Sweco has been contracted by the Swedish Energy Agency to evaluate the Swedish Programme for International Climate Change Mitigation within the Kyoto protocol. The evaluation shows that the Swedish programme will have contributed to reduced emissions totalling 34.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO₂e) over its twenty-year period.

“The Kyoto protocol was signed in 1997 with the objective of reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. Through the Swedish programme for international climate change mitigation, launched in the wake of the Kyoto protocol, around 250 emissions-reducing projects have received support worldwide. The current Swedish programme will soon be replaced by another one, based on article 6 of the Paris climate agreement. Sweco has been contracted by the Swedish Energy Agency to study and summarise the Swedish programme, its activities and outcomes over the past twenty years.”

Sandra Lindström, Head of International Climate Cooperation, Swedish Energy Agency

The Swedish programme has had three key objectives

1. Firstly, it is expected to contribute to Sweden’s national climate objectives;
2. Programme activities should contribute to the development of the flexible emissions-trading mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol and beyond;
3. The programme should contribute to sustainable development in project host countries.

Conclusions from the evaluation report

Sweco’s evaluation concludes that the Swedish programme clearly contributes to reduced emissions. The Swedish programme will, by 2025, have contributed to reduced emissions amounting to 34.5 million tCO₂e. It represents a significant contribution to emission reduction, with Swedish yearly territorial emissions amounting to 46.3 million tCO₂e in 2020. The projects also contribute to the transfer of technology as well as knowledge crucial to reducing emissions and replacing the use of fossil fuels with renewables in energy production.

The Swedish programme has also been both pioneering and consistently active in development efforts, contributing to the long-term sustainability and credibility of the emissions-trading mechanisms used. For example, the development of PoAs (Programme of Activity) has been crucial to making projects more feasible in the least developed countries (LDCs) globally.

In addition, Sweco’s analysis suggests that many of the projects have contributed to, or have a potential to contribute to, sustainability-related impacts in addition to emission reduction. This includes economic, social as well as environmental impacts.

“This evaluation demonstrates Sweco’s capacity for combining quantitative and qualitative methodology, and applying it to the analysis of complex activities within the field of climate change mitigation, helping to further knowledge in the field, says Jonas Niki Hugosson, team manager at Sweco Sweden.

Read the report here

Visit the Swedish Energy Agency’s web page for more information regarding the Programme