 2002 and 2003 budget bills. The green tax shift is primarily focused on reducing CO2 emissions, improving energy efficiency and stimulating the use of renewable forms of energy. The government is aiming at energy taxes that are sustainable in the long term and comply with EU requirements. The overall effect of the green tax shift for 2001-10 is expected to amount to around SEK 30 billion. Increased taxes on energy consumption tend particularly to affect low-income families since they use a larger share of their income for energy and often have older cars, heating boilers, etc. To balance these effects, the emphasis is on reducing low-
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Box 6.2
Sámi development policies
Swedish government policy toward the indigenous Sámi underwent major changes during the 20th century. The issue of Sámi rights to their own culture and lifestyle did not receive widespread attention until the 1960s, when many immigrant groups in Sweden began to call for government efforts to help preserve their particular cultures. The Reindeer Husbandry Act (1971, last revised in 1993) allows reindeerbreeding Sámi some autonomy over their own affairs. They are permitted to herd, and they enjoy special land and water rights. But the legislation does not give such rights to Sámi who live by fishing or other occupations. Moreover, since the act’s passage, the reindeer breeders have lost large tracts of pasture to clear-cutting and ploughing. The traditional Sámi association with place has also been affected by construction of hydroelectric plants and roads, and by tourism. In various ways and through a number of tribunals, the Sámi have tried to improve protection of what they regard as their areas, but so far have lost these battles in court. In 1993, the parliament established the Sámi agency but at the same time amended the law to permit amateur small-game hunting and fishing in the reindeergrazing mountains of Jamtland, and west of the cultivation boundary in Norbotten and Vaasterbotten. The Reindeer Husbandry Act had originally designated these lands as “exclusively for reindeer herding use” year-round. Thus the exclusive right of the Sámi was revoked in favour of parallel hunting rights on these lands. Even before this, responsibility for hunting permits had largely been taken over by county authorities, and permits were granted to non-Sámi upon payment to the Sámi. The change of policy on hunting encountered opposition on the part of public opinion and by legal and environmental experts, and has been brought to the European Court of Justice. It is still considered open on the government’s agenda, as are questions concerning rights to land and water in the Sámi area, which are being reviewed by a committee appointed in 1998. The committee’s goal is to evaluate Sweden’s readiness to ratify International Labour Organisation Convention 169 on protection of the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. A Commission on Hunting and Fishing was appointed in April 2003 in order to clarify the scope of Sámi hunting and fishing rights, and to propose more precise regulations for hunting and fishing in the reindeer herding area by December 2005.
income families’ income taxes. For business and the public sector, reducing the employer payroll tax is an administratively simple way to compensate businesses, municipalities and government agencies for increased energy costs. The government estimated in its 2004 budget bill that the average net effect of the tax shift has so far been under 1% of disposable income in all social groups.
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Sweden’s Green Tax Commission concluded that a general reduction in payroll tax would have a relatively limited positive impact on employment. This has particularly been true since the reduction has so far been very small compared to the income tax cut. At the same time, the increased energy taxes may lead to job losses in energyintensive industry and transport.
3.3
Regional development
Over the past decade, measures have been taken to support the integration of the sustainability approach into all regional development policies and measures. Environmental protection, sustainable use of natural resources, attractive living environments and protection of natural and cultural assets and local identity are increasingly regarded as essential to sustainable development throughout the country. In 2001, the parliament adopted a new regional development policy: “A Policy for Growth and Vitality in Sweden as a Whole”. The objectives of rural policy include more sustainable and environmentally sounder food production, high employment, regional balance and sustainable growth. Rural policy measures are mainly implemented by the National Rural Development Agency (under the Ministry of Agriculture) within the framework of the Environmental and Rural Development Programme for 2000-06. The programme includes support for conservation of natural resources and cultural assets, environmentally sound and sustainable agriculture and enhanced competitiveness in rural areas. In the long term, tourism may make a significant contribution to employment and livelihoods in rural and sparsely populated areas. To promote local involvement and opportunities to create attractive life environments, the government financially supports All of Sweden Shall Live, a national rural development movement. In 1998, the government introduced regional growth agreements (RGAs) as a new instrument of regional development policy. RGAs help improve collaboration among the various bodies involved in promoting growth and employment at all levels. The agreements are drafted in partnerships with many stakeholders and implemented through concrete action programmes. Gender equality and environmentally sustainable development are objectives in all phases of the RGAs, from analysis to implementation and evaluation. Pilot programmes in the counties of Dalarna, Vaasterbotten and Skane have resulted in a manual on integrating the environment into RGAs. However, a Ministry of Industry evaluation found little evidence that environmental issues are important in regional development programmes, and anecdotal information indicates that regional and local authorities sometimes sacrifice environmental considerations for the sake of obtaining central
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government funding for development projects. In 2004, the RGAs are being succeeded by regional growth programmes with similar objectives. A key regional issue in Sweden is the preservation and development of the Sámi population. This indigenous semi-nomadic people has traditionally lived by reindeer herding and fishing in northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. In Sweden, it is estimated that 20 000 people identify themselves with the Sámi culture and 4 700 reindeer herders live in 51 Sámi villages. Long-standing Sámi claims to land, natural resources and herding and fishing rights have been a source of tension. A special Sámi policy has been developed, accompanied by the establishment in 1993 of a popularly elected advisory body, the Sameting (also called the Sámi agency), that represents Sámi interests. The Ministry of Agriculture has a special unit overseeing implementation of Sámi policies (Box 6.2).
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7
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT*
Features • • • •
Public health for all Indoor environmental exposure Cost-effectiveness of chemical regulations Access to green areas for physical exercise
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the health-related objectives under “social and environmental interface” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy.
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • step up measures to meet environmental and public health objectives, with appropriate attention to cost-effectiveness and the precautionary principle; • continue efforts to reduce health risks associated with indoor air quality; • reduce ambient air concentrations of fine particles and tropospheric ozone, with due attention to cost-effectiveness; • continue efforts to limit health risks associated with exposure to chemicals (e.g. chemicals in products, including construction materials) in the most costeffective way possible; • designate and protect more green spaces in or near urban areas, prioritising areas that can offer recreational services while protecting nature; • develop environmental health indicators for monitoring progress towards national objectives and informing policy decisions; further improve communication with the public regarding health risks stemming from environmental exposure; • take steps to more systematically incorporate national-level environmental health priorities into local-level planning and action.
Conclusions Sweden was one of the first OECD countries to publish a national environment and health action plan, and has since integrated its objectives into national policies related to environmental management and public health. Important results have been achieved, including reductions in pesticide use, releases of heavy metals to the environment and human intake of hazardous substances such as POPs and lead. Implementation of recent regulations on ventilation systems and radon concentrations in buildings has helped reduce health risks posed by indoor air quality, especially in new buildings. Although most objectives have been based purely on concern for public health and the precautionary principle, Sweden has used some economic instruments, such as a charge on NOx and a tax on pesticides, to increase the costeffectiveness of its policy measures. Improvements in registration and labelling of chemical products are expected to translate into reduced health risks from chemical handling and use, albeit probably at high cost. Sweden gives high priority to supporting scientific research that explores the links between environmental exposure and health effects, and has contributed to international understanding of a range of environmental health issues, with a special focus on children’s health. Also at the
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international level, Sweden has shown leadership on chemical management issues and was instrumental in developing the OECD chemicals programme and the recent Stockholm Convention on POPs. Despite this clear progress, Sweden could still take further measures to improve its performance with regard to environmental health, in particular concerning reducing exposure to air pollutants, chemicals and noise and increasing access to green spaces for city dwellers. Systematic attention should be given to cost-effectiveness when choosing instruments to achieve environmental health objectives. Limits concerning exposure to noise are frequently exceeded in some areas, and the most important source, traffic, is expected to continue to increase. There is a need to improve communication with and education of the public concerning perceived health risks, particularly in cases where research has not quantified the extent of real risk (e.g. concerning exposure to electromagnetic radiation). Statistics show that the percentage of green areas is declining in municipalities with more than 10 000 inhabitants (where some 84% of the population lives) despite a national objective of increasing urban populations’ access to green areas in the interest of promoting physical exercise and general well-being. Combined with a more sedentary lifestyle, the decline in access to nature can be expected to contribute to growing public health problems, such as obesity and heart disease. ♦
1.
♦ ♦
Institutional Framework
Environmental factors can affect human health both positively and negatively. Access to nature and green spaces is a priority in Swedish policy as being important to promoting health and well-being, in part by helping meet people’s need for outdoor physical activity. Swedish policy also seeks to limit health risks posed by exposure to pollutants in the environment. Increasing incidence of a range of diseases and ailments has been linked to environmental factors. In particular, increased incidence of allergy and asthma has raised concern about indoor air quality, while rising incidence of testicular and breast cancer has led to concern about exposure to endocrine disruptors. Overall, environmental health policy in Sweden is strongly guided by the precautionary principle. Policy objectives are based on the precautionary approach, with economic analysis of policy options being a secondary concern. In practice, this may lead to greater expenditure than might be justified by strict cost-benefit analysis. Another major aim of public health policy in Sweden is assuring equity (Box 7.1). The overall economic cost associated with damage to public health caused by environmental exposure has not been estimated, but National Institute of Public
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Box 7.1
Equity in public health policy
Extended life expectancy, but not for all According to the latest Public Health Report (2001), life expectancy continues to increase in Sweden: it rose by one year in the first half of the 1980s (the largest increase since the Second World War), and since then men’s life expectancy has increased by an additional 3.3 years and women’s by 1.9 years. As men’s life expectancy has increased more quickly than women’s, the difference between the two has diminished from 6.0 to 4.6 years. Part of the net increase is due to the halving of the infant mortality rate since 1983. Life expectancy in Sweden is among the highest in the OECD. However, improvements in life expectancy and overall health are unevenly shared. The first Public Health Report (1987) noted that the members of Swedish society with the highest material welfare also enjoyed the best health. Although overall differences in material welfare have decreased over time, illness is still more prevalent among blue-collar workers than among white-collar workers, and the distribution of some other factors raises concern that class differences in health could increase. The fifth Public Health Report (2001) confirmed that social differences in health persist, especially among men. At age 35, male white-collar workers can expect to live two years longer than their blue-collar counterparts. Female whitecollar workers have a life expectancy 0.7 years longer than their blue-collar counterparts, and the difference is widening. Defining an equity-oriented public health policy Reducing public health inequalities linked to socio-economic status, gender, ethnic background and geography was made a policy priority in 1997. The National Public Health Commission was appointed in 1997, and was asked to define overall public health objectives. It comprised representatives of all seven political parties as well as scientific experts and advisers from national authorities, universities, trade unions and NGOs. In 2000 its final report proposed 18 overarching objectives for national public health policy. Each is linked with specific targets framed in terms of equitably reducing exposure to health risk factors. By not linking targets to reduced morbidity or mortality, the commission sought to reduce the prominence of the health care sector in follow-up actions and instead make it easier for various sectors to identify how they could play a role in reducing health risk factors equitably and contributing to general welfare.
Health studies have estimated the annual economic costs of effects of selected pollutants, such as excess lung cancer caused by radon (EUR 15 million) and skin cancer caused by ultraviolet radiation (EUR 87 million). For most people, environmental exposure does not lead to early death but is a nuisance that reduces productivity and overall well-being (Table 7.1).
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Health effects of selected environmental factors in Sweden
Environmental factor
Effectsa
Impact on public healthb
Exposure trendc/comment
Air pollution
Respiratory tract and cardio-vascular disease
About 10% of population affected
Urban NO2 levels declining; ozone and PM10 stable, often exceeding recommended values
Asthma
Over 1 000 excess hospitalisations per year
Lung cancer
200 excess cases of lung cancer per year 100-200 excess lung cancer Benzene levels decreasing; PAH cases per year levels stable; acceptable risk levels often exceeded Government promoting improved 400 excess lung cancer cases ventilation in existing homes and per year higher standards for new 350 000 Swedish homes have construction radon levels exceeding recommended limit Decreasing due to declining 30-60 excess cases of lung smoking rate, anti-smoking cancer per year About 1 000 excess myocardial regulations and improvements in indoor ventilation infarctions and heart disease cases 2-10 outbreaks per year affect Stable up to 13 000 persons
Benzene and other PAHs
Lung cancer
Radon
Lung cancer
Environmental tobacco smoke
Lung cancer and heart disease
Waterborne bacteria
Cadmium
Acute gastrointestinal illness Acute gastrointestinal illness Kidney damage
Nickel
Contact dermatitis
Dioxins and PCBs
Impaired immune system and/or reproductive health Broken concentration, stress, high blood pressure
Food-borne bacteria
Noise
About 100 outbreaks per year Stable affect 300 000-500 000 persons About 5 000-10 000 persons affected
Slightly increasing; main sources are diet and respiration of cigarette smoke About 15% of women, 5% of Exposure increasing; regulation men affected to limit this is expected Not known, but average intake Declining slowly; high levels in exceeds proposed tolerable daily fatty species of Baltic fish level Over 10% of population Exposure increasing; major disturbed by noise in the home sources are road traffic, noise at least once per week from fans and installations in buildings
a) Major health effects associated with chronic exposure, or acute exposure in the case of two bacterial factors. b) Estimates based on National Environmental Health Survey and other studies. c) Observed since 1996. Source: Adapted from the Environmental Health Report 2001.
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1.1
Policy objectives
Within its national policies on public health and environmental management, Sweden has formulated a range of objectives specific to the environment-public health interface (Table 7.2). In 1997, Sweden published a national environmental health action plan, as called for by the European office of the World Health Organization. The plan identified major environmental health risks, and proposed priorities for
Table 7.2
Selected national objectives related to environment and public health
PUBLIC HEALTH OBJECTIVESa
Accessible Green Areas for Recreation – Quiet and safe green areas within 5 – 10 minutes’ walk of housing. – Playgrounds at nurseries and schools that satisfy children’s needs for play, movement, stimulation and relaxation. – Good outdoor facilities near housing for the elderly and disabled. Healthy Indoor and Outdoor Environments – Reduced exposure to passive smoking. – Well-ventilated indoor environments. – High building standards, protecting from radon and providing adequate fresh air and non-toxic environment. Safe Environments and Products – Adequate safety at home, in traffic and in public places. – Reduced use of products that are allergenic or hazardous to health. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OBJECTIVESb A Good Urban Environment – Urban areas must provide a good, healthy living environment and contribute to good regional and global environment. – Natural and cultural assets must be protected. – Buildings and amenities must be sited and designed in accordance with sound environmental principles. A Non-Toxic Environment – The environment must be free from human-made or extracted compounds and metals that represent a threat to human health. A Protective Ozone Layer – Human health must be protected against the harmful effects of UV radiation in the outdoor environment. Clean Air – Air quality should be maintained at levels that do not inflict damage on human or animal health, plants or cultural assets. a) Selected from the 11 set by the National Public Health Commission in 2000. b) Selected from the 15 set by the parliament in 1999. Source: National Public Health Commission; SEPA.
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mitigating them. In 1999, several of these priorities were incorporated into some of Sweden’s 15 environmental quality objectives (EQOs): “A Good Urban Environment”, “A Non-Toxic Environment”, “A Protective Ozone Layer” and “Clean Air” have direct links to health issues, while others have indirect links. Of the 11 health objectives formulated in 2000 by the National Public Health Commission, three (“accessible green areas for recreation”, “healthy indoor and outdoor environments” and “safe environments and products”) directly relate to the environment. The national sustainability strategy (2002) identifies protection of public health as a core strategic area and calls for greater integration of concerns related to health effects in sectoral policies. While environmental health objectives have traditionally been based on whatever is deemed necessary to protect human health and promote general wellbeing, without the aid of cost-benefit analysis, in some cases efforts have been made to choose the most cost-effective measures to achieve the objectives. Furthermore, in strategic policy analysis, major new activities are subject to analysis of the expected costs and benefits to public health. In practice, estimating the costs of damage to public health from environmental exposure is generally difficult because the time lag between exposure and effect is often long, effects vary depending on the sensitivity of those exposed, and any given effect may have multiple causes. In addition, Sweden’s commitment to the precautionary principle often necessitates a policy response even before risks have been fully quantified (Box 7.2). Sweden also gives high priority to national and international research programmes focused on environmental risk assessment. Understanding environmental risks affecting children’s health has been a particular focus of Swedish research. A national study assessing children’s environmental exposure and related health conditions is under way. The study analyses the results of a survey that gathered information concerning such factors as the indoor and outdoor environment, health conditions and allergies, noise, odours and dietary habits. To be published in 2005, the study will be the first to make an overall assessment of how environmental exposure affects Swedish children’s health.
1.2
Responsible institutions
At national level, three ministries share responsibility for policy formulation related to environmental health: Health and Social Affairs; Environment; and Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. Their work is accompanied by that of several national boards and agencies responsible for policy analysis and enforcement, such as the National Boards of Health and Welfare, of Agriculture, and of Housing, Building and Planning; the Chemicals Inspectorate; the Swedish Environmental Protection
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Box 7.2 Public health and electromagnetic radiation The possible health risks of long-term exposure to elevated levels of non-ionising electromagnetic radiation have been debated widely in Sweden. The risks of ionising electromagnetic radiation (e.g. X-rays, radioisotopes) have been well documented for decades. At the end of the 1990s, concerns arose about non-ionising electromagnetic radiation with low frequencies (0-3MHZ) emitted from sources including highvoltage power lines, transforming stations and some consumer electronic devices. Suspected human health effects include leukaemia and brain tumours. Research has not yet provided clear scientific evidence linking chronic exposure to electromagnetic radiation with specific health effects, although some studies have suggested that children living near high-voltage power lines have an elevated risk of developing leukaemia. Research on non-ionising electromagnetic radiation with frequencies of 3MHZ300GHZ, emitted by personal computers, radio and television transmitters, cellular phones and related infrastructure, radar stations and microwave ovens, has not indicated any health risks. Research into the effects of electromagnetic fields from mobile phone antennas is still in the early stage. Sweden’s “Safe Radiation Environment” EQO sets an interim target of identifying risks associated with electromagnetic fields, as far as possible, and designating necessary measures once potential risks have been identified. Additional actions include educating the public about the level of uncertainty regarding the health risks associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields and fostering the establishment of professional networks to exchange information and enhance expertise concerning such risks. Despite the high level of uncertainty regarding the health risks associated with exposure to electromagnetic radiation, the general public has expressed great concern about possible adverse effects. Residents have put pressure on local authorities to take potential health risks into account when making spatial planning decisions. Concerning low-frequency radiation, authorities have applied the precautionary principle in spatial planning decisions. In areas where strong electromagnetic fields exist, high-density construction is avoided so as to minimise human exposure. As regards mobile phone antennas, no special measures have been taken, as studies have not confirmed health effects.
Agency (SEPA); and the National Institute of Public Health. The National Board of Health and Welfare bears overall responsibility for health issues related to the EQOs. No specific institution is charged with co-ordinating policy issues dealing with the environment-public health interface, nor is there an agreed set of environmental health indicators for monitoring progress towards national objectives in this area.
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Each of Sweden’s municipalities has a board responsible for translating national environmental health objectives into action. Their work is co-ordinated by county boards. Municipalities are also responsible for supervising implementation of the Environmental Code with regard to environment and health. As the degree of exposure to environmental factors is often related to local circumstances, local authorities are well placed to find and implement solutions. But, in practice, conflicts of interest sometimes arise, as municipal authorities also make planning and permitting decisions regarding development and industrial expansion. Some larger municipalities have sought to increase transparency through local environment and health programmes. Stockholm’s programme, for example, includes environmental health-related targets; residents can follow progress on the targets via the Internet, and an annual report to the county board is made public. Smaller municipalities lacking Stockholm’s resources may need to find alternative solutions.
2.
Air Pollution and Public Health 2.1
Outdoor air quality
In recent decades, outdoor air quality has improved through stringent emission controls on industrial and energy facilities, incinerators and transport, so harmful outdoor exposure to air pollution has declined. Nevertheless, one in ten respondents to the latest National Environmental Health Survey reported respiratory health problems due to chronic exposure to emissions from motor vehicle exhaust or wood burning. The Environmental Health Report 2001 estimates that urban air pollution is responsible for 200 excess cases of lung cancer per year. A study for the Institute of Public Health in 2003 linked high concentrations of ground-level ozone with some 2 800 hospital admissions per year for respiratory problems. A 2003 study by the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute reviewing health costs associated with air pollution from road transport estimated that chronic exposure to such pollution was responsible for shortening average life length by 65 days in Stockholm, or 168 000 years of life lost overall. The “Clean Air” EQO includes interim targets for reducing specific air pollutants by 2010. Considerable progress has been made through a range of measures including NOx charges, fuel quality regulations, promotion of district heating and environmentally differentiated fairway dues for ships (Chapter 8). Since 1996, emissions of NOx, SOx and VOCs have been reduced considerably (Figure 8.2). SOx concentrations already meet environmental standards with regard to health effects. But reaching the target for particles will require additional measures by
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Figure 7.1 Selected environmental health indicators Exposure Environmental tobacco smokea
Dioxins (by eating Baltic herring),b by age Age group
At home 19-29 30-39 At work 40-49 50-59
Elsewhere
60-69 70-81
Total 0
4
8 12 % adult population
0
10
20
30
Male
40 50 % of age group Female
Prevalence Asthmac
Noise disturbanced
Have had asthma
Road traffic
Neighbours Confirmed by physician Aircraft
Asthma trouble in past year
Train 0
4 Male
8 12 % population Female
0
4 Male
8 12 % population Female
a) % of population aged 19 to 65 exposed daily to others' tobacco smoke. b) Proportion of population, aged 19 to 81, eating Baltic herring at least once per month; the National Food Administration estimates the dioxin content of Baltic herring to be on average 5.1 pg WHO-TEQ/g fresh weight, whereas the maximum allowable level for EU states is 4 pg WHO-TEQ/g fresh weight. c) % of population reporting that they have had asthma in their lifetime, that this has been confirmed by a physician's diagnosis or that they have suffered from asthma in the past year. d) % of population reporting disturbance by noise at least once per week in their homes, by source. Source: National Environmental Health Survey; National Food Administration.
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local authorities aimed at road traffic and wood burning, the two largest sources of exposure to fine particles (PM10). SEPA expects the 2010 target for fine particles to be met at rooftop level but not at street level, the more important zone in terms of human exposure. The 2010 target for ground-level ozone will also be difficult to achieve, as international action is required to reduce emissions of precursor pollutants. Although the NOx charge imposed on large combustion plants since 1992 has helped reduce emissions from stationary sources, meeting the 2010 target for NOx will depend crucially on reducing emissions from mobile sources (e.g. through increased use of pollution control devices on road vehicles, ships and aeroplanes). Reductions of NOx emissions thus far are mainly attributed to reduced vehicle emissions due to technical developments, including the catalytic converter for passenger cars. Local authorities operate air management systems that monitor local air quality. The information gathered helps identify the most important air pollution sources, but also helps alert the public when ambient levels might pose unacceptable health risks. Some municipal websites have begun posting data concerning ambient air pollution levels for specific locations, and giving relevant advice for sensitive groups (asthmatic or allergic individuals). Stockholm was a pioneer of such an information system.
2.2
Indoor air quality
Indoor air quality is of prime importance to public health because people in Sweden spend most of their time indoors (about 90% in winter), whether at home or in offices. About one million people are estimated to suffer some respiratory symptoms stemming from poor indoor air quality, and nearly 25% of the population reports having had asthma at some time (Figure 7.1). Almost 40% of schoolchildren have an allergy or other type of hypersensitivity; many experts hypothesize a link with indoor air quality (Box 7.3). The main health risks in the indoor environment stem from exposure to chemicals, radon, tobacco smoke, mould and dampness. The Radon Commission estimates that indoor radon levels exceed 200 Bq/m3 in 350 000 Swedish homes, necessitating special ventilation systems. Despite the declining rate of smoking, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, or so-called second-hand smoke, remains a major health risk factor in the indoor environment, with 13% of the population exposed every day (Figure 7.1). Persons exposed to tobacco smoke are more sensitive to the effects of radon, and typically have higher than average body burdens of cadmium and nickel.
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Box 7.3 Incidence of environment- and lifestyle-related disease The incidence of a number of illnesses that are aggravated by environmental and lifestyle factors has grown significantly in recent years. In particular, asthma, allergies and other forms of hypersensitivity have skyrocketed in the past decade, particularly among children and youth. Juvenile (type 1) diabetes, another disorder of the immune system, has also increased substantially since 1990, particularly among very young children. The causes have not been established, but the increasing incidence at younger ages suggests that environmental factors and/or lifestyle play a part. Smoking remains the greatest health risk factor in Sweden, contributing to an estimated 80% of all lung cancer cases. Encouragingly, the rate of smoking has declined in all socio-economic groups and for both sexes since the early 1980s. Sweden has the EU’s smallest proportion of daily smokers among men, although recent studies indicate that certain groups (e.g. young immigrant men) continue to smoke a lot. Among native-born Swedish men, older men smoke more than younger men. The proportion of women daily smokers started to decline much later than for men; as a result, lung cancer incidence in this group is still rising, and is expected to continue doing so for the next decade or two. Besides the direct health effects, smoking increases sensitivity to certain other air pollutants; for example, of the 400 lung cancer cases tied to exposure to radon annually, some 320 are thought to have been worsened by the fact that the patient smoked or was chronically exposed to tobacco smoke. People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes. Excess body weight is increasingly prevalent in Sweden, especially among children and young adults, probably as a result of more sedentary lifestyles and changes in eating habits. The proportion of overweight people has increased in all socio-economic groups since the early 1980s. Obesity (weighing more than 20% above the average for age, height and bone structure) is slightly more common among women than among men. Obesity increases the risk of cancer and other disorders in certain internal organs and has been associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and adult onset (type 2) diabetes.
To improve indoor air quality, the government has set as an interim target the elimination of health risks in the built environment. This target focuses on ensuring that ventilation systems in homes, schools and pre-schools are functional and effective. Since the early 1990s the government has made subsidies available to homeowners in high radon concentration areas, covering up to 50% of radon reduction costs. Under the 1992 Act on Compulsory Ventilation Inspection, local authorities periodically carry out inspections to verify that systems satisfy building permit specifications. When violations are detected, building owners are held personally liable.
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Under the Planning and Building Act and the Act on Technical Requirements for Construction Works, new buildings must be designed so as to meet air, light and water quality standards defined with reference to general health requirements. Construction standards in Sweden are very high, and have been continually adjusted upwards through joint initiatives. In 1998, for instance, construction companies, municipalities and the government signed a voluntary agreement aimed at developing a sustainable building and property sector. The agreement included priorities for improving the indoor environment. Another joint initiative, the Indoors 99 information campaign, was effective in encouraging measures to improve indoor air quality while raising awareness of scientific evidence linking indoor environmental factors to health effects. Evidence from two studies, on “Children, Allergies and the Environment” and “Dampness in Buildings and Health”, supported these efforts.
3.
Noise
According to the National Environmental Health Survey, more than 10% of the population suffers from noise disturbance at home at least once a week, and 20% are regularly exposed to noise levels exceeding outdoor limits. The main source of noise is road traffic, and urban populations are the most affected. Up to 5% of those chronically exposed to high noise levels (especially those living on major thoroughfares) suffer from high blood pressure. In general, though, high noise levels simply reduce the overall sense of well-being and lower overall productivity by disturbing concentration and sleep. Studies have indicated that children and youth are more sensitive to high noise levels, which can lead to slower learning and to longterm hearing damage or tinnitus. The “Good Built Environment” EQO has an interim target concerning noise: “by 2010 the number of people who are exposed to traffic noise in dwellings will have been reduced by 5% compared with 1998” (i.e. from 20% to 19% of the population). A similar target is set in Sweden’s sustainable transport programme. Although the 5% reduction target may not appear ambitious, the probability of meeting it is low, since road traffic is still strongly on the upswing. To reduce noise in existing dwellings, a 1996-2007 action programme focuses on sound insulation in the worst-affected housing areas. The programme has supported installation of soundproof windows and facades and the construction of sound barriers for housing developments along heavily travelled roads. Information on the programme’s costs and benefits was unavailable for this review.
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4.
Chemicals and Health 4.1
National level
Objective and policy measures The “Non-Toxic Environment” EQO aims to reduce levels of chemicals in the environment to natural levels. In absolute terms this will be very difficult, as many industrial chemicals are dispersed in the Swedish environment and the transboundary contribution is significant. Furthermore, production of chemicals has increased sharply worldwide over the last 50 years and is still rising. Sweden’s overall production has grown more than tenfold since 1950. The Swedish chemical industry is a net importer, however, and chemical products account for one-eighth of all imports in terms of value. Sweden has achieved impressive progress towards meeting this EQO. In particular, health risks associated with several heavy metals (e.g. mercury, lead) have been greatly reduced (Chapter 8). Progress has also been made in reducing the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and pesticides in the food chain, though some concerns remain. The Chemicals Inspectorate’s product register shows that Swedish companies make or import more than 64 000 chemical products annually. In 1999, Sweden set interim targets requiring action from the chemical manufacturing and importing industry. These are: 1) characterising the health and environmental toxicity of chemicals; 2) providing information concerning the health and environmental risks of products containing chemicals; 3) phasing out particularly hazardous substances; 4) continuously reducing environmental and health risks associated with chemicals; 5) establishing guideline values for environmental quality; and 6) remediating contaminated sites. The targets require the industry to provide extensive data about hazards to human health and the environment posed by the substances it produces. European chemical manufactures have expressed concern that the costs of testing required to satisfy the targets could be high. As a small market, which primarily relies on imported chemicals, Sweden has worked at EU and international levels to raise the issue of manufacturers’ responsibility for generating knowledge on all commercially available chemicals. In this context, Sweden considers the EU’s proposed chemicals strategy, REACH, to be a significant step towards its own interim targets. Health effects of exposure to chemicals depend on the level of exposure, the individual’s sensitivity, the pathway and the dose. Possible effects include cancer, imparred reproductive capacity, birth defects, skin reactions and acute illness. In
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setting “maximum allowable levels” for chemicals in the environment, Sweden seeks to protect particularly sensitive groups, such as children, from adverse effects. The Chemicals Inspectorate sets regulations to protect against health risks stemming from direct exposure (via use or consumption) or indirect exposure (via chemicals existing in the environment), depending on the substances involved. The economic benefits of such policies are not systematically calculated.
Results achieved Industry and agriculture account for about 80% of the chemicals used in Sweden. Sweden has been a front-runner in reducing environmental and health risks from pesticides and antifouling products through application of the precautionary principle, the substitution principle and the producer responsibility principle. In 1986, Sweden adopted a programme to reduce the health and environmental risks associated with agricultural pesticide use. One of its goals was to halve pesticide use (by weight of active ingredient) within five years. This initial goal was achieved, and in 1990 the parliament adopted a bill requiring a further 50% reduction. This was also achieved, through a package of measures including a pesticide tax of about EUR 3 per kilogram of active ingredient to discourage overuse (Chapter 5). At the same time, research results on optimal use of herbicides and on integrated pest management were disseminated to farmers. All farm workers were required to undergo training to become certified users of pesticides. Although households account for less than 20% of the chemicals used in Sweden, many of the public health risks related to chemicals stem from household use. The most common effects include poisoning through ingestion and irritation of skin or eyes due to contact. As the range of chemicals routinely used has expanded, the number of calls to the Swedish Poisons Information Centre has grown by some 30% since 1995, to more than 70 000 calls in 2003. Most concern health effects from chemicals, and about half concern children under age ten. Ingestion of chemicals is a particular concern in babies, as it can disrupt the development of the brain and other organs. The presence of POPs in breast milk is a particular concern, as Sweden has the highest breastfeeding rate in the OECD. Sweden’s extensive time-series data show that average concentrations of dioxins and PCBs in breast milk have declined substantially since the 1970s, in line with regulatory control of these substances. From 1972 to 1997, however, the level in breast milk of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs, compounds widely used as flame retardants that are structurally similar to PCBs) grew exponentially. In response, Sweden initiated a voluntary phase-out of penta-PBDE in 1997, followed by a ban from July 2003. Recent studies by the Karolinska Institute show that these
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Figure 7.2
POPsa in mothers' milk, 1972-2000
Dioxins including dioxin-like PCBsb pg toxic equivalent concentration/g fat
100 75 50 25 0 1972
1977
1982
1987
1992
1997
1987
1992
1997
PCBsb ng/g fat
1 200 1 000 800 600 400 200 0 1972
1977
1982
PBDEsc ng/g fat
5 4 3 2 1 0 1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
a) Persistent organic pollutants. b) Polychlorinated biphenyls. c) Polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Source: Karolinska Institute.
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measures have started to yield results in terms of reduced PBDE levels in breast milk (Figure 7.2).
4.2
International level
Sweden is an international leader in the field of chemical management, where its policies have long had a strong international influence. Recent examples include the Stockholm Convention on POPs, the current OECD chemicals programme and that of the EU. Sweden’s position is partly due to public health concerns related to bioaccumulation of POPs, whose biological breakdown is slowed by the cold climate. A significant proportion of the POPs in the Swedish environment, especially in Arctic areas, comes from transboundary pollution. Hence, Sweden has pushed internationally for stricter regulation of chemicals and greater co-operation in their management (Chapter 8). While Sweden supports REACH, the proposed EU legislation on chemicals, it would like specific mention of the precautionary principle and the substitution principal, as well as tighter requirements concerning risk assessments on lowervolume chemicals (less than 10 tonnes a year). The director of the Chemicals Inspectorate has said that REACH is a prerequisite if Sweden is to achieve its “NonToxic Environment” EQO. The chemical manufacturing and importing industry, while adopting a co-operative attitude, argues that ways must be found to reduce compliance costs, perhaps by focusing testing on the chemicals thought to be the most toxic. Through international collaboration and research, Sweden seeks to encourage other countries to set ambitious targets for substances with adverse effects on health. Research into the risk of endocrine disruption posed by pharmaceutical by-products in the environment is a priority; possible links to the increasing incidence of breast and testicular cancer are being explored.
5.
Access to Nature and Green Spaces
In the interest of promoting general well-being, Sweden’s environmental health policy seeks to accentuate the health benefits that the environment can have. In particular, assuring access to nature and providing green areas suitable for recreation in urban areas is a policy priority. Public health statistics confirm trends towards less physical exercise and increasing obesity, which raise the risk of ill health and premature death. Other studies have shown that people who have green areas, such as
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parks and forests, within a reachable distance from their homes report a higher sense of well-being and participate more frequently in outdoor activities. Free access to nature is a deeply ingrained cultural tradition in Sweden, and landowners generally cannot refuse people the right to cross their land (Chapter 6). To a certain extent, the legal framework also guarantees individuals and private groups the right to camp and make recreational use of natural resources on private land. Preserving these rights is important. As urban expansion has continued, however, the proportion of undeveloped green areas has declined in most settlements of more than 10 000 inhabitants. Some 84% of the Swedish population now lives in urban areas. Recent Swedish policy objectives emphasise the links between nature conservation, outdoor activities and public health, for instance in the 2002 policy on nature conservation (Chapter 4). Related EQOs and other targets include “A Good Urban Environment”, “healthy forests” and “safeguarding social and cultural assets of forestland”. Three related public health targets are “ensuring access to green spaces”, “healthy, safe environments and products” and “increased physical activity”. Efforts to assure access to green space, conserve a varied agricultural landscape and restore the biological and cultural assets of farmland are similarly related. SEPA’s Outdoor Recreation Council provides financial support to associations that contribute to the maintenance and use of green spaces. The government has also charged the country’s three largest urban regions (Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö) with devising a programme for protection and administration of urban green spaces for recreation and nature conservation. The Stockholm region has proposed that 71 new nature reserves be established. The first urban national park was created to guarantee protection of green areas and recreational possibilities close to Stockholm residents’ homes. The park includes green areas, built areas and recreation areas; further development is prohibited through voluntary agreements. Other urban regions are trying to follow Stockholm’s example but are likely to have only limited success unless voluntary agreements are accompanied by financial compensation for forgone development opportunities. County boards may also encounter difficulties in designating such areas, since municipalities are generally the owners of green areas and thus have the ultimate say about whether a park or nature area is to be protected or designated as a special recreation area.
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8
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION*
Features • • • •
Going beyond Kyoto Reducing air pollution from ships Restoring shared fish stocks Protecting marine ecosystems
* The present chapter reviews progress in the last ten years, and particularly since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review of 1996. It also reviews progress with respect to the objective “global environmental interdependence” of the 2001 OECD Environmental Strategy. Selected international commitments are discussed in other chapters: water management (Chapter 3) and nature conservation and biodiversity (Chapter 4).
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Recommendations The following recommendations are part of the overall conclusions and recommendations of the environmental performance review of Sweden: • adopt and implement a national marine strategy; in particular, take further measures to reduce nitrogen loading to the Baltic Sea so as to meet the HELCOM target for 2005, as well as related national targets; step up preventive actions and sanctions concerning oil spills; take measures to strengthen regional co-operation for fishery management, working through the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission and the EU; develop a ship scrapping plan; • build on the recent International Maritime Organization designation of the Baltic as a “particularly sensitive sea area” and continue to promote regional action to decrease emissions to air of SOx, VOCs and NOx from ships in the Baltic, with an emphasis on economic instruments; • within the national climate protection programme, give priority to the most costeffective instruments to promote energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources, and review exemptions (e.g. energy-intensive industry, peat use); • strengthen customs control of international shipments so as to prevent the exportation ofequipment containing (or outfitted to use) CFCs, halons or other ozone-depleting substances; • continue to integrate environmental concerns systematically into development assistance while maintaining or increasing overall levels of ODA; • increase environmental assistance and technology transfer to countries bordering the east of Baltic proper, so as to promote the achievement of shared environmental objectives (e.g. regarding nutrient loads, acid precipitation, flexible mechanisms on climate change); • step up inspection and enforcement against violations of CITES in control points, and raise applicable fines to enhance their deterrent function.
Conclusions Sweden has continued to play a very active role in international co-operation for environmental protection at both the global and European levels. It is one of the few OECD member countries that are on track to meet their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to limit GHG emissions: while Sweden’s commitment is to limit growth in national emissions to 4% between 1990 and 2008-12, it has stabilised its emissions since 1990. Furthermore, in 2001 it set two national GHG emission reduction objectives that go much farther than its Kyoto commitment. Its level of CO2 emissions per unit of GDP is among the lowest in OECD countries. It has met its commitments under the protocols of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, achieving
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significant reductions of emissions of SOx, NOx, heavy metals and organic pollutants, and came close to meeting its Sofia Declaration target. Recognising that seagoing ships represent a significant source of acidifying emissions, Sweden has experimented effectively with economic instruments to encourage the use of low-sulphur fuel and installation of NOx abatement equipment on ships. In addition, through improvements to municipal and industrial waste water treatment capacity, Swedish discharges of a range of heavy metals were reduced between 60% and 90% in time to meet the 1995 HELCOM target, although further action is still necessary. Sweden has taken strong measures to protect marine ecosystems and reduce fishing pressure in its national waters. Despite large government budget cuts in the late 1990s, it has held its level of official development assistance (ODA) at more than 0.7% of gross national income, thus meeting the UN target, and environmental aid is estimated to represent at least 10% of its total ODA. Sweden’s performance in implementing international agreements relating to transboundary shipments of hazardous waste and the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances is very good overall. There is room for Sweden to improve its implementation of international commitments and international co-operation. Although it has successfully used a range of economic instruments to implement its climate policy, Sweden does not systematically use economic analysis to identify the most cost-effective options. As its GHG abatement costs are quite high in some areas, the use of economic analysis to identify the most costeffective options could help reap savings. Like other Baltic Sea countries, Sweden missed the original 1995 HELCOM targets for reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea and appears unlikely to meet the 2005 target for nitrogen unless additional measures are launched quickly; funding remains an issue. Although Sweden generally meets the annual target of inspecting 25% of foreign ships calling in its ports (under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control), a recent study suggested that steps should be taken to enhance the environmental aspect of inspection. Like other Baltic Sea fleets, Swedish fishing fleets continue to exploit several key stocks at what are considered unsustainable levels. Unless ways to enhance regional co-operation for responsible and sustainable management of shared fish stocks can be identified, Sweden is unlikely to reach its national target of ensuring that commercial fish catches do not exceed recruitment by 2008. Levels of certain POPs in Arctic and Baltic ecosystems are high, and are beginning to degrade the value of some natural resources (e.g. the northern Baltic herring fishery). While Swedish legislation on ozone-depleting substances does not allow exports of used products or equipment (e.g. refrigerators or freezers) whose operation relies on the supply of CFCs, halons or other ODS, some exporters are still not complying with the legislation. Sanctions on illegal trade in species protected by CITES remain low compared with the possible gains from trafficking. ♦
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Sweden has long given high priority to international co-operation for environmental protection, originally to reduce environmental pressures on air, water and soil from transboundary pollution and more recently to maintain a level playing field in the context of expanding international economic integration and competition regionally and globally. Beyond these interests, however, Sweden has for years been a model of development that gives weight to environmental and social issues, and is committed to helping find solutions for international environmental challenges simply out of solidarity.
1.
Objectives
Sweden dedicates a large share of its environmental administration’s human and financial resources to implementing international environmental commitments. Several of its 15 environmental quality objectives (EQOs) are directly related to international commitments or have strong international components (e.g. “Clean Air”, “Balanced Marine Environment”, “Natural Acidification Only” and “A Protective Ozone Layer”). As a member of the European Union since 1995, Sweden ensures that its environmental legislation is consistent with EU directives. It is among the few member states whose “transposition deficit” (percentage of directives not yet transposed into domestic law) meets the target of 1.5% or less. Only once has the European Court of Justice determined that Sweden failed to fulfil its obligations under environment-related directives (the 1976 Bathing Water Directive). The country has worked within the EU framework to raise environmental standards and take proactive steps favouring the environment. Particular emphasis has been given in recent years to protecting human health from chemicals and to making production and consumption patterns more sustainable. Sweden has accepted a number of objectives in becoming party to multilateral environmental agreements (Reference II). Its performance in meeting internationally agreed objectives in selected areas (e.g. climate protection, transboundary pollution, marine issues, trade and environment) is evaluated below. Progress towards implementing recommendations made in the 1996 OECD Environmental Performance Review, also assessed below, has been excellent overall. These recommendations were to: – ratify international agreements that Sweden had recently signed;
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– adopt measures to decrease transboundary pollution of Swedish origin from farming, sewage treatment, transport, etc.; and continue active work in international forums to reduce transboundary air pollution and to promote strict vehicle emission control measures; – promote action to decrease air emissions of pollutants from ships in the Baltic Sea; – strengthen co-operation in the framework of the Helsinki Convention to reduce pollution loading of the Baltic Sea; – help strengthen prevention of maritime accidents in the Baltic area; – promote measures to reduce CO2 emissions from manufacturing industries; and review the effect of energy taxation on energy conservation and use of renewable energy sources; – increase environmental aid and technology transfer to central and eastern European countries; – within the aid budget, increase the share of environmental aid and raise overall official development assistance to reach the national goal of 1% of gross national income.
2.
Climate protection 2.1
Intentions, actions and results
Sweden ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 along with the other EU countries. Its target for the first commitment period (2008-12), under the EU burden-sharing agreement, is to limit growth in emissions to a maximum of 4% above 1990 emissions. National greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2002 were slightly lower than in 1990. While overall emissions from transport rose somewhat, those from the housing and services sectors fell slightly. Energy production and use accounted for nearly 78% of total GHG emissions in 2001, and transport represented almost 30% of that share (Table 8.1). Industrial processes produced about 9% of GHG emissions, agriculture 10% and waste management 3%. Sweden’s energy use per unit of GDP is higher than the OECD and OECD Europe averages (Figure 8.1). Its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP are among the lowest in OECD countries, reflecting the sizable shares of nuclear power, hydropower, and geothermal, solar, wind and biomass power in the energy supply. From a peak in 1970, Swedish CO2 emissions had fallen by over 40% by 1990, largely through a shift from oil-based power generation to nuclear plants and other energy sources, along with major energy efficiency gains. In 2001, the Swedish
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economy’s CO2 emission intensity was 48% lower than the OECD Europe average (Figure 8.2), and Sweden accounted for only 0.2% of global emissions. Market-based policy instruments have been a highly effective part of Swedish climate protection efforts. The CO2 tax and 25% VAT on energy use, both introduced in 1991, have helped limit GHG emissions by encouraging energy conservation and fuel switching towards biomass. After analysis with the MARKAL model, Statistics Sweden estimated that CO2 emissions in 2000 were at least 5 million tonnes lower than they would have been without the extended energy and CO2 taxes. In the late 1990s the tax base was extended to cover additional fuels and applications, although energy-intensive industry continues to enjoy significant reductions, out of concern for international competitiveness. Integration of climate protection objectives into energy, transport and housing policies has also played an important role in keeping Sweden on track to meet its Kyoto commitment. The 1997-2002 energy policy introduced programmes (with funding of SEK 3.5 billion) to increase energy efficiency, reduce electricity consumption for heating and promote electricity production based on renewables.
Table 8.1
GHG emissions from energy and transport, actual and projected (000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent) 1990
CO2 from energy 51 713 of which transport 18 738
1992
1994
1996
1998
1999
2010
2020 Scen. 1a
2020 Scen. 2b
50 649 19 032
54 739 18 561
58 107 18 834
53 608 19 481
52 022 19 886
52 532 21 432
54 365 22 717
60 128 22 717
CH4 from energy of which transport
779 486
756 455
736 429
753 411
661 341
634 303
494 178
433 118
433 118
N2O from energy of which transport
1 776 453
1 716 431
1 935 474
2 049 512
2 090 530
2 071 570
2 542 744
2 945 899
2 945 899
Totalc from energy 54 268 of which transport 19 677
53 121 1 918
57 410 19 464
60 909 19 757
56 359 20 352
54 727 20 759
55 568 22 354
57 743 23 734
63 506 23 734
a) Scenario 1 (2020) assumes the possibility of reinvestment in nuclear power. b) Scenario 2 (2020) assumes only a 40-year lifespan for nuclear reactors. c) Totals may reflect some errors due to rounding. Source: Third National Communication from Sweden to the UNFCCC, 2001.
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Concerning transport, taxation of petrol and diesel fuel has been adjusted. Sweden has also taken strong measures to reduce GHG emissions from housing; its building codes have become an international reference for encouraging energy conservation. Sweden has a long tradition of forest management policy requiring felled areas to be replanted. As a result, forests cover more than half of Sweden’s national territory and act as an important CO2 sink. The CO2 tax makes forest fuel cheaper than fossil fuel, particularly for district heating. Hence a well-developed and growing market for biomass has arisen. On average in the early 2000s, Swedish forests accounted for removal of about 23 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
2.2
Going beyond Kyoto
In its 2002 climate strategy, Sweden set two ambitious national targets on climate protection that go far beyond its Kyoto commitment: 1) to reverse growth in national emissions of the six Kyoto GHGs so that average yearly emissions by 200812 are at least 4% lower than in 1990 (not counting reductions through carbon sinks or the use of flexible mechanisms); and 2) to reduce annual per capita GHG emissions to 4.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050. Meeting the latter will be a challenge since per capita emissions are already more than 30% below the OECD average. Also, the future role of nuclear power in Sweden is set to diminish, although the exact timeline for the planned phase-out of nuclear plants is still under discussion. Swedish climate policy is to be re-evaluated in 2004 and again in 2008. The greening of Sweden’s tax system continues, with reduced taxes on labour being offset by increased taxes on environmentally harmful activities; the reforms will further enhance the climate protection effect of environment-related taxes (Chapter 5). It is estimated that the overall fiscal impact of the “green tax switch” in 2001-10 will total SEK 30 billion. Provisions in the 2001 and 2002 budgets led to tax switching totalling SEK 5 billion; in January 2003 the CO2 tax was raised by 16% and the energy tax on electricity by 2.1 ore per kWh. Higher environment-related taxation is expected to provide an even more persuasive incentive for energy conservation and fuel switching. Revenue from energy and CO2 taxes exceeded SEK 65 billion in 2001 (roughly double the revenue from energy taxes in 1990), representing about 5% of total tax revenue. Sweden’s climate policy also puts heavy emphasis on developing alternative sources of energy by promoting research and development and offering economic incentives. The national energy supply is increasingly to be based on renewable energy sources and the use of fossil fuel is to be minimised. A “green certificate” system initiated in 2003 introduced purchasing quotas for electricity from renewable
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Figure 8.1
Energy structure and intensity
Energya per unit of GDPb Trend in Sweden, 1990-2001
State, 2001
1990 = 100
Sweden
0.24
100 Canada
0.29
USA 75
0.25
Austria
0.15
Finland
25
0.27
France
0.19
Netherlands
0.19
OECD Europe
0.18
50
OECD
0.21
0 1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
Energy supply by source,c 1990-2001
0.00
0.15 0.30 toe/USD 1 000
Total final energy consumption by sector, 2001
Mtoe
Residential/ commercial 34.6%
50 40
Hydro, geo., solar, wind, combustible renewables and waste
30
Agriculture 1.3% Non-energy use 2.3%
Nuclear Natural gas
20
0 1990
Industry 38.0%
Oil
10
1992
Coal and coal products 1994 1996 1998
2000
Transport 23.8%
Total 34.8 Mtoe
a) Total primary energy supply. b) GDP at 1995 prices and purchasing power parities. c) Breakdown excludes electricity trade. Source: OECD; IEA.
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Figure 8.2 Air pollutant emissions SOx State, 2001a per unit of GDPb
Trends in Sweden Index 1990 = 100
Sweden
GDPb
120
Fossil fuel supply
100 80
SOx emissions
60 40
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
0.3 3.0 2.0 0.2 0.6 0.7 0.2
OECD Europe OECD
20 0
1.2 1.5
0.0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
1.0
2.0
3.0
kg/USD 1 000
NOx
Trends in Sweden
State, 2001a per unit of GDPb
Index 1990 = 100
Sweden
120
GDPb
100
Fossil fuel supply
80 NOx emissions
60 40
1.2
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
3.3 2.7 0.9 1.9 1.3 1.1
OECD Europe OECD
20 0
1.4 1.9
0.0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
1.0
2.0
3.0
kg/USD 1 000
CO2c
Trends in Sweden
State, 2001 per unit of GDPb
Index 1990 = 100
120
GDPb
100
Fossil fuel supply
80
CO2 emissions
60 40
0.22
Canada USA Austria Finland France Netherlands
0.61 0.63 0.34 0.49 0.27 0.44 0.41 0.51
OECD Europe OECD
20 0
Sweden
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
tonnes/USD 1 000
a) Or latest available year. b) GDP at 1995 prices and purchasing power parities. c) Emissions from energy use only; excludes international marine and aviation bunkers. Source: UNFCCC; OECD; IEA .
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sources. The government has launched a joint project with the automotive industry to develop vehicles running on alternative fuels. Economic analysis has played a minimal role thus far in the choice of policy options to promote alternative fuels; future efforts should compare proposed measures’ cost-effectiveness with that of options such as energy conservation and the use of flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto protocol or through the EU emission trading programme. Official projections indicate that Sweden’s total GHG emissions will be at roughly the same level in 2010 as they were in 1990 (Table 8.2). CO2 will likely continue to account for some 80% of the total, with energy production and use remaining the largest source of GHG emissions. Projected increases of about 20% in CO2 emissions from transport and industry are expected to be offset by reductions from housing and district heating.
Table 8.2
GHG emissions in Sweden, actual and projected (000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent)
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
1999
2010
2020 Scen. 1a
2020 Scen. 2b
55 883 20 292
54 847 23 353
59 122 26 305
62 890 22 269
58 031 24 331
56 347 24 305
57 742 24 305
60 145 –
65 908 –
CH4 N2O PFCs HFCs SF6
6 811 7 165 440 1 81
6 879 6 785 414 4 82
6 725 7 118 390 47 97
6 630 7 103 343 141 103
6 375 7 335 306 303 92
6 172 7 112 329 375 96
4 664 7 410 336 632 93
4 048 7 714 177 636 78
4 048 7 714 177 636 78
Totald
70 382
69 011
73 499
77 210
72 442
70 431
70 877
72 798
78 561
CO2 emissions removalsc
a) Scenario 1 (2020) assumes the possibility of reinvestment in nuclear power. b) Scenario 2 (2020) assumes only a 40-year lifespan for nuclear reactors. c) Attributable to land use and forestry changes. No analyses of CO2 removals in 2020 are presented owing to the large element of uncertainty. d) Totals may reflect some errors due to rounding. Source: SEPA.
3.
Transboundary Air Pollution
Eutrophication and acidification of fragile ecosystems due to deposition from transboundary air pollution are of long-standing concern in Sweden. Concerted
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international co-operation, in the framework of the UNECE Convention on Longrange Transboundary Air Pollution, reduced emissions from upwind EU countries by 60% between 1990 and 2000. Deposition in Sweden of sulphur has fallen by 65%, and of nitrogen by 35%, since the late 1980s. Ecosystems are still suffering from the effects of extensive past deposition, however, and deposition levels continue to exceed critical levels in much of southern Sweden. Nearly 17 000 of Sweden’s 95 000 lakes are acidified, and some 10 000 lakes are regularly limed to counter the adverse effects. In addition, recent studies of arctic ecosystems confirm the extent of accumulation of organic pollutants (e.g. dioxins, PCBs) and heavy metals, much of them originating beyond Sweden’s borders (Box 8.1). To a large extent, these concerns are being addressed through the Gothenburg and Aarhus Protocols to the UNECE convention, which set further reduction targets for acidifying emissions, heavy metals and organic pollutants (Table 8.3). In 2000, the bulk of the oxidised sulphur deposited in Sweden came from other EU countries (40% of the total), Poland (14%) and ships in the Baltic (10%). Major sources of oxidised nitrogen deposited in Sweden are other EU countries (53%), Sweden itself (17%) and Baltic
Box 8.1
Protecting the Arctic from long-range POPs pollution
The Arctic, perceived by many as a pristine environment, is in fact affected by climate warming and receives toxic chemicals and other pollutants carried by air and ocean currents. Fairly high levels of organic pollutants have been found in polar bears and other large predators. Bioaccumulation and magnification of chemicals in the food chain pose a particularly serious risk to wildlife and human populations. An emerging threat to the arctic ecosystem is increased ship traffic as climate warming opens waters to year-round transit. A major step towards environmentally sound management was taken in 1996 with the establishment of the Arctic Council by Sweden, Russia, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Canada and the United States. Its mandate is to address, coordinate and resolve sustainable development issues, including environmental protection. In 1998 the council agreed a Regional Programme of Action for the Protection of the Arctic Environment from Land-Based Activities, providing a framework for national actions. Sweden has contributed to this effort through national measures to ban or control production, use and disposal of certain pesticides (e.g. DDT), industrial chemicals (e.g. PCBs) and by-products and contaminants (dioxins, furans). It has also worked with like-minded countries on regional and global agreements such as the Stockhom Convention on POPs and the UNECE Protocol on POPs.
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shipping (10%). Emissions from ships on the Baltic continue to grow, accounting for an increasing portion of overall transboundary emissions. Sweden is actively participating in international discussions on regulation of such emissions, which is expected to result in significant abatement at relatively low marginal cost (Box 8.2).
Box 8.2 Reducing air emissions from ships in the Baltic Sea Shipping traffic on the Baltic has increased substantially since the mid-1990s as states switch to market economies and more Russian oil is made available for export. With completion of the ports of Butinge (Lithuania, 1999) and Primorsk (Russia, 2002), oil export capacity in the Baltic has nearly doubled. Over 500 000 barrels of crude oil per day went through major Baltic ports in 2003. Numbers of ships used for fishing and stevedoring on the Baltic have also increased. As shipping activity has grown, so have related air emissions. A recent EU report estimates that shipgenerated emissions of NOx and SOx in the Baltic Sea grew by 30-50% between 1990 and 2000 and that such emissions will account for over 30% of all atmospheric emissions of SOx and NOx in Europe by 2010. SOx emissions from ships are caused by fuel sulphur content generally ranging from 3% to 5% by weight. A 2002 study for the European Commission estimated that limiting the sulphur content of marine fuel used in the North Sea and Baltic Sea to 1.5%, as MARPOL Annex VI (ratified by Sweden but not yet in force) specifies, would cost EUR 87 million a year. The equivalent estimate for land-based sources was EUR 1 150 million. Thus, limiting ship fuel sulphur content to 1.5% would be a relatively cost-effective means of reducing SOx emissions. Emissions from seagoing ships are not regulated by EU legislation, though options for doing so are under discussion. Sweden has been a front-runner among EU countries in seeking innovative ways to reduce air emissions from seagoing ships. Through a voluntary agreement involving the Swedish Maritime Administration, Swedish Shipowners’ Association and Swedish Ports and Stevedores Association, economic instruments have been used effectively to encourage shipowners to reduce ships’ NOx and SOx emissions. Since 1998, a system of environmentally differentiated fairway and port dues has given special reductions to ships equipped with emission control devices or using low-sulphur diesel fuel (0.5% for passenger ships, 1% for others). At least 1 200 of the ships regularly plying Swedish waters now run on low-sulphur fuel. Overall receipts from fairway dues have not changed; less polluting ships are charged less, and more polluting ships charged more. Most Swedish ports have introduced rebates on port dues for ships that have taken measures to reduce NOx and SOx emissions. In 2001, about 2 800 ships made some 127 000 calls at Swedish ports. The greatest effect of differentiated fees and rebates has been on frequent arrivals (e.g. ferries, vessels carrying forest products), which have the most impact on the local environment. It is estimated that shipgenerated SOx emissions in Sweden’s coastal waters have decreased by nearly 50% since 1998 as a result of these economic instruments.
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Sweden’s performance with respect to its commitments under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has been excellent (Table 8.3). It has largely met its targets regarding emissions of SOx and certain heavy metals, and is making steady progress on the NOx targets.
Table 8.3
Sweden’s performance under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutiona Commitments
Results
Protocol Target Period
Target (%)
Observed Period
Observed Change (%)
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
Helsinki Oslo Gothenburg
(1985) (1994) (1999)
1980-93 1980-2000 1990-2010
–30 –80 –44
1980-93 1980-00 1990-01
–82 –90 –43
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Sofia (1988) Sofia Declaration (1988) Gothenburg (1999)
1987-94 1986-98 1990-2010
0 –30 –56
1987-94 1986-98 1990-01
–24 –24 –25
Volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)
Geneva Gothenburg
(1991) (1999)
1988-99 1990-2010
–30 –54
1988-99 1990-01
–38 –39
Ammonia (NH3)
Gothenburg
(1999)
1990-2010
–6
1990-02
–2
Heavy metals Cadmium Lead Mercury
Aarhus
(1998) 1990 cap 1990 cap 1990 cap
0 0 0
1990-01 1990-01 1990-01
–55 –7 –56
POPs PAHs Dioxins/furans Hexachlorobenzene
Aarhus
1990 cap 1990 cap 1990 cap
0 0 0
1990-98 1990-01
–16 –36 ..
(1998)
a) 1979 Geneva Convention. Source: EMEP; OECD.
3.1
Sulphur oxides
Under the Helsinki and Oslo Protocols, Sweden committed to reducing national emissions of SOx by 30% over 1980-93 and by 80% over 1980-2000. These targets have been more than met with a 90% reduction since 1980. In 1998, Sweden’s SOx emissions per unit of GDP were 75% lower than the OECD Europe average (Figure 8.2). The most effective abatement measures have been a sulphur content tax,
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license conditions requiring the use of best available technology and limits on the sulphur content of fuel oil. Sweden’s commitment under the Gothenburg Protocol to reduce SOx emissions by 44% between 1990 and 2010 should be easily obtainable, as the emissions have already been decreased by 43%.
3.2
Nitrogen oxides
Under the Sofia Protocol and Sofia Declaration, Sweden committed to reducing national emissions of NOx to 1987 levels by 1994, and to reducing them by 30% during the same period. NOx emissions were 24% lower in 1994 than in 1987, meeting the former commitment but not the latter. NOx emissions per unit of GDP were 14% lower than the OECD Europe average in 2001 (Figure 8.2). Mobile sources, including fishing and shipping vessels, are responsible for about 53% of Sweden’s energy-related NOx emissions. Under the Gothenburg Protocol, Sweden committed to reducing NOx emissions by 56% between 1990 and 2010. So far NOx emissions have been reduced by 54%, but additional measures may be necessary to ensure that they continue to decline, especially given the expanding transport sector. Since 1998, Sweden has used environmentally differentiated fairway dues and targeted investment subsidies to significantly reduce NOx emissions from ships (Box 8.2). Similar measures may be needed to achieve similar reductions from other combustion sources.
3.3
Volatile organic compounds
Sweden has more than achieved its target to reduce VOC emissions as defined by the Geneva Protocol (Table 8.3). Under the Gothenburg Protocol, Sweden has committed to reducing VOC emissions to 46% of 1990 levels by 2010. Its VOC emissions per unit of GDP were 46% higher than the OECD Europe average in 2001, with most coming from stationary sources (predominantly industrial combustion and refineries). Future progress towards the Gothenburg target will depend to a great extent on limiting VOC emissions from these sources.
3.4
POPs and heavy metals
Sweden was an early ratifier of the 1998 Aarhus Protocols on persistant organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals. It actively supported the negotiations leading up to the 2001 Stockholm Convention on POPs. Although data are incomplete, early indications suggest that Sweden has made considerable progress in reducing emissions of these pollutants since the early 1990s. It is particularly committed to
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international efforts to reduce POP emissions, as such efforts are important for fragile arctic ecosystems (Box 8.1). The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme has shown that the main source of POP deposition is long-range transport via air currents. Sweden significantly reduced heavy metal emissions in the 1990s (Table 8.3). No leaded petrol has been sold since 1995, and atmospheric emissions of lead have been nearly eliminated. Since 1990, atmospheric emissions of cadmium have been reduced by 55%, and of dioxin by 36%, mainly through actions by the metal manufacturing and pulp and paper industries.
4.
The Marine Environment
Recognising the overall marine environment challenge and its international dimensions, Sweden recently made protection and management of the marine environment a priority in its environmental co-operation within the EU. The 2003 report of Sweden’s Marine Environment Commission proposed the development and adoption of a national marine strategy as well as measures on eutrophication, chemicals, shipping, fisheries and international co-operation. Sweden’s mainland coastline is over 2 300 km long, and thousands of islands are located off the jagged coast. The Swedish exclusive economic zone is mostly in the Baltic Sea and the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits leading to the North Sea. The Baltic is almost totally enclosed and is fairly shallow: the average depth is 50 meters. As the exchange of water with the open sea is slow, it takes 25 to 30 years for all the water in the Baltic Sea to be replaced. This makes the Baltic particularly vulnerable to environmental pressures from municipal waste water discharges, shipping, aquaculture and fishing. Nitrogen and phosphorus inputs cause serious eutrophication leading to large-scale, persistent algal blooms that destabilise coastal ecosystems. POPs and heavy metals pose particular problems because the physical conditions of the Baltic Sea retard their degradation. Concentrations of PCBs, dioxins and DDT remain much higher in the Baltic than in the North Sea or the open Atlantic.
4.1
Pollution from land-based sources
At their 1988 ministerial meeting, member countries of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) expressed their resolve to reduce loading of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Baltic Sea by at least 50% by 1995. During this period Sweden reduced its overall loading of phosphorus from land-based sources by 43% and of nitrogen by 20%. It reduced phosphorus inputs from agriculture by 54%, from municipal waste water treatment plants by 64% and from industry by 43%. Control of
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nitrogen proved more difficult, with reductions from agriculture of 14% and from municipal waste water treatment plants of 9%. Sweden remains responsible for about 12% of total land-based inputs of phosphorus to the Baltic and 21% of the nitrogen inputs (Chapter 3). Since Sweden was not the only country to miss the 1995 HELCOM target for reducing nutrient inputs, the deadline was changed to 2005. But Sweden is unlikely to meet this deadline as well unless additional measures are taken quickly. To further reduce nitrogen loading, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has made several well-developed proposals with sector-specific reduction targets, focusing on the areas of worst eutrophication and identifying the most cost-effective measures; these include further optimisation of some municipal waste water treatment plants, improved treatment for rural households not connected to public sewerage and improved nitrogen removal for waste water discharged from pulp and paper plants. In all the proposals could reduce nitrogen loading by a further 26% by 2005 to achieve the 2005 target, and by 39% by 2020, at a cost of EUR 65 million a year. The measures are still awaiting funding, however. Recently, the European Commission took legal action against Sweden with reference to the EU urban waste water treatment directive, particularly with respect to upgrading waste water treatment in the northern and central parts of the country. The 1988 HELCOM Ministerial Declaration also called for reducing inputs of a range of heavy metals and other hazardous substances by at least 70% between 1985 and 1995. Over the period, Sweden reduced its discharges of mercury by 90%, cadmium by 72%, lead by 70%, copper by 66%, zinc by 90%, arsenic by 83% and chromium by 79%. Industry made major reductions in its emissions of POPs, lead, chromium and zinc through process changes. Improvements to municipal waste water treatment also resulted in higher removal rates for heavy metals.
4.2
Pollution from ships
Sweden imports all its oil and gas products, as it has no oil or gas reserves. Most oil is brought by ship from the North Sea, while gas is imported by pipeline from Denmark. Sweden has three modern refineries with total capacity of about 20 million tonnes, which are to some extent specialised in production of low-sulphur, lowaromatic diesel and petrol, in line with EU requirements. Total refining output exceeds domestic demand by nearly 50%; the surplus is exported. Since the late 1990s, Swedish refiners have invested over SEK 1 billion in upgrades, which have helped reduce the pollution intensity of operations. While the amount of oil refined in Sweden has increased by 12% since 1990, oil discharged per tonne of crude oil processed has decreased by 75%. With less than 0.4 tonnes of oil discharged per
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million tonnes of crude processed, Swedish refineries are among the least pollutionintensive in the OSPAR and HELCOM areas. The risk of oil spills and maritime accidents along the Swedish coast is high, due to heavy shipping traffic and fishing activity. About 45 million tonnes of oil and 4 million tonnes of harmful chemicals are transported to or from Swedish harbours annually. These factors reinforce the importance of oil spill prevention and response preparedness. The EQO on “A Balanced Marine Environment, Flourishing Coastal Areas and Archipelagos” includes an interim target of reducing discharges of oil and chemicals from ships to a negligible level by 2010 through stricter legislation and increased monitoring. Accordingly, Sweden has raised its funding for aerial surveillance and satellite tracking. The Coast Guard has 12 ships to respond to oil spills, all equipped with skimmers, pumps and containment booms; their combined storage capacity is nearly 400 cubic metres. The Coast Guard uses three aircraft to provide environmental surveillance and response co-ordination during spills. Surveillance and response are carried out with neighbouring countries in the framework of HELCOM and the Bonn Agreement. Statistics derived from routine aerial surveillance by the Coast Guard indicate that the number of operational spills from ships has fallen by 65% since 1995 as prosecution of offenders has been given higher priority. In 2002, there were 175 spills involving a total of about 180m3 of oil. Harbour authorities are responsible for implementing the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (1980), which requires that at least 25% of foreign vessels be checked for compliance with MARPOL safety standards, among other criteria. Since the early 1990s, Sweden has on average inspected close to 25% of foreign ships arriving in its ports. It is taking steps to enhance the environmental part of its Port State Control inspections, since a recent study showed that only 27% of the time spent was allocated to MARPOL-related environmental issues. Sweden participates in regional and international efforts (through the European Union, International Maritime Organisation [IMO] and North Sea Commission) to assure adequate waste reception facilities in ports, and uses the “no special fee” system to encourage ships to use the facilities. Since 2000, virtually all ships calling at Swedish ports have had to deliver to port facilities any ship-generated waste that cannot be discharged legally at sea. The Baltic Sea is designated as a special area under MARPOL, with strict controls on discharges of oily waste, noxious liquid substances, garbage and air pollution. A system being developed for surveillance and control of ship waste handling will include information exchange among port and enforcement authorities. More broadly, Sweden, together with seven other Baltic Sea states, recently succeeded in having the IMO classify the Baltic Sea as a “particularly sensitive sea
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area”, allowing coastal states to adopt additional protective measures to deal with risks from international shipping. Sweden has been a front-runner in seeking innovative ways to reduce emissions of seagoing ships (Box 8.2).
4.3
Scrapping of ships
The problem of ships sold for scrap to operators in countries with lower safety and environmental standards (e.g. India, Bangladesh, China) has attracted international attention. While the government does not keep records on how many Swedish ships go to dismantling per year and how they are dealt with, the number can be expected to rise significantly by 2010 as ships commissioned in the 1970s approach the end of their service lives. Most large ships contain sizable quantities of hazardous substances, which pose serious challenges when disposed of in countries that have not developed adequate infrastructure, regulations and techniques. As a party to MARPOL and the Basel Convention and a member of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee, Sweden supports development of safety and environmental requirements for ship scrapping, as well as work to find ways to prevent irresponsible scrapping of vessels formerly operated under the Swedish flag.
5.
Management of Living Marine Resources
The Swedish fishing industry includes capture fisheries, aquaculture and fish processing enterprises. Its approximately 2 700 professional fishers land some 300 000 tonnes annually, with a market value of over EUR 110 million (Table 8.4). The most important commercial species are cod, herring, sprat and salmon. Aquaculture is less developed than in neighbouring countries, employing some 590 persons and producing fish, mussels and crayfish whose total annual value is about EUR 16 million. The processing industry provides about 2 000 jobs and has sales of around EUR 275 million a year. The National Board of Fisheries is the central government authority for fishery management. It is responsible for regulating Swedish sea fishing, mainly in the framework of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. Its overall goal is “to promote the responsible use of fish resources so that they will provide sustainable yields”.
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Table 8.4 Fishing catch, aquaculture and fishers 1990
1995
2000
2001
Marine catch Total catch (000 tonnes) Value (SEK million)
241 887
396 913
332 955
298 1 174
Freshwater catch Total catch (000 tonnes) Value (SEK million)
2.1 34.0
1.9 41.6
1.5 35.8
1.2 36.8
Aquaculture Production (000 tonnes) Value (SEK million )
8.0 189
6.0 153
5.2 137
6.3 163
Total Catch (000 tonnes) Value of catch (SEK million)
251 1 110
404 1 108
339 1 128
306 1 373
Fishers (number) Marine Freshwater
3 473 350
2 999 288
2 562 220
2 541 212
Source:
National Board of Fisheries.
5.1
Offshore fisheries: overfishing
As Sweden’s fisheries are based on shared stocks in the Baltic Sea, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, their sustainability strongly depends on international co-operation. Working in the framework of the EU Common Fisheries Policy and in co-operation with other members of the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC), Sweden seeks to limit exploitation of shared fish stocks to sustainable levels through international agreements defining species-specific total allowable catch (TAC) quotas. In addition, it has taken some measures to limit fishing pressure in its national waters (within 12 nautical miles of its coasts); for instance, it has partially closed the southern Kattegat to cod fishing. Several key stocks exploited by Swedish capture fisheries are overfished. In particular, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has classified cod stocks in the eastern Baltic, western Baltic and Kattegat as outside safe biological limits. The herring stock in the northern Baltic is also being fished at what are considered unsustainable levels. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has attributed this overfishing mainly to overcapacity of national fishing fleets. It has called on countries to reduce fishing fleet capacity and end subsidies. As a result of measures by Sweden to discourage investment in new fishing capacity, its fishing
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fleet has shrunk by 8% since 1995 in terms of gross tonnage. The fleet is now dominated by small coastal vessels whose average age is over 20 years. Sweden has actively participated in regional efforts to protect and restore wild Baltic salmon populations. These efforts have led to improvement in the wild salmon stocks of the Gulf of Bothnia and the main basin of the Baltic. The Baltic is fed by 88 salmon rivers originating in Sweden (28), Poland (8), Lithuania (6), Latvia (11), Estonia (10), Russia (6) and Finland (19). The 1994 – 98 HELCOM assessment of the state of the Baltic Sea noted that salmon fishing levels were unsustainable, and cited not only overexploitation by the sea and coastal fishery but also excessive fry mortality due to M74 syndrome. In response, Baltic countries launched the IBSFC Salmon Action Plan (1997 – 2010). As part of the plan, Sweden has implemented a strict regulatory system, including time and area closures, and moratoriums on fishing in areas with very weak salmon populations. In the early 2000s, wild salmon stock levels reached about 70% of the estimated potential capacity for 27 Baltic salmon rivers, eight of them in Sweden, according to the 2003 ICES figures. While the stocks appear to be on the road to recovery, they are still heavily dependent on introduced smolt, and commercial catches are still less than half what they were in the early 1990s. To help assure the sustainability of key Baltic fisheries, Sweden should continue to argue in international forums for lower TAC quotas, more comprehensive monitoring and enforcement and the adoption of an ecosystem approach to fishery regulation. One interim target under the “Balanced Marine Environment” EQO is to ensure that by 2008 catches of fish, including by-catches of juveniles, do not exceed recruitment levels, enabling fish stocks to recover. This target is not likely to be met without concerted action at regional level. Within the EU and the IBSFC, quotas continue to be set at levels commonly exceeding by at least 30% the ICES-recommended limits. Sweden should also consider taking further steps to reduce capacity in fisheries identified as outside safe biological limits. For example, it might move the trawling limit out from two to four nautical miles from the coast in the Skaggerak and three nautical miles in the Kattegat, as the National Board of Fisheries recently recommended. Control and supervision of marine fishing are jointly carried out by Coast Guard and the National Board of Fisheries. Frequency of inspections at sea reportedly quadrupled between 2001 and 2003. However, fines for violation of fishing regulations, and the likelihood of detection, remain modest in relation to the potential economic gains involved.
5.2
Protection of marine ecosystems
Another interim target under the “Balanced Marine Environment” EQO is to accord long-term protection to at least 50% of marine environments of high conservation value and to at least 70% of coastal and archipelago areas with
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significant natural and cultural assets. The Natura 2000 list includes 372 Swedish sites containing various marine habitat types. Sweden has only eight exclusively marine nature reserves, partly because of the sometimes vehement opposition to protection that can occur. However, six national parks, 530 nature reserves and 465 wildlife sanctuaries are located in coastal areas. The courts were asked in 1997 to draw up environmental management programmes for four of the country’s largest archipelago areas. This process has enhanced dialogue among authorities, residents and NGOs. In all, protected coastal, archipelago and sea areas cover some 800 000 hectares, about 5% of coastal municipalities’ total area. Additional areas of high conservation interest are being identified. Shore protection and exemptions to protection constitute a challenge for municipalities (Chapter 4). The accumulation of POPs in Baltic and arctic ecosystems remains a problem for Sweden and its neighbours. Monitoring of marine biota indicates that concentrations of the major organochlorines have fallen since the 1980s, when their use was restricted or banned in many western European countries. Nevertheless, bioaccumulation in the marine food chain poses problems for some regional fisheries. In the late 1990s it was discovered that the average body burden of dioxins in herring in the Gulf of Bothnia is significantly higher than the EU limit for human consumption (Figure 7.1). Sweden and Finland are being allowed to continue exploiting this herring stock until the end of 2006 for the domestic market. So far, testing of species higher on the food chain (e.g. cod, salmon) has revealed normal levels of dioxins. Monitoring continues, and it is not clear how the situation will evolve after 2006. Sensitive population groups have been advised to limit how often they eat some Baltic fish.
6.
Environmental Development Aid
Sweden’s percentage of gross national income (GNI) devoted to official development assistance (ODA) was expected to reach 0.87% for 2003 despite a recent economic austerity programme. Thus Swedish ODA remains well above the Rio target of 0.7% of GNI (Figure 8.3), despite recent volatility; after Sweden’s ODA/GNI ratio peaked at 1.03% in 1992, government-wide budget cuts after 1995 resulted in a decline to 0.7% in 1999. In the 2002 Bill “Shared Responsibility: Sweden’s Policy for Global Development” Sweden set a goal of contributing to equitable and sustainable development through all its development aid activities. Basing its proposals in part on the OECD Development Assistance Committee guidelines on “Integrating the Rio Conventions into Development Co-operation”, Sweden has identified three priorities: i) systematically integrating objectives of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) into development co-operation activities; ii) providing technical assistance to help developing countries implement MEAs; and iii) revising its guidelines and
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Figure 8.3 Official development assistance, 2002 GNIa per capita Sweden
ODA as % of GNI Sweden
26.7
Canada
Canada
22.9
USA
USA
36.3 25.1
Austria
Finland
25.3
Finland
France
24.2
France
Austria
Netherlands
0.0
OECD-DACb
28.8 15.0
30.0
0.28 0.13 0.26 0.35 0.38
Netherlands
25.6
OECD-DACb
0.83
45.0
USD 1 000/capita
0.00
0.81
0.23 0.40
0.80 % of GNI
a) Gross national income in USD at current exchange rates. b) Member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee. Source: OECD-DAC.
strategies for development aid to better address global environmental issues. The Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA) gives priority to development projects on water resources, sustainable farming and forestry, land conservation, the marine environment and urban environmental issues. SIDA estimates that more than 10% of its ODA budget goes to environmental projects and that nearly 50% goes to projects with considerable environmental components. Sweden also funds environmental activities of multilateral organisations and contributes to international organisations concerned with natural resource management, including the development banks, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the FAO and the CGIAR institutes. Sweden contributed USD 58.3 million to the second replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (1999-2002). Since the early 1990s, SEPA has operated a Central and Eastern European Cooperation Programme (EUR 2.0 to 2.5 million per year), which is an important channel for environmental assistance to central and eastern European countries, especially those bordering the Baltic (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia).
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Among other aims, the programme seeks to help environmental agencies become better able to comply with EU environmental legislation and other international environmental commitments. In late 2004 the programme’s focus is expected to shift to northwest Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
7.
Regional Co-operation for Sustainable Development
Co-operation between Sweden and other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway) was active during the 1990s, with management of natural resources being a focal point. The Nordic Council of Ministers provided a framework for close co-operation on environmental issues, implemented through the Nordic Strategies for the Environment (1994-96 and 1996-2000) and the Action Programme for Nordic Environmental Co-operation (2001-04). In addition, Sweden chaired the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and its environment working group in 2002 and 2003. The Baltic Sea provides another focus for regional sustainable development initiatives. In 2003 environment ministers of the member countries of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) issued a declaration detailing how the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation would be deployed in the region. It included actions related to reducing pressures on the marine environment and surface waters, improving energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions, and pursuing more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Sweden hosts the secretariat of Baltic 21, coordinating the Agenda 21 activities of the CBSS. As part of the follow-up to the 1992 Rio summit, most Swedish municipalities adopted Local Agenda 21 plans in the 1990s, and the level of support and involvement from the general public was fairly high (Chapter 6). With a view to further strengthening implementation of the Johannesburg Plan, Sweden’s 2002 national strategy for sustainable development will be revised in 2005.
8.
International Trade and the Environment
The Swedish economy is heavily dependent on international trade; exports totalled about 44% of GDP in 2001, up from 20% in 1990. This doubling of exports’ value stemmed in part from EU accession in 1995 and the depreciation of the Swedish krone. Trade in goods generated some 80% of total export income in 2001, the principal export categories being metal (iron and steel), forestry and engineering (e.g. motor vehicles, telecom equipment). A majority of exported goods (56% of value, or SEK 409 billion) went to other EU countries, 9.5% went to the United States and 7.5% to Norway.
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Sweden attaches importance to international negotiations on trade and environment, and has argued in international forums for greater consistency among multilateral environmental and trade agreements. It has been especially active in recent years on regulation of the international chemicals market, sponsoring work on the Stockholm Convention on POPs and helping initiate work on the development of a strategic approach to international chemicals management. As a party to the Rotterdam Convention, Sweden applies the principle of prior informed consent (PIC) in its international trade in dangerous chemicals. In compliance with the EU directive on PIC, the government requires i) notification of the intent to export chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted within the EU; ii) conformance with the UNEP/FAO voluntary PIC procedure; and iii) packaging and labelling of chemicals in compliance with EU legislation. Sweden chairs the OECD Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees and in 2002 revised its environmental guidelines for project screening. Standards for benchmarking include the guidelines in the World Bank’s Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook and in EU reference documents on best available techniques. Applying the World Bank’s project classifications, Sweden requires full environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for “Category A” projects (large projects in environmentally sensitive sectors or locations) and limited EIAs for “Category B” projects. In both cases, the exporter is responsible for providing the EIA, which must be carried out by a reputable independent consultant. The Swedish Export Credit Bank, Exportkreditnamnden (EKN), sometimes stipulates environmental pre-conditions before issuing a credit guarantee. Environmental monitoring is carried out as a normal part of overall project monitoring. In cases of reinsurance, EKN requires the partner export credit agency to follow the OECD Common Approaches on Environmental and Officially Supported Export Credits. No statistics permitting evaluation of the frequency and extent of application of the environmental guidelines were available for this review.
8.1
Ozone-depleting substances
Sweden’s national laws on control of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) are more stringent than EU regulations and have accelerated the phase-out of several enduses. Sweden does not produce ODS and banned imports of all ODS-containing products listed in Annex D of the Montreal Protocol in 1993. The Chemicals Inspectorate monitors ODS imports via mandatory self-reporting by importers and trade associations. UNEP data indicate that the intensity of illegal trade in ODS going through Sweden is low. Enforcement of national legislation regarding management of ODS is the joint responsibility of SEPA and local authorities. Sanctions against non-
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compliance include up to two years of imprisonment, fines and confiscation of property. Fines for illegal use of CFCs or halons are based on weight (EUR 1 250 base fine plus EUR 150 per kg). Although Swedish law forbids the export of used products or equipment (e.g. refrigerators or freezers) whose operation relies on the supply of CFCs, halons or other ODS, in practice some exports take place, with the articles declared as “aid products”. In the late 1990s the number of refrigerators and freezers sold exceeded the number of units officially scrapped by about 200 000. The portion of these used refrigerators being illegally exported (mainly to eastern Europe and Africa) is not known, but there is a clear need for improved customs inspection capacity to enforce ODS legislation.
8.2
Hazardous waste
In 2001, Sweden’s exports of hazardous waste totalled 104 000 tonnes, less than 10% of the total generated nationally. Between 1999 and 2001 the tonnage of hazardous waste exported increased by 170%. Exports (mainly to Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland and Germany) were mostly intended for recovery. Hazardous waste imports have increased by about 25% since 1990. Most came from Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and France. It is not known what tonnage of hazardous waste crosses the country each year, as shipments in transit are not regulated.
8.3
Timber
Sweden accounted for 21% of total timber imports in the European Union in 2001. Concerning tropical timber, progress has been very limited on Objective 2000 of the International Tropical Timber Organization (all internationally traded timber to come from certified sustainably managed forests by 2000). The great majority of wood and wood products does not come from certified forests, although Sweden has actively supported ITTO programmes aimed at improving forest management in producer countries and has funded numerous development projects to this end.
8.4
Endangered species
Sweden’s Statutory Order concerning Protection of Endangered Species, together with relevant regulations in the Environmental Code, transpose into national law all EU and CITES requirements concerning trade in products derived from endangered species. Enforcing CITES provisions is the joint responsibility of the Customs Service, police, Coast Guard and county administrative boards.
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Customs seizures were almost exclusively made at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport in 2001 and 2002. The number of seizures was 3 853 in 2001, declining to 3 589 in 2002. Aside from one seizure at Göteborg-Landvetter Airport in 2001, no other customs offices (at airports, ports, post offices, etc.) made any seizure of CITES goods during 2001-02. CITES seizures represent 0.4% of total customs seizures, on average, and generally involve small quantities of consumer items such as snakeskin shoes and ivory bracelets. Swedish inspectors participate in CITES enforcement training offered by the EU in addition to their own internal training. An obstacle to implementation of EU and CITES legislation in Sweden has been that fines and jail sentences are low in relation to the potential gains from smuggling. Also, there appears to be a need to step up inspection and enforcement in ports and post offices.
© OECD 2004
REFERENCES I.A
Selected environmental data
I.B
Selected economic data
I.C
Selected social data
II.A Selected multilateral agreements (worldwide) II.B Selected multilateral agreements (regional) III.
Abbreviations
IV.
Physical context
V.
Selected environmental events (1996-2003)
VI.
Selected environmental Web sites
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I.A: SELECTED ENVIRONMENTAL DATA (1)
LAND 2 Total area (1000 km ) Major protected areas (% of total area) 2 Nitrogenous fertiliser use (t/km of arable land)
2
2
Pesticide use (t/km of arable land)
CAN MEX USA JPN KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK
FIN
9971 1958 9629
43
338
3.4 15.9 37.2
9.1
378
9.9
9.2 24.9 17.2
3.7
5.0
99 7713 7.1
6.1 11.3 19.5
270
84
9.9 29.6 36.4 1.9 65.6
31
8.5 17.6
79 9.3
8.7
6.7
0.10 0.14 0.18 1.52 1.44 0.06 0.82 0.21 1.10 0.14 0.12 0.07
FOREST Forest area (% of land area)
45.3 33.4 32.6 66.8 65.2 19.4 29.5 47.6 22.2 34.1 10.5 75.5
Use of forest resources (harvest/growth) Tropical wood imports (USD/cap.)
3
0.4
0.2
0.6
0.3
0.1
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.8
1.6
0.2
2.2 10.7
6.1
4.0
3.4
0.4 24.2
0.3
3.8
1.4
THREATENED SPECIES Mammals (% of species known)
32.6 33.2 10.5 24.0 17.0 23.2 15.2 26.2 31.6 33.3 22.0 11.9
Birds (% of species known)
13.1 16.9
Fish (% of species known)
7.5
5.7
7.2 12.9 14.1 12.1 25.3 26.0 27.5 55.9 13.2 13.3 2.4 24.0
1.3
0.7
0.8 41.7 54.3 29.2 15.8 11.8
Water withdrawal (% of gross annual availability)
1.5 15.5 19.0 20.3 33.9
6.2
..
4.2 45.1 11.9
4.4
Public waste water treatment (% of population served)
72
25
71
64
70
..
80
86
38
70
89
81
Fish catches (% of world catches)
1.0
1.4
5.0
5.3
1.9
0.2
0.6
-
-
-
1.6
0.2
WATER 2.1
AIR Emissions of sulphur oxides (kg/cap.) (kg/1000 USD GDP)
80.0 12.2 62.7
4
% change (1990-late 1990s) Emissions of nitrogen oxides (kg/cap.) (kg/1000 USD GDP)
6.9 24.8 95.7 11.5
5.0 20.1 25.8
2.9
1.6
2.0
0.3
2.1
4.1
0.7
0.2
0.9
2.0
5.2 14.6 0.2
0.6
-22
..
-20
-3
-29
-4
20
-55
-37
-86
-85
-71
89.7 12.0 84.4 13.1 23.4 135.1 53.1 22.6 35.7 38.6 38.9 45.6
4
% change (1990-late 1990s)
3.3
1.6
2.7
0.5
2.0
5.7
3.1
0.9
1.5
2.9
1.5
1.9
-6
18
5
-
17
17
18
-9
16
-47
-25
-21
3.7 19.9
9.3
9.4 18.0
8.7
Emissions of carbon dioxide (t./cap.)
5
16.5
(t./1000 USD GDP)
4
0.61 0.45 0.63 0.37 0.66 0.74 0.46 0.34 0.47 0.88 0.37 0.49
% change (1990-2001)
22
24
17
13
88
34
45
8.4 11.8 12.0 17
14
-18
9.6 11.5 4
12
WASTE GENERATED Industrial waste (kg/1000 USD GDP)
4, 6
..
50
..
40
60
110
30
80
60
70
20
150
Municipal waste (kg/cap.)
7
350
310
760
410
360
690
380
560
550
330
660
460
Nuclear waste (t./Mtoe of TPES)
8
5.0
0.3
0.9
1.9
3.2
-
-
-
2.3
0.9
-
2.1
.. not available. - nil or negligible. x data included under Belgium. 1) Data refer to the latest available year. They include provisional figures and Secretariat estimates. Partial totals are underlined. Varying definitions can limit comparability across countries. 2) IUCN management categories I-VI and protected areas without IUCN category assignment; national classifications may differ. 3) Total imports of cork and wood from non-OECD tropical countries. 4) GDP at 1995 prices and purchasing power parities.
Source: OECD Environmental Data Compendium.
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE FRA DEU GRC HUN
549
ISL
IRL
ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD*
357
132
93
103
70
13.3 35.7
5.2
8.9
9.5
2.4 12.1 17.1 25.3
12.8 14.9
6.6
4.2
9.8 38.6
0.44 0.24 0.30 0.15
31.4 30.1 22.8 18.9 0.7
0.4
0.6
0.6
6.8
1.8
2.8
0.1
19.7 36.7 37.9 71.1
49
506
450
245
35042
7.3 22.4
9.6
8.0 28.7
4.1 10.9
14.6
4.0
5.8
7.1 10.4
4.2 19.1
6.3
- 0.24 0.70 0.63 0.89 0.09 0.07 0.53 0.25 0.21 0.06 0.33 0.09 0.52
0.20
1.3
301 7.6
3
42
313
6.5 23.6
x 29.5 11.2
6.0
92
5.1
41
779
8.8 23.3 34.4
9.2 39.2 29.7 37.9 42.2 32.3 73.5 31.7 26.9 10.5
0.6
0.3
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.8
0.5
0.5
0.7
0.5
0.4
0.7
0.5
2.8 11.2
7.1
- 15.6
3.6
0.3 17.6
0.1
6.2
2.2
0.6
0.5
2.7
4.0
3.4 14.6 17.3 22.2 21.2 22.4 34.2 22.2 21.9
..
6.4
..
9.9 11.1
..
11.4
-
-
0.5
6.5 40.7 51.6 15.6
14.3 29.2 13.0 18.8 34.7 21.8 18.4 50.0 27.1 7.5 68.2 24.3 32.1
324
OECD*
- 33.3 31.8 27.9 82.1
7.7 14.7 13.7 14.4 14.1 19.1 42.6 -
9.6 18.6 23.8 29.4 16.4 44.7
6.7
33.9
4.7
0.1
3.7
9.9
0.7 18.6 15.1
1.4 34.7
1.5
4.8 17.0 20.8
77
93
56
32
33
73
63
95
98
73
55
42
53
55
86
96
17
95
64
0.6
0.2
0.1
-
2.1
0.3
0.3
-
0.5
2.9
0.2
0.2
-
1.0
0.4
-
0.5
0.8
27.4
14.3 10.1 51.4 57.6 33.4 42.2 16.0
32.6
16.2 20.2 14.7
.. 32.1
7.1
5.7
6.4 39.1 37.0 33.2 35.4
6.8
3.9 33.0 19.9
0.7
0.4
3.7
5.7
1.3
1.7
0.8
0.2
0.2
0.2
4.3
2.4
3.2
1.9
0.3
0.1
5.3
1.0
1.5
-34
-84
7
-41
14
-14
-46
-79
-55
-46
-53
4
-67
-35
-43
-35
..
-68
-34
28.3 19.9 36.3 21.6 91.7 32.2 25.8 38.8 26.6 53.7 21.7 36.5 24.1 34.5 28.2 14.8 14.1 26.9
41.0
1.3
0.9
2.6
2.1
3.5
1.4
1.2
0.9
1.1
2.0
2.4
2.4
2.3
1.9
1.2
0.6
2.3
1.3
-12
-40
17
-7
-2
3
-24
-27
-27
6
-35
17
-43
11
-25
-32
48
-42
-4
6.3 10.5
8.2
5.5
7.3 19.0 11.0
7.8
7.7
5.7
7.5
7.1
5.4
6.3
2.8
9.3
11.1
0.27 0.45 0.53 0.48 0.27 0.38 0.33 0.44 0.44 0.28 0.85 0.35 0.67 0.39 0.22 0.23 0.49 0.43
0.51
2
-11
27
-17
7.4 11.0 5
31
7
-19
13
24
-16
48
-28
35
-
6
38
-2
1.9
13
80
30
50
20
1
60
20
130
30
30
160
80
80
40
100
10
30
40
70
510
540
430
450
700
560
500
640
610
620
290
440
320
650
450
650
390
560
540
4.3
1.2
-
1.5
-
-
-
-
0.2
-
-
-
3.1
1.1
4.4
2.2
-
3.5
1.5
UKD: pesticides and threatened species: Great Britain; water withdrawal and public waste water treatment plants: England and Wales. 5) CO2 from energy use only; international marine and aviation bunkers are excluded. 6) Waste from manufacturing industries. 7) CAN, NZL: household waste only. 8) Waste from spent fuel arising in nuclear power plants, in tonnes of heavy metal, per million tonnes of oil equivalent of total primary energy supply.
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I.B: SELECTED ECONOMIC DATA (1) CAN MEX USA JPN KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GDP, 2002 (billion USD at 1995 prices and PPPs) % change (1990-2002) per capita, 2002 (1000 USD/cap.) Exports, 2002 (% of GDP) INDUSTRY Value added in industry (% of GDP) Industrial production: % change (1990-2002) AGRICULTURE Value added in agriculture (% of GDP) Agricultural production: % change (1990-2002) Livestock population, 2002 (million head of sheep eq.) ENERGY Total supply, 2001 (Mtoe) % change (1990-2001) Energy intensity, 2001 (toe/1000 USD GDP) % change (1990-2001) Structure of energy supply, 2001 (%) Solid fuels Oil Gas Nuclear Hydro, etc.
845 808 9039 3159 675 475 73 199 256 140 139 38.8 41.3 40.7 16.3 99.2 49.3 40.9 29.0 25.6 6.4 29.7 27.8 8.0 32.1 24.9 15.1 25.0 19.5 24.7 25.1 14.0 26.3 41.2 27.2 9.7 11.1 40.0 20.6 34.0 52.1 81.5 65.2 44.2
2
3
32 27 23 37.3 42.5 42.6
31 43 26 25 32 27 40 27 -7.7 152.4 30.3 24.4 46.6 14.1 -11.1 35.8
3 4 2 9.7 34.7 18.5 109 279 790
1 4 4 7 -9.8 32.7 10.7 35.2 54 27 283 99
2 1 6.5 20.2 17 30
4 .. 14
3 2.2 25
248 152 2281 521 195 116 18 31 59 41 20 18.7 22.8 18.4 19.3 110.4 32.1 30.5 22.7 21.2 -12.7 12.3 0.29 0.19 0.25 0.16 0.29 0.24 0.25 0.15 0.23 0.30 0.14 -11.6 -12.3 -13.8 2.9 12.3 -8.4 -3.0 -3.9 -2.9 -16.3 -12.0
4 12.3 5.1 23.9 19.2 22.1 47.9 7.0 12.2 35.5 60.8 39.6 49.2 51.9 28.7 34.3 42.8 28.6 22.4 22.7 12.4 9.6 17.6 29.1 22.6 8.0 1.5 9.2 16.0 15.0 15.6 10.2 4.5 3.1 1.4 5.8 29.7 22.4
13.2 49.9 21.2 41.7 19.9 44.0 22.6 19.0 23.3 20.7 9.1 1.7 2.1 11.5
5 ROAD TRANSPORT Road traffic volumes per capita, 1999 (1000 veh.-km/cap.) 9.4 0.6 15.8 6.0 1.8 9.3 7.9 7.8 8.7 3.1 8.4 Road vehicle stock, 1999 (10 000 vehicles) 1784 1459 21533 7003 1116 1199 231 485 512 373 223 % change (1990-1999) 7.8 47.7 14.1 24.0 228.9 22.7 25.2 31.3 20.2 43.7 17.9 per capita (veh./100 inh.) 58 15 79 55 24 63 60 60 50 36 42 .. not available. - nil or negligible. x data included under Belgium. 1) Data may include provisional figures and Secretariat estimates. Partial totals are underlined. 2) Value added: includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, gas, electricity and water and construction; production: excludes construction.
Source: OECD Environmental Data Compendium.
© OECD 2004
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE FIN FRA DEU GRC HUN 123 25.1 24.0 38.1
1401 24.1 23.8 27.3
ISL
IRL
ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD OECD
1922 165 117 8 110 1292 19 399 125 352 168 59 740 216 199 390 21.9 36.2 15.8 32.1 125.2 19.8 70.8 35.4 47.7 46.3 34.6 23.0 36.2 25.0 10.0 41.7 23.3 16.1 11.9 26.4 30.0 22.3 43.5 24.9 27.8 9.2 16.2 11.5 18.6 24.7 27.4 6.0 35.5 20.5 54.9 39.7 93.7 26.9 146.6 61.7 41.8 29.6 30.1 72.8 28.5 43.3 42.7 28.8
32 25 30 23 31 68.5 18.0 12.7 14.6 67.8
27 42 29 20 26 38 30 29 .. 284.4 12.6 30.1 20.3 40.7 66.6 22.3
4 -9.9 8
26 6.2
29 24.0
9 9.5 1
1 -7.9 114
3 .. 2667
34 266 351 29 25 3 15 172 4 77 27 91 25 19 127 51 28 72 235 15.9 16.9 -1.4 29.4 -11.0 54.8 41.7 12.7 7.4 16.1 23.8 -9.3 44.1 -12.6 39.7 9.4 11.6 36.7 10.8 0.27 0.19 0.18 0.17 0.22 0.44 0.14 0.13 0.20 0.19 0.21 0.26 0.15 0.31 0.17 0.24 0.14 0.19 0.18 -5.8 -4.7 -19.0 -1.3 -20.6 16.4 -33.3 -5.6 -36.8 -14.0 -15.3 -37.2 7.6 -25.9 4.6 -10.8 1.5 4.0 -13.7
5333 18.1 0.21 -9.6
18.5 4.7 24.2 32.7 14.4 2.7 17.5 8.0 3.3 11.0 3.6 61.1 12.9 28.6 34.5 38.3 56.7 26.4 24.4 56.9 51.6 74.2 38.9 30.7 22.5 64.2 11.2 13.5 21.5 5.9 42.7 - 23.9 34.6 20.7 46.9 20.6 11.4 9.1 18.0 40.4 12.7 - 14.7 - 1.4 23.6 6.8 3.1 4.8 1.7 72.9 1.7 5.9 1.8 1.8 45.0 5.0 13.7
23.3 16.4 32.4 23.7 4.3
20.8 40.8 21.3 11.2 5.9
8.9 8.4 7.4 7.3 3.4 6.5 8.3 8.0 8.9 7.0 7.2 4.5 5.6 240 3309 4503 389 271 17 148 3545 31 675 225 1104 461 7.6 16.3 20.7 54.1 12.7 27.3 55.8 15.9 40.2 17.7 16.0 72.6 109.5 47 56 55 37 26 62 39 61 71 43 51 29 45
2.2 4.2 141 2048 .. 41.8 26 52
3 5.4 162
1 7 4 -5.9 13.6 -22.6 123 20 13
3 4.1 54
3 5.3 72
1 x x
3 2 3 -4.9 -14.3 -14.3 43 9 58
4 0.7 19
32 30 28 27 31 8.1 21.5 36.2 19.1 52.6
1295 24908 30.8 33.0 21.9 22.1 25.8 21.4
5 3 2 .. 15.0 -10.4 7 99 13
14.7 5.4 0.5 28.4 52.8 27.3 48.0 40.1 12.9 1.5 8.8 18.5 13.1 36.5 24.2 6.5 29.2 18.5 13.0
3) Agriculture, forestry, hunting, fishery, etc. 4) Breakdown excludes electricity trade. 5) Refers to motor vehicles with four or more wheels, except for Italy, which include three-wheeled goods vehicles.
© OECD 2004
1 12 -6.0 12.9 12 112
17.0 34.8 37.1 10.0 1.2
8.4 7.2 0.8 7.8 8.0 424 376 548 2909 57281 7.9 13.9 132.1 15.4 21.7 48 53 8 49 51
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I.C: SELECTED SOCIAL DATA (1) CAN MEX USA JPN KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK POPULATION Total population, 2002 (100 000 inh.) % change (1990-2002) Population density, 2002 (inh./km2) Ageing index, 2001 (over 64/under 15)
311 13.4 3.2 67.1
HEALTH Women life expectancy at birth, 2001 (years) Infant mortality, 2001 (deaths /1 000 live births) Expenditure, 2001 (% of GDP)
82.0 77.1 79.5 84.9 79.2 82.4 80.8 81.7 80.8 78.5 79.0 5.3 21.4 6.9 3.1 6.2 5.3 5.8 4.8 5.0 4.0 4.9 9.7 6.6 13.9 7.6 5.9 8.9 8.1 7.9 9.0 7.3 8.6
INCOME AND POVERTY GDP per capita, 2002 (1000 USD/cap.) Poverty (% pop. < 50% median income) Inequality (Gini levels) Minimum to median wages, 2000
2 3
27.8 8.0 32.1 24.9 15.1 25.0 19.5 24.7 25.1 14.0 26.3 10.3 21.9 17.0 8.1 .. 9.3 .. 7.4 7.8 .. 5.0 28.5 52.6 34.4 26.0 .. 30.5 25.6 26.1 27.2 .. 21.7 42.5 21.1 36.4 32.7 25.2 57.7 46.3 x 49.2 32.3 x
EMPLOYMENT Unemployment rate, 2002 (% of total labour force) Labour force participation rate, 2002 (% 15-64 year-olds) 4 Employment in agriculture, 2001 (%)
7.7 2.7 5.8 5.4 3.0 6.3 5.2 5.3 7.3 7.3 4.5 78.6 55.6 76.1 77.5 65.9 75.5 76.7 77.5 66.9 71.6 79.9 2.9 17.6 2.4 4.9 10.3 4.9 9.1 5.7 2.2 4.8 3.3
EDUCATION Education, 2001 (% 25-64 year-olds) Expenditure, 2000 (% of GDP) OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ODA, 2002 (% of GNI)
1001 24.8 51.8 17.0
2855 1273 473 195 39 81 103 103 54 15.5 3.2 11.1 15.2 17.1 5.5 3.0 -1.6 4.5 30.0 337.3 480.0 2.5 14.6 97.1 335.8 129.3 124.7 58.4 125.1 36.3 61.0 52.4 92.5 94.5 84.4 79.3
5 81.9 21.6 87.7 83.1 68.0 58.9 75.7 77.0 59.5 86.2 80.2 6 6.4 5.5 7.0 4.6 7.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.5 4.6 6.7 7
ODA, 2002 (USD/cap.)
0.28 64
.. 0.13 0.23
.. 0.26 0.22 0.26 0.43
.. 0.96
..
..
..
46
73
50
31
64
104
306
.. not available. - nil or negligible. x not applicable. 1) Data may include provisional figures and Secretariat estimates. Partial totals are underlined. 2) Ranging from 0 (equal) to 100 (inequal) income distribution; figures relate to total disposable income (including all incomes, taxes and benefits) for the entire population. 3) Minimum wage as a percentage of median earnings including overtime pay and bonuses.
Source: OECD.
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE FIN FRA DEU GRC HUN
ISL
IRL
ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD OECD
52 592 823 106 102 3 38 579 4 160 45 386 103 54 403 89 72 686 600 11386 4.3 4.9 3.9 5.6 -1.9 12.9 11.2 2.4 15.5 7.7 7.0 1.3 5.1 1.5 4.4 4.3 8.6 24.0 4.7 10.1 15.4 108.3 231.0 80.7 109.3 2.8 55.4 192.7 171.7 387.8 14.0 123.5 112.8 109.7 80.1 19.8 176.6 89.4 246.0 32.7 84.4 86.2 116.3 111.9 92.4 50.0 52.2 124.9 74.6 73.0 75.0 67.0 90.7 60.2 116.3 100.1 95.6 18.4 82.3 65.9 81.5 83.0 80.7 80.7 76.5 82.2 79.2 82.9 81.3 80.6 81.4 78.4 80.3 77.6 82.9 82.1 82.8 70.9 80.4 3.2 4.6 4.5 5.9 8.1 2.7 5.8 4.3 5.9 5.3 3.8 7.7 5.0 6.2 3.9 3.7 4.9 33.0 5.5 7.0 9.5 10.7 9.4 6.8 9.2 6.5 8.6 5.6 8.9 8.0 6.3 9.2 5.7 7.5 8.7 10.9 4.8 7.6
.. .. ..
24.0 23.8 23.3 16.1 11.9 26.4 30.0 22.3 43.5 24.9 27.8 9.2 16.2 11.5 18.6 24.7 27.4 6.0 21.9 4.9 7.5 9.4 13.8 7.3 .. 11.0 14.2 .. 6.3 10.0 .. .. .. .. 6.4 6.2 16.2 10.9 22.8 27.8 28.2 33.6 28.3 .. 32.4 34.5 .. 25.5 25.6 .. .. .. .. 23.0 26.9 49.1 32.4 x 60.8 x 51.3 37.2 x 55.8 x 48.9 47.1 x 35.5 38.2 .. 31.8 x x .. 41.7
22.1 .. .. ..
9.1 8.9 7.8 10.0 5.9 3.1 4.2 9.1 3.0 2.5 4.0 19.9 5.1 18.6 11.4 4.0 2.8 10.6 5.2 74.8 69.9 75.8 63.3 59.2 86.7 70.1 61.4 66.3 66.9 80.6 64.2 76.3 69.6 67.6 76.4 85.8 49.8 75.7 5.7 3.7 2.6 16.0 6.3 7.8 7.0 5.3 1.4 2.9 3.9 19.1 12.7 6.1 6.4 2.3 4.2 32.6 1.4
6.9 70.8 6.6
73.8 63.9 82.6 51.4 70.2 56.9 57.6 43.3 52.7 65.1 85.8 45.9 19.9 85.1 40.0 80.6 87.4 24.3 63.0 5.6 6.1 5.3 4.0 5.0 6.3 4.6 4.9 .. 4.7 5.9 5.2 5.7 4.2 4.9 6.5 5.7 3.4 5.3
64.3 5.5
0.35 0.38 0.27 0.21
0.23
89
92
65
26
..
.. 0.40 0.20 0.77 0.81 0.89
.. 0.27
.. 0.26 0.83 0.32
.. 0.31
..
..
..
..
..
102
40
330
207
374
31
42
223
129
4) Civil employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing. 5) Upper secondary or higher education; OECD: average of rates. 6) Public and private expenditure on educational institutions; OECD: average of rates. 7) Official Development Assistance by Member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee.
© OECD 2004
82
68
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II.A: SELECTED MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS (WORLDWIDE) Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced CAN MEX USA JPN
1946 1956 1949 1954 1971 1957 1979 1958 1960 1962 1963 1988 1997 1963 1964 1970 1969 1973 1969 1976 1992 1970 1971 1976 1992 2000 2003 1971 1971 1971 1982 1987 1971 1972 1996
Washington Conv. - Regulation of whaling Washington Protocol Geneva Conv. - Road traffic London Conv. - Prevention of pollution of the sea by oil London Amendments to convention (protection of the Great Barrier Reef) Brussels Conv. - Limitation of the liability of owners of sea-going ships Brussels Protocol Geneva Conv. - Fishing and conservation of the living resources of the high seas Geneva Conv. - Protection of workers against ionising radiations (ILO 115) Brussels Conv. - Liability of operators of nuclear ships Vienna Conv. - Civil liability for nuclear damage Vienna Joint protocol relating to the application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention Vienna Protocol to amend the Vienna convention Moscow Treaty - Banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water Copenhagen Conv. - International council for the exploration of the sea Copenhagen Protocol Brussels Conv. - Intervention on the high seas in cases of oil pollution casualties (INTERVENTION) London Protocol (pollution by substances other than oil) Brussels Conv. - Civil liability for oil pollution damage (CLC) London Protocol London Protocol Bern Conv. - Transport of goods by rail (CIM) Brussels Conv. - International fund for compensation for oil pollution damage (FUND) London Protocol London Protocol (replaces the 1971 Convention) London Amendment to protocol (limits of compensation) London Protocol (supplementary fund) Brussels Conv. - Civil liability in maritime carriage of nuclear material London, Moscow, Conv. - Prohib. emplacement of nuclear and mass destruct. weapons on sea-bed, ocean floor Washington and subsoil Ramsar Conv. - Wetlands of international importance especially as waterfowl habitat Paris Protocol Regina Regina amendment Geneva Conv. - Protection against hazards of poisoning arising from benzene (ILO 136) London, Mexico, Conv. - Prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter (LC) Moscow, Washington London Protocol to the Conv. - Prevention of marine poll. by dumping of wastes and other matter
Y Y Y Y
D R R R R Y S Y Y S Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
R R R
R R R R
R R R R D
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S
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK FIN FRA DEU GRC HUN ISL IRL ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD EU
R R R R
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R R R R R D R R R D R R R
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© OECD 2004
R R D S
R
R R
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D R R R
R
R R R R R D
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R R R R R D R R R D R R R
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S
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R
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R
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S R
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II.A: SELECTED MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS (WORLDWIDE) (cont.) Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced CAN MEX USA JPN
1972 1978 1991 1972 1972 1972 1973 1974 1976 1996 1977
Geneva Geneva Geneva Geneva London, Moscow, Washington Paris Washington Geneva London London Geneva
1978 1978 1978 1978 1997 1979 1991 1992 1996
London London London London London Bonn London New York Monaco
1996 1982 1994 1995
The Hague Montego Bay New York New York
1983 1994 1985 1987 1990 1992 1997 1999
Geneva New York Vienna Montreal London Copenhagen Montreal Beijing
Conv. - Protection of new varieties of plants (revised) Amendments Amendments Conv. - Safe container (CSC) Conv. - International liability for damage caused by space objects
Y Y Y Y Y
R R
R R
Conv. - Protection of the world cultural and natural heritage Conv. - International trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) Conv. - Prev. and control of occup. hazards caused by carcinog. subst. and agents (ILO 139) Conv. - Limitation of liability for maritime claims (LLMC) Amendment to convention Conv. - Protection of workers against occupational hazards in the working environment due to air pollution, noise and vibration (ILO 148) Protocol - Prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL PROT) Annex III Annex IV Annex V Annex VI Conv. - Conservation of migratory species of wild animals Agreem. - Conservation of bats in Europe Agreem. - Conservation of small cetaceans of the Baltic and the North Seas (ASCOBANS) Agreem. - Conservation of cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area Agreem. - Conservation of African-Eurasian migratory waterbirds Conv. - Law of the sea Agreem. - relating to the implementation of part XI of the convention Agreem. - Implementation of the provisions of the convention relating to the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks Agreem. - Tropical timber Revised agreem. - Tropical timber Conv. - Protection of the ozone layer Protocol (substances that deplete the ozone layer) Amendment to protocol Amendment to protocol Amendment to protocol Amendment to protocol
R R
Y R Y R Y Y Y S Y Y R Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y R Y R Y R Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
R R R R R R R R
R R
R R R R R
R R R R R
R R
R R
R R R R
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S R
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R R R R R R R R
R R R R R R R R
R
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© OECD 2004
OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Sweden
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK FIN FRA DEU GRC HUN ISL IRL ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD EU
R R R R R
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R R S
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© OECD 2004
R R
R R R R R R
R R R R
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R R R
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II.A: SELECTED MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS (WORLDWIDE) (cont.) Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced CAN MEX USA JPN
1986 1986 1989 1995 1999 1989 1990 1990 2000 1992 2000 1992 1997 1993
Vienna Vienna Basel Geneva Basel London Geneva London London Rio de Janeiro Montreal New York Kyoto Paris
1993 Geneva 1993 1994 Vienna 1994 Paris 1995 Rome 1996 London 2000 London 1997 Vienna 1997 Vienna 1997 1998 2001 2001 2001
New York Rotterdam London London Stockholm
Conv. - Early notification of a nuclear accident Conv. - Assistance in the case of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency Conv. - Control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal Amendment Prot. - Liability and compensation for damage Conv. - Salvage Conv. - Safety in the use of chemicals at work (ILO 170) Conv. - Oil pollution preparedness, response and co-operation (OPRC) Protocol - Pollution incidents by hazardous and noxious substances (OPRC-HNS) Conv. - Biological diversity Prot. - Biosafety (Cartagena) Conv. - Framework convention on climate change Protocol Conv. - Prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their destruction Conv. - Prevention of major industrial accidents (ILO 174) Agreem. - Promote compliance with international conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas Conv. - Nuclear safety Conv. - Combat desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa Code of conduct on responsible fishing Conv. - Liability and compensation for damage in connection with the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances by sea (HNS) Protocol - Pollution incidents by hazardous and noxious substances (OPRC-HNS) Conv. - Supplementary compensation for nuclear damage Conv. - Joint convention on the safety of spent fuel management and on the safety of radioactive waste management Conv. - Law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses Conv. - Prior informed consent procedure for hazardous chemicals and pesticides (PIC) Conv. - Civil liability for bunker oil pollution damage Conv. - Control of harmful anti-fouling systems on ships Conv. - Persistent organic pollutants
Y R Y R Y R
R R R
R R S
Y R Y Y R
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Y R Y S Y R R Y R
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S Y R
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Y R
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S
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Source: IUCN; OECD.
© OECD 2004
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK FIN FRA DEU GRC HUN ISL IRL ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD EU
R R R
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II.B: SELECTED MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS (REGIONAL) Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced CAN MEX USA JPN
1940 1946 1958 1960 1961 1962 1963 1950 1957 1975 1958
Washington London Dublin London Copenhagen Hamburg London Paris Geneva New York Geneva
1959 1991 1960 1963 1964 1964 1982 1982 1988 1962 1972 1964 1967 1968 1979 1969 1972 1973 1973 1982 1974 1992 1992 1979 1979 1984 1985 1988 1991 1994 1998 1998 1999
Washington Madrid Paris Brussels Paris Paris Brussels Brussels Vienna Stockholm Stockholm London London Paris Strasbourg London London Oslo Gdansk Warsaw Stockholm Paris Helsinki Bern Geneva Geneva Helsinki Sofia Geneva Oslo Aarhus Aarhus Gothenburg
Conv. - Nature protection and wild life preservation in the Western Hemisphere Conv. - Regulation of the meshes of fishing nets and the size limits of fish Amendments Amendments Amendments Amendments Amendments Conv. - Protection of birds Agreem. - International carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR) Protocol Agreem. - Adoption of uniform conditions of approval and reciprocal recognition of approval for motor vehicle equipments and parts Treaty - Antarctic Protocol to the Antarctic treaty (environmental protection) Conv. - Third party liability in the field of nuclear energy Supplementary convention Additional protocol to the convention Additional protocol to the supplementary convention Protocol amending the convention Protocol amending the supplementary convention Joint protocol relating to the application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention Agreem. - Protection of the salmon in the Baltic Sea Protocol Conv. - Fisheries Conv. - Conduct of fishing operations in the North Atlantic Conv. - Protection of animals during international transport Protocol Conv. - Protection of the archaeological heritage Conv. - Conservation of Antarctic seals Agreem. - Conservation of polar bears Conv. - Fishing and conservation of the living resources in the Baltic Sea and the Belts Amendments Conv. - Nordic environmental protection Conv. - Protection of North-East Atlantic marine env. (replace Oslo-1972 and Paris-1974) Conv. - Protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area Conv. - Conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats Conv. - Long-range transboundary air pollution Protocol (financing of EMEP) Protocol (reduction of sulphur emissions or their transboundary fluxes by at least 30%) Protocol (control of emissions of nitrogen oxides or their transboundary fluxes) Protocol (control of emissions of volatile organic compounds or their transboundary fluxes) Protocol (further reduction of sulphur emissions) Protocol (heavy metals) Protocol (persistent organic pollutants) Protocol (abate acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone)
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
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OECD EPR / SECOND CYCLE Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced KOR AUS NZL AUT BEL CZE DNK FIN FRA DEU GRC HUN ISL IRL ITA LUX NLD NOR POL PRT SLO ESP SWE CHE TUR UKD EU
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II.B: SELECTED MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS (REGIONAL) (cont.) Y = in force S = signed R = ratified D = denounced CAN MEX USA JPN
1980 1995 1998 1980 1982 1982 1983 1989 1989
Madrid Strasbourg Strasbourg Canberra Paris Reykjavik Bonn Bonn Stockholm
1991 1992 1992 1999 1992 1993 1994 1994 1998 2003 1998 2000
Espoo Helsinki Helsinki London La Valette Copenhagen Lisbon Lisbon Aarhus Kiev Strasbourg Florence
Conv. - Transfrontier co-operation between territorial communities or authorities Additional protocol Second protocol Conv. - Conservation of Antarctic marine living resources Memorandum of understanding on port state control Conv. - Conservation of salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean Agreem. - Co-operation in dealing with poll. of the North Sea by oil and other harmful subst. Amendment Agreem. - Transboundary co-operation with a view to preventing or limiting harmful effects for human beings, property or the environment in the event of accidents Conv. - Environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context Conv. - Transboundary effects of industrial accidents Conv. - Protection and use of transboundary water courses and international lakes Prot. - Water and health European Conv. - Protection of the archaeological heritage (revised) Agreem. - Co-op. in the prevention of marine poll. from oil and other dangerous chemicals Treaty - Energy Charter Protocol (energy efficiency and related environmental aspects) Conv. - Access to env. information and public participation in env. decision-making Prot. - Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) Conv. - Protection of the environment through criminal law Conv. - European lanscape convention
Y Y Y Y R Y R Y R Y Y Y Y R Y S Y
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Reference III
ABBREVIATIONS BOD CFC CGIAR CHP CITES COD EIA EMAS EMS EPR EQO EU FAO GDP GHG GNI HELCOM IBSFC ICES IPPC IMO ISO ITTO IUCN LPG MARPOL Mtoe NGO NMVOC NUTEK ODA
Biochemical oxygen demand Chlorofluorocarbon Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research Combined heat and power Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Chemical oxygen demand Environmental impact assessment Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (of the European Union) Environmental management system Environmental Performance Review Environmental quality objective European Union Food and Agriculture Organization (UN) Gross domestic product Greenhouse gas Gross national income Helsinki Commission International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Integrated pollution prevention and control International Maritime Organization International Organisation for Standardization International Tropical Timber Organization International Union for the Conservation of Nature (now the World Conservation Union) Liquefied petroleum gas International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships Million tonnes of oil equivalent Non-governmental organisation Non-methane volatile organic compound Swedish Business Development Agency Official development assistance
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Ozone-depleting substance(s) Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic Pollution abatement and control Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon Polybrominated diphenyls ether Polychlorinated biphenyls Particulate matter Persistent organic pollutant Swedish Environmental Protection Agency Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency Total allowable catch UN Economic Commission for Europe UN Environment Programme Volatile organic compound
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PHYSICAL CONTEXT Sweden is one of the largest countries in Western Europe, with a total area of 450 000 km2. It occupies about two-thirds of the Scandinavian peninsula and extends for about 1 600 km from the southern Baltic to north of the Arctic Circle; its coastline measures more than 2 700 km. The Swedish countryside is dotted with more than 83 000 lakes, and thousands of islands are located off its jagged coast. Most of the land is relatively flat, but a long mountain chain in the north-west reaches heights of up to 2 111 metres. About 68% of Sweden’s land area (411 620 km2) is covered with forests and other wooded land. About 3% is built-up area. Some 8% is farmland, enough to make the country self-sufficient in most farm products. A further 12% consists of mires (bogs and fens). Lakes cover close to 40 000 km2. Many moose, deer, foxes and other wildlife can be found in much of the country, and about 230 000 reindeer roam northern Sweden. Under the Swedish right of common access to private land (allemansrätten), anyone may hike through forests and fields to gather berries and mushrooms. Vast forests of spruce, pine and other softwood trees supply a highly developed sawmill, pulp, paper and finished wood product industry. About 85% of the paper and market pulp output and 75% of sawn timber products are exported. The state owns some 3% of the forest area. Other natural resources are water power, iron ore, uranium and other minerals. Sweden lacks significant oil and coal deposits. The only iron mines still in production are in the far north; their output is mainly exported. A number of mines with sulphide ores are found in central and northern Sweden. Cheap hydropower was a major factor in the country’s industrial development. Today around 32% of Sweden’s total energy supply of 47 Mtoe comes from hydropower; many of the plants are on northern rivers. Eleven nuclear reactors supply a further 32%. The rest of the energy supply is imported oil (28.6%), solid fuels (5.5%) and gas (1.5%). After a 1980 referendum, the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, voted to phase out the use of nuclear power by 2010, but that target was abandoned in 1997. One reactor, Barsebäck 1, has been closed so far.
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Reference V
SELECTED ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS (1996-2003) 1996 • A government commission examining environmental research recommends that, in the next bill on the subject, the government should propose a new direction for environmental research with more emphasis on social aspects as well as science. • The Prime minister announces that Sweden ambition is to accomplish the greening of the welfare state. Sustainability incorporated into the longstanding “People’s Home” concept of consensus politics aimed at reducing economic disparities, redistributing wealth and carrying out welfare reforms. • The Transport Policy Commission presents a ten year investment plan for road and rail, including an environmentally sound transport system. • At the Visby summit, regional Prime ministers establish “Baltic 21”, an Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea region. • Sweden’s 25th national park, Tresticklan, with almost 3 000 hectares of virgin forest, is established on the border with Norway. • UNESCO adds two Swedish sites to its World Heritage list: the Church Town of Gammelstad, in the northern municipality of Luleå, and the Laponian area (Lapland). • A new tax on extraction of natural gravel enters into force. • A Government Bill proposes a CO2 tax of SEK 0.37 per kg emitted, with some exemptions for energy-intensive production. • The government proposes decreasing the 1997 budget of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to SEK 230 million, including SEK 170 million for research and SEK 40 million for purchases of nature areas. • Several government agencies are requested to participate in a pilot project on ISO 14000 environmental management systems.
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1997 • The government presents the first Communication to the Riksdag on work for a sustainable Sweden. Environmental quality objectives (EQOs), to be reached within one generation (by 2020), are drawn up. • The Commission for Ecologically Sustainable Development is appointed, consisting of five ministers and chaired by the Environment minister. • More stringent controls on exhaust emissions from motor vehicles are adopted. • The Riksdag passes the Ordinance on Producer Responsibility for Packaging. • All ministries and government agencies are requested to start applying the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). • The government halts work on a controversial agreement by the Social Democratic Party, Liberal Party and Moderate Party concerning infrastructure projects and road pricing in the Stockholm area. • The government give the Riksdag a bill proposing an action plan for biodiversity, including strengthened protection of endangered species. • In its Spring Finance Bill, the government proposes local investment programmes for environmentally sustainable development. The Riksdag approves the allocation of SEK 5.4 billion for such programmes for 1998 – 2000. • A Government Bill proposes that annual reports from public limited companies should include environmental aspects. • Sweden’s National Parks Information Centre opens in Tyresta National Park, south of Stockholm. • The Riksdag adopts new energy policy guidelines aimed at facilitating efforts to bring about an environmentally sustainable society. • It is decided to ban exports of mercury, whose use is being phased out in Sweden. • In a communication to the Riksdag, the government outlines its efforts to achieve environmental sustainability in Sweden. • The government sends the Riksdag a Bill on Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries Policies with a focus on environmental aspects. • Neurological symptoms in cattle and in workers trigger a major environmental scandal in which it is revealed that large quantities of acrylamide, used in construction of a railway tunnel through the Hallandsåsen ridge in order to make the
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tunnel airtight, leached into the nearest river, where cattle were drinking, and also affected construction workers. Work on the tunnel is subsequently halted. • A government commission proposes reorganising Sweden’s water administration so that it is based on catchment areas. • The Riksdag passes a law on the phase-out of nuclear power. Two reactors at Barsebäck power plant are to be closed by 2001, provided that their power production can be replaced by renewable resources and energy conservation.
1998 • Sweden signs the Kyoto Protocol. • Sweden introduces differentiated environmental dues, depending on ship-generated SO2 and NOx emissions, for shipping fairways. • The government introduces producer responsibility for end-of – life vehicles. • The government issues its first national report on implementation of the Convention on Biodiversity. • The OECD Megascience Forum meets in Saltsjöbaden, to examine the role of the scientific community in providing integrated analyses and advice on global scientific issues such as climate change, as well as on other environmental issues and on health and food safety. • A Government Bill proposes a sustainable transport policy. • The government modifies its action programme for architecture, form and design to strengthen quality in built environments. • The Government Environment Bill presents the 15 EQOs, whose “generation goal” means that, by 2020 (for climate change, 2050), environmental pressures should be reduced to levels that are sustainable in the long run. • The Foreign ministers of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) adopts Baltic 21. • Karlskrona’s naval port becomes a World Heritage site. • A planned tax on waste products that are not recycled is postponed owing to uncertainty about how it fits in with EU regulations. • Vehicle taxes are lowered on electric cars and hybrid cars. • EMAS is introduced for all sectors in Sweden.
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• Sweden’s 26th national park, Färnebofjärden, is established. Its 10 000-plus hectares include a unique river system with shallow lakes connected by rapids and surrounded by alluvial forests. • The Swedish Council for Planning and Co – ordination of Research (FRN) reports to the government on a new strategy for research on sustainable development. • The National Forestry presents its five-year nationwide inventory of key habitats, with 40 000 habitat indicators. • The government proposes substantial increases in appropriations for purchases of valuable natural areas, especially forest areas, amounting to an additional SEK 660 million over three years. • An annual environmental index for companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange is launched, with a substantial number of companies participating.
1999 • The Environmental Code, combining 15 previous environmental statutes, is enacted to resolve three main problems: the former environmental legislation was hard to understand, many activities (e.g. roads and railways) were inadequately regulated and new environmental problems had arisen. • The government strengthens legislation to halt illegal trade in threatened species. • The Riksdag adopts the EQOs and ask the government to present comprehensive proposals for interim targets, measures and strategies for achieving the EQOs. • The Government Bill on Cultural Heritage, Cultural Environments and Cultural Assets is presented to the Riksdag. • The government proposes raising appropriations for environmental protection from SEK 1.5 billion to SEK 2 billion. • The first nuclear reactor at the Barsebäck power plant is closed. • SEPA proposes a new policy on Sweden’s four large predators: bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine. • In Göteborg, 27 countries sign a protocol to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on abating acidification, eutrophication and groundlevel ozone, setting national emission ceilings for 2010.
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2000 • A SEK 250 per tonne tax on landfilling enters into force. • A ban on lead shot takes effect. • Sweden participates in the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund. The Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications expects to buy about 1-2 million tonnes of CO2. • A Government Bill on a strategy for chemicals to aid in attaining the EQO “A Non – Toxic Environment” is presented to the Riksdag. It outlines ways to reach the EQO and includes a set of interim targets. • A Commission on Producer Responsibility is established. • The government concludes a covenant with the motor industry on development of alternative-fuel vehicles. • A strategy on a “green tax shift” is introduced as a result of an agreement by the Social Democratic government, the Left Party and the Green Party. • Sweden’s 27th national park, Söderåsen, is established to protect some 1 600 hectares including unique virgin deciduous forest with very extensive flora and fauna and virgin watercourses. • A government commission proposes new guidelines on chemical policies to promote stricter EU legislation on chemicals. • The government establishes a national committee on Agenda 21 and Habitat. • UNESCO adds the agricultural landscape of southern Öland, a Baltic island, and the “High Coast” (Höga Kusten) of the county of Ångermanland to the list of World Heritage sites. • The Environmental Committee of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise presents its “Vision for Sustainable Industrial Development in the year 2025”. • The European Commission approves the Swedish Environmental and Rural Development Programme for 2000 – 06. • The Climate Commission proposes that the levels of Sweden’s GHG emissions should be halved by 2050 from 1990 levels. • The government purposes a substantial increase in CO2 tax, from SEK 0.37/kg to SEK 0.53/kg.
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2001 • Sweden’s six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union begins. Environmental issues are one of the government’s three priority areas. • The government issues its second national report on implementating the Convention on Biodiversity. • A Government Commission on Waste is established. • The government presents a Bill on Interim Targets and Action Strategies for the EQOs and proposes an Environmental Objectives Council, associated with SEPA. The government also announces it intends to submit a proposal to the Riksdag for a 16th EQO, on biodiversity. • As part of the Environmental and Rural Development Programme, the Board of Agriculture, the County Administrative Boards, the Federation of Swedish Farmers and various agri-business companies launch a joint initiative called “Focus on Nutrients” to reduce nutrient losses from agriculture to air and water. The initiative draws on the EQOs, especially “Zero Eutrophication”. • The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which requires the complete phase-out of nine toxic pesticides and limits the use of several other chemicals, is signed by 92 countries. • SEPA and the Centre for Biodiversity establish a Swedish Species Information Centre. • The European Council, meeting in Göteborg, adopts a sustainable development strategy. • EU Environment ministers unanimously adopt a common position on a Sixth Environmental Action Plan and the Council Conclusions on future EU policy on chemicals. • The mining area of the Great Copper Mountain (Kopparbergslagen) and the central Swedish town of Falun are named World Heritage sites. • The government’s budget bill for 2002 proposes introducing climate investment programmes to replace the local investment programmes, and appropriating SEK 200 million for the first year, rising to SEK 400 million by 2004. The purpose is to support municipal measures to reduce GHG emissions. • The Riksdag postpones the shutdown of the second reactor at Barsebäck, after deciding that the requirements have not been met, and orders a new evaluation to be made in 2003.
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• The government sends the Riksdag a Bill on Climate Change proposing that national GHG emissions should be reduced by 4% by 2010. • The government initiates an inquiry on how to implement the EU Water Framework Directive in Sweden.
2002 • Sweden ratifies the Kyoto Protocol. • Requirements concerning separation of combustible waste and a ban on dumping separated combustible waste enter into force. The landfill tax is increased from SEK 250 to SEK 288 per tonne. • Sweden ratifies the 1999 Beijing Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on ozonedepleting substances. • The government sends the Riksdag a Bill on infrastructure for a long-term sustainable transport system, and launches an assessment of shipping fairway dues to make them more cost-effective. • The government formulates a comprehensive nature conservation policy, presenting new strategies that take into account sustainable development and the EQOs, and highlighting key new ideas such as sectoral integration and enhanced dialogue with local communities. • Sweden ratifies the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. • An expert is launched on management and final disposal of radioactive waste from non-nuclear activities. • Ratification of the EU burden sharing agreement confirms that Sweden may increase its CO2 emissions by 4%. • On the 30th anniversary of the UN Conference on the Human Environment, which was held in Stockholm, the government assembles 250 experts from around the world to review three decades of international environmental co-operation and discuss strategies for the next 30 years.The Riksdag adopts the Government Energy Bill on co-operation to achieve a secure, efficient and environment-friendly energy supply. • A government negotiator is appointed to seek agreement between government and industry on a long-term sustainable policy for the phase-out of nuclear power and continued change in the energy system.
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• The International Secretariat of the Global Water Partnership, a network on global water resources, is established in Stockholm. • Sweden ratifies the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, an agreement under the Convention on Biodiversity concerning genetically modified organisms. • Sweden presents its national report, “From Vision to Action,” at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. • Sweden establishes its 28th national park, Fulufjället, whose 38 500 hectares include virgin forests with long valleys, steep-sided ravines and Sweden’s highest waterfall. • The government decides to designate new areas as vulnerable zones in accordance with the EU nitrate directive. • Envisions 2002, a stakeholder conference on sustainable development, is held in Västerås to discuss the follow-up to the Johannesburg Summit. Some 700 people participated, including representatives of governments, municipalities, NGOs and industry. • The government inquiry on implementation of the Water Framework Directive results in a proposal to establish five water administration agencies. • SEPA launches a campaign to increase knowledge about, and change attitudes towards, the greenhouse effect.
2003 • The landfill tax is raised from SEK 288 to SEK 370 per tonne. • A forum for environmental NGOs on efforts to achieve the EQOs is established. • The national Environmental Court rules that the National Rail Administration can triple the amount of groundwater drained from the railway tunnel being built through the Hallandsåsen ridge. Local residents challenge the decision in the Environmental Court of Appeal. • The Swedish Business Development Agency (NUTEK) proposes establishing a national centre for environment-driven business development and exports of environmental technology. • In a proposal to the European Commission, the government seeks the inclusion of a further 54 Swedish sites in the Natura 2000 network, for a total of 3 581 Swedish sites.
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• The government sends the Riksdag its Ecocycle Bill proposing “a society with a non-toxic and resource-saving ecocycle”. It also introduces a Bill on Shared Responsibility: Sweden’s Policy for Global Development. • The Riksdag adopts the government proposal on green certificates for electricity produced from renewable sources. • A Government Bill proposes a new system for property registration. • The Government establishes a Council for Outdoor Recreation Activities. • A Chinese tanker sinks in the Baltic Sea, releasing a large amount of oil. The accident brings renewed calls for the Baltic to be classified as a particularly sensitive sea area. • The Commission on Ocean Environment presents its proposal to the government on actions and strategies for the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. • The government appoints a commission of inquiry on objectives and strategies for the continued introduction of vehicle fuels from renewable sources. • Three environment ministerial meetings are held in Luleå, northern of Sweden: the Nordic Environment ministers, the Environment ministers of the Barents EuroArctic Council and the CBSS Environment ministers. • The Environmental Court of Appeal agrees to study the Hallandsåsen ridge railway tunnel project and advise the government on whether it should continue. • An agreement by the government, the Left Party and the Green Party on the 2004 budget includes a decision to expand the green tax shift by SEK 2.0 billion and raise resources for biodiversity protection to SEK 1.4 billion. • Several private companies and public agencies declare their intention to join the “At Least One Green Car” network (Minst en miljöbil), whose members agree to buy at least one alternative-fuel vehicle. • The government presents a communication to the Riksdag on a revised set of Swedish priorities for EU environmental co-operation. Marine issues are added as a priority, joining air pollution, climate, acidification, chemicals and sustainable use of natural resources. • The government announces a programme for local nature protection projects entailing funding of SEK 300 million over the period 2004-06. • The government completes its proposal for the European Nature 2000 network, bringing the total of proposed Swedish Natura sites to 3 949.
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Reference VI
SELECTED ENVIRONMENTAL WEB SITES Web site
Host institution
http://miljo.regeringen.se
Ministry of the Environment
http://naring.regeringen.se
Ministry of Employment, Industry and Communications
http://jordbruk.regeringen.se
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Affairs
http://social.regeringen.se
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
http://www.utrikes.regeringen.se Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://finans.regeringen.se
Ministry of Finance
http://www.naturvardsverket.se Swedish Environmental Protection Agency http://www.kemi.se
National Chemicals Inspectorate
http://www.formas.se
Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
http://www.fhi.se
National Institute of Public Health
http://www.sos.se
National Board of Health and Welfare
http://www.lst.se
Sweden’s County Administrations
http://www.imm.ki.se
Institute of Environmental Medicine
http://www.fiskeriverket.se
National Board of Fisheries
http://www.sjv.se
Swedish Board of Agriculture
http://www.svo.se
National Board of Forestry
© OECD 2004
OECD PUBLICATIONS, 2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16 PRINTED IN FRANCE (97 2004 09 1 P) ISBN 92-64-10858-0 – No. 53641 2004
