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You have reached the Global Research Alliance Sweden page

“A global climate agreement is a milestone for the world and for cooperation on sustainable development. Sweden has long been pushing for an agreement that strengthens climate efforts. For the first time we have a global climate agreement where everyone is contributing and this is extremely important,” said former Swedish Minister for Climate and the Environment Åsa Romson in a comment to the Paris Agreement.

Sweden ratified the United Nations Paris Agreement in October 2016. As a member of the European Union, Sweden and all other member states will act together to develop, communicate and maintain the successive nationally defined contributions. The Swedish Government has decided that Sweden is to have net zero emissions by no later than 2045. EU and Sweden have decided upon sub-goals to achieve this. The Swedish emissions from the non-ETS sector should by 2030 be at least 63 % lower than emissions in 1990. Activities included in the EU system of emissions trading (EU-ETS) are not included since these emissions are already covered by European roof. The non-ETS account for 65 % of the Swedish emissions.

Despite its northern latitude, most of Sweden has a mild temperate climate. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. 7 % of the total area is agricultural land and 63 % is forest area. In 2014 agriculture accounted for 13% of Sweden’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions consist mainly of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from animal digestion, manure and agricultural land.

Sweden aims to be a leading country in the global work with realizing the ambitious aims of the Paris Agreement and take responsibility for our country´s historical emissions. For a forest country like Sweden this is also an opportunity to develop a more bio-based economy by both the rich raw material base, but also by solid industrial expertise and world-leading research in the field.

Sweden has been involved in GRA since its inception in 2009 and was one of the 20 nations that founded the Alliance.

Swedish GRA representatives have attended the following GRA meetings/workshops

  • Croplands Research Group meeting in Arizona, USA, November 2016, in association with the Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America.
  • Livestock Research Group subgroup Rumen Microbial Genomics Network workshop, June 2016 following the INRA-Rowett gut microbiology conference in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
  • Croplands Research Group Meeting, August 2014, following the European Society of Agronomy annual meeting in Debrecen, Hungary.
  • Croplands Research Group Meeting, November 2013, following the International Annual MeetingsWater, Food, Energy & Innovation for a Sustainable World” with The Soil Science Society of America, the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America in Tampa, US
  • Livestock Research Group meeting, June 2013, following the Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture (GGAA2013) conference. Dublin, Ireland
  • Croplands Research Group Meeting, July 2012, in the margins of the Eurosoil 2012 Conference, Bari Italy.
  • Workshop of the cross-cutting activity C-N Cycles Group, July 2011 in parallel to International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter 2011 conference in Leuven, Belgium.
  • Croplands Research Group meeting, October 2011, following the Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America, San Antonio, US.
  • Livestock Research Group meeting, March 2011, as a part of a week Alliance meetings, Versailles, France.
  • Livestock Research Group meeting, October 2010, following the international Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture (GGAA) Conference, Banff, Canada.

Swedish Alliance Contacts

Thomas Kätterer

Professor in Ecosystem Ecology, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Representative: Integrative Research Group, Deputy representative: Croplands Research Group, Member: Nutrient Management Network and Conservation Agriculture Network within Croplands Research Group

Thomas.katterer@slu.se

Åsa Kasimir

Researcher, Department of Earth Sciences at Göteborg University

Representative: Croplands Research Group, Member: Peatlands Management Network.

Asa.kasimir@gu.se

Rebecca Danielsson

Researcher, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Member: Livestock Research Group’s Rumen Microbial Network

Rebecca.danielsson@slu.se