Steering towards the environmental objectives : The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s in-depth evaluation of the environmental objectives 2015

IN 2014, THE SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WAS COMMISSIONED by the Governmentto present an in-depth evaluation of the scope to achieve the environmental quality objectives and the generational goal. The evaluation provides a basis for the Government’s policies and priorities and for the government agencies’ planning and development processes. It can also provide guidance for the environmental efforts of various stakeholders. Overall, the evaluation will help us to accelerate the progress being made towards achieving the environmental objectives. The report contains summary analyses for each of the 16 environmental quality objectives and a cross-objective analysis. The Agency presents prioritised proposals for initiatives, aimed in the first instance at the Government. The report on the government assignment was prepared independently by the Agency and we are entirely responsible for the conclusions and proposals presented therein. The report on the government assignment was primarily based on: • Analysis and assessment of the 16 environmental quality objectives. • Syntheses of the societal transition within the focus areas concerning sustainable consumption, sustainable urban development and the environmental work of the business sector. • Cross-objective analysis of the environmental objectives. Within the Agency, Ann Wahlström and Ola Larsson (November 2013 – June 2014) and Jenny Oltner (August 2014 – June 2015) acted as project leader for the government assignment. The report on the government assignment was prepared by Ann Wahlström, Hans Wrådhe and Emelie Aurell. Working with others to monitor and evaluate the state of the environment, the progress being made with the environmental work and what we are doing to get closer to achieving the objectives represents one of the Agency’s key tasks. Collaboration with other government agencies and organisations was vital in order to prepare this report on the in-depth evaluation for 2015. The Agency would like to thank all contributors for their commitment and contributions. Stockholm, 22 October 2015 Björn Risinger Director Genera