Sweden

Sweden has set a goal on being climate neutral by 2045. Sweden has enacted a Climate Act in 2018, which states that both current, and future governments have the responsibility to pursue a policy based on climate goals and to report regularly on development. According to the Climate Act, when presenting the budget bill, the government must annually present a climate report alongside the budget, including an assessment of the overall climate effects of all policy areas and must contain a description of the development of emissions in relation to target. The report shall also narrate the most important decisions made during the past year and those effects on the development of greenhouse gas emissions.

Cases

 * PUSH Sweden, Nature and Youth Sweden and Others v. Government of Sweden

The case adjudicated in 2016 in a Swedish District Court, adjudicated on state-owned company's sale of coal to Czech holding company.

Vattenfall, a state-owned energy company, agreed on selling several coal-fired power plants and associated mining assets to a subsidiary of a Czech holding company in Germany. Environmental NGOs, such as PUSH Sverige and Fältbiologerna, as well as individual plaintiffs challenged the sale as a violation of the Government's duty of care to its citizens to protect their right to a harmless climate. They argued that the sale would enable the expanded exploitation of lignite coal assets, which would result in emissions in excess of limits that correspond to climate stability, and that Sweden had committed to act in a way, which would avoid breaching those limits.

The court denied the plaintiffs requests to declare that 1) the State of Sweden has breeched its duty of care with the sale, and 2) that the sale would be illegal and the court determined that the plaintiffs had not experiences any injury from the governmental decision of the sale.

Auroramålet
Recently, dozen of Swedish persons, the project called Auroramålet, started planning a lawsuit against the Swedish Government and the climate policy for, what the swedes believe, is a violation of a Convention on the Rights of the Children. Jonas Ebbesson, the Professor of Climate law in the University of Stockholm, stated that he does not consider it impossible that the state could be held accountable in court, and that the state could be forced to do more to protect their citizens from climate hazards.

Organizations

 * Greenpeace Sweden
 * Jordens Vänner