Statement for the UNGA80 Climate Summit

Excellencies,

I wish to applaud the Secretary-General and president Lula for convening us for this important event. 

As we are all aware, the impact of climate change is being felt more and more clearly across the globe. 

This year’s NDC:s are an excellent platform for our response. Taken together, they will show us how far we have come in limiting temperature rise to 1,5 degrees.

From a Swedish perspective, we believe the NDC:s are also a platform for development pathways, highlighting the solutions we will deploy not only to limit temperature rise and strengthen resilience, but also to build the economies of the future.

My key message today is urgency and opportunity – urgency based on what science tells us, opportunity based on the economic growth and strengthened competitiveness that climate transition brings. 

Sweden has reduced its emissions by 38 percent since 1990, while at the same time having grown its GDP per capita by 57 percent. For Sweden, climate action and strengthened competitiveness go hand in hand. 

I am proud to see the engagement of Swedish business actors, and the solutions they can provide. I am now counting on my fellow climate and environment ministers, together with their ministerial colleagues, to put in place policies that stimulate demand for the innovative solutions we are available. We need to create that sense of security for policy makers globally. We can set the bar high, because science tells us the solutions are available.

Sweden has a long and proud history of innovation. From being a poor, agricultural society, Sweden grew into one of the world’s most competitive and forward-thinking economies.

It is also on that basis Swedish climate diplomacy is built, around the three pillars of policy, finance and technology. 

Through dialogue and capacity-building we engage with partners in elaborating climate policies that represent the highest possible ambition in implementing the Paris Agreement domestically. 

We encourage mobilising finance through mainstreaming climate action in national budget and planning processes, integrating climate action across development finance as well as ensuring an investment climate that attracts both domestic and international investments. 

In 2024, Sweden’s climate finance amounted to approximately 1 billion USD, an increase of around 26 percent compared to 2022 when this Government took office. This year Sweden is also co-chair of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). 

For the third pillar – technology – we highlight the solutions that in our case Swedish business actors can provide across all sectors to accelerate the transition to net-zero. Some of these solutions are reflected in a letter which has been shared with UNFCCC Focal points in preparation of the new NDC:s. 

Taken together, we believe the three elements of our climate diplomacy provide a basis for collaboration with partners globally in accelerating the deployment of solutions to limit temperature rise to 1,5 degrees and strengthen resilience. 

Just earlier this week, we launched the Road to COP report, aiming to highlight both the solutions we know are available to accelerate the transition as well as the enablers business actors need to deploy the solutions.

That message, I believe, cuts to the heart of what we need to see happen at COP30. 

We look forward to working the incoming Brazilian Presidency to ensure a negotiated outcome from COP30 that sets the direction for implementing the NDC:s presented today. 

We look forward to working with your all to reap the benefits of the green transition, capturing the opportunities the Secretary-General has highlighted.  

Thank you!