National transport plan slammed as eco crime in Sweden

Traffic in Stockholm, Sweden. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)
Stockholm, Sweden. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)
The Swedish government plans to invest SEK 522 billion in the national transport system, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed the proposal is against the law.

Mikael Johannesson of the EPA says the government has not calculated how its proposal will affect the amount of traffic in Sweden and so it has failed to make an environmental impact assessment. Johannesson told Swedish Radio that this means the billion-krona plan is illegal.

Transport is responsible for about a third of greenhouse-gas emissions.

Other government bodies have criticised the transport plan. The Energy and Transport Agencies say the plans push Sweden’s climate goal further out of reach.

A spokesperson for infrastructure minister, Catarina Elmsäter Svärd, declined to comment before the final version of the traffic plans is available.

Related Links:

Canada: Canada’s PM hails start of Arctic highway, CBC News

Finland: Historic transportation shift in Helsinki, Finland, Yle News

Sweden: Traffic reductions necessary for Sweden to reach climate goals, Radio Sweden

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