A Closer Look at What Sweden is Doing to Achieve SDG 13

Abstract: Climate change and its impacts are currently affecting countries all around the world. Sweden is facing an increased risk of landslides, floods and a rising sea level that will cause major damage to infrastructure in the future. Sustainable Development Goal number 13 aims to mitigate these risks and others by strengthening different climate adaptation systems and reducing human impact on the environment. The overall purpose of this study was to investigate Sweden’s commitment to goal 13 and review the progress so far. In addition, it aimed to identify what national climate initiatives are in place and how integrated the goal is at the local level. Through official documents from the Swedish government and the United Nations, scientific research articles, and interviews with involved actors at the local level, a detailed overview of Sweden’s work on sustainable development goal 13 was produced. The research showed that Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal 13 are well integrated in the different levels of governance, and recent initiatives are leading Sweden in the right direction to reaching the different targets set by the goal. However, certain areas within Sweden’s climate work seem to still lack proper guidance and will require changes in the near future if more progress is to be made. Consumption-based emissions produced outside of Sweden’s borders remain high, a specific national climate scenario has not been elaborated and municipalities sometimes appear to lack the necessary resources and support to effectively plan for climate change. In addition, it became apparent that the sub targets for goal number 13 in some cases did not have clear indicators. This ultimately limited to what extent Sweden’s progress could be identified and measured with respect to these targets.