Greenhouse gas emissions from the Swedish economy rose by 6.4% in the third quarter of last year, compared to the same period a year earlier, new data from Statistics Sweden has revealed.
Total emissions for the quarter stood at 12.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), up from 11.5 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2023.
Household consumption, the construction industry and the transport sector were the biggest contributors to the increase in emissions, according to the data.
Largest emissions since 2021
“The third quarter of 2024 had the largest emissions for any third quarter since 2021,’ commented Nils Brown, analyst at Statistics Sweden’s Environmental Accounts. “Emissions have increased by 6.4% compared to the third quarter of 2023.”
Emissions rose by 14% in household consumption, adding 263 kilotonnes of CO2e, while the construction industry reported an increase of 35%, adding 155 kilotonnes of CO2e, primarily due to higher fossil diesel use. The transport sector saw emissions rise by 7% or 128 kilotonnes.
Emissions from electricity, gas, and heating production, as well as water and waste management, were down during the period, posting a decrease of 16%, or 195 kilotonnes.
Diesel usage
‘The increase in greenhouse gas emissions can largely be attributed to increased deliveries of fossil diesel relative to total diesel usage, as shown by monthly fuel, gas and stocks statistics, Statistics Sweden said. ‘The Swedish carbon reduction policy (for the share of biofuel in transport fuels) was revised in January 2024, where the share for diesel was reduced from 30.5% to 6%, and for petrol was reduced from 7.8% to 6%.’
The emissions intensity, measured as CO2e per Swedish krona produced, increased by 5.2% in the period. Sweden’s GDP increased by 1% between the third quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.
The quarterly statistics from Statistics Sweden’s Environmental Accounts report production-based air emissions per industry across Sweden’s economy, which also includes households. Read more here.
