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Environmental

Policies

Sweden

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Population 9,593 mil

Surface area 447 435 km²

Population density 21 inhabitants per km²

Percentage of urban population

85%

Sweden – short facts

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Parties and Parliament Miljöpartiet – Environmental green party • Focus on ecological sustainability society • Carbon dioxide emissions and responsibility to future generations • Sustainable development • School and education Socialdemokraterna – Government today • Focus on solidarity and equality • Two national energy goals (to be reached in 2020): 1. 50 % of the total amount of used energy in Sweden shall come from renewable energy 2. 10 % of the energy used in the transportation sector shall come from renewable energy

• Cooperation between Sweden and Norway increase the production of renewable energy and

reduce usage of fossil fuel.

• Environmental objectives create a sustainable development – change of social behavior and society structures – reached within one generation – Will clarify the situation that exist today and set milestones

Environmental quality objectives

• In year 2010 the Swedish government decided upon a new structure for the national environmental work

• A new organisation and basis for assessing the environmental quality objectives was made

• The structure consists of one overall generational goal and sixteen environmental quality objectives with connected milestones

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Environmental quality objectives

• The generation goal describes the Swedish environmental policy and acts as an umbrella with the sixteen environmental quality objectives underneath

• The generational goal defines the changes that Sweden must face during one generation, in order to achieve the country’s environmental quality objectives

Environmental quality objectives

1. Reduced climate impact 2. Clean air 3. Only natural acidification 4. A non-toxic environment 5. Protective ozone layer 6. A safe radiation environment 7. Zero eutrophication 8. Flourishing lakes and watercourses 9. Groundwater of good quality

10. Balanced marine environment, flourishing coastal areas and archipelagos 11. Thriving wetlands 12. Sustainable forests 13. Diversified agricultural landscape 14. Grand mountain landscape 15. Good built environment 16. Rich diversity of plant and animal life

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Sustainable forests

• 24 million hectar forest • Sweden in on place 6 in the world • Huge forest industry

Grand mountain landscape - Rapa dalen Sarek

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Diversified agricultural landscape

Environmental quality objectives

• The objectives are to be met within one generation

• The target is to fulfil the objectives until year 2020 (the climate objectives are to be reached year 2050)

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Environmental code

• Basic law concerning environment, energy, landscape and nature

• National level (but with a global perspective) • 1999 January 1st

Environmental code - aims

• Sustainable environment

• Reuse, recycle and resource conservation concerning goods, material and energy

• Renewable resources first alternative

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Environmental code – areas

• Areas with potential to serve as energy production or distribution area should be protected in order not to complicate the possibility of use of these sites

• The code also regulates environmental impact assessments, in which energy is an important parameter due to the scarcity of natural resources

Environmental code

1 § The Code aims to promote sustainable development so that both present and future generations can have a healthy and good environment. Such a development is based on the insight of nature as worthy of protection and on humans right to modify and exploit the nature with responsibility of natural resources. The Environmental Code shall be applied in such way that; 1. Human health and environment are protected against damage and inconveniences whether if they are caused by pollution or other impacts, 2. Valuable natural and cultural environments are protected and cared for, 3. Preservation of biological diversity, 4. Land, water and physical environment are used so that an ecological, social, cultural and socio-economic point of view on sustainable development are secured, and 5. Reuse and recycling as well as other management of materials, raw materials and energy are promoted.

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Integration of environmental policies in urban planning

Hard policies (national level and binding through laws):

• Environmental Code

• Plan och Bygglagen (Swedish Planning and Building Law)

Soft policies:

• Municipal guidelines (not binding, but gives guidelines of environmental work)

Stockholm city planning

Political incentives

ÖP PROGRAM OP DP

• How does it work?

• Political decision documents; Environmental program, Action plan for climate and energy, Energy plan, Waste plan, Green IT strategy, and Fossil fuel free Stockholm 2050

• Comprehensive plan (ÖP), which works as a guideline (not binding in law) • In Stockholm an area plan is used (OP), which is a decision making stage

and sets the orientation of the detailed plan Contains environmental and energy aspects

• The detailed plan (DP) is binding through the Swedish planning and building law PBL and Environmental Code

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• Green vedges through the city • Water environment • Industrial areas are removed and replaced with housing areas

Stockholm city planning

PBL (Plan & bygglagen) - Planning Building Law

• Aim to promote a society with equal and good social living conditions and create a sustainable living environment in today's society. The focus should be on today’s and future generations

• Used when: New constructions/buildings are going to be constructed If changes of constructions/buildings will be made When an area is going to be exploited (Urban planning)

• Allows municipalieties to regulate the usage of land • Every municipality shall have a comprehensive plan (ÖP). The

comprehensive plan should provide guidance on how land and water areas should be used and how the built environment should be used, developed and preserved

• Every area that will be exploited must have a detailed plan (DP). PBL gives direct and systematic guidelines of how this plan should be made.

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Current trend in city planning - Ecosystem services

Centralized or decentralized competence

• No strict lines • Focus shift year 2000 from flexibility and the

municipalities itself (decentralized), to a more central and uniform controlling with legal security (centralized)

• Increased level of external actors proof of that decentralized competence still exists, even after the focus shift – municipalities took over the responsible of schools from

the parliament – consequences like less equality for children because of

diffetent resources like economy and quality of education

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Naturvårdsverket

• Waste management, climate, energy, chemicals, environmental management, transportation, protected areas, environmental monitoring

• To bring and collect knowledge and information required to develop environmental missions

• Support the government give them knowledge about environment suggestions before they make decisions

• Possibility to direct decisions • Make it possible to reach the goals

within the environmental objectives

Natura 2000 • Save threaten species increase or preserve the level of

biodiversity • Avoid that species are extinguish and avoid that areas

become destroyed • Naturvårdsverket has the

general responsible • The areas are protected of

the environmental code • 15 % of the total area of

the country • 4000 different regions

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Håll Sverige rent

• Cleaning up the sea, coastal areas and land areas

• Elaborate information used for education

• Creates a better waste management and less use of resources

Naturskyddsföreningen • Biggest environmental organization • Fishing, agriculture, climate, energy, transports,

environmental toxins, and forest and nature conversations • Founder of the marking “Bra Miljöval”

– show consumers which products that are the most environmentally friendly alternatives

• Force consumers to act environmentally friendly by showing environmental problems and offer better alternatives

• Cooperates with, and controlling, Swedish policies • Possibility to influence the law

regarding environmental questions,

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Natura 2000 Alvar – Öland & Gotland

Natura 2000 Myr - wetlands

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Natura 2000 Bohuslänska fjordar

Main concerns

• Goal to reach a sustainable development Nuclearpower Stockholm conference

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Conclusions

• Sweden was one of the countries that promoted a global network containing exchange of knowledge concerning environmental problems and successful solutions, strategies and work towards a healthier environment

• Many environmental agencies that currently works on environmental issues

• Countries working together to achieve a sustainable global environment