SDG 13 in Sweden and the United Kingdom : A comparative study of how Sweden and the United Kingdom are working towards the Sustainable Development Goals regarding the climate

Abstract: Climate change is one of the hottest topics on the globe as of right now. The deadline of reaching both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement is getting closer, and actions are needed. This thesis focus on how two countries, Sweden and the United Kingdom are working towards achieving goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Policies, implementations of policies and actions are assessed. The study is a comparative case study that is based on secondary data presented by each country in official reports, the annual Sustainable Development Report as well as the Nationally Determined Contribution report by each country. The International Regime Approach is the theoretical framework used for consideration and comparison between the actions and non-actions by the two countries, where the relationship to the European Union plays an important role. The findings of the study shows that both Sweden and the United Kingdom is passionately working towards achieving the climate goals and has pointed out relevant policies and actions to meet the SDGs. Progress has been made in both countries as emission rates has been radically reduced but despite their devotion, both countries are far from reaching the climate goals as the overall progress of implementation of policies are not on satisfactory levels.