Sweden pushes 16 environmental objectives

Sweden manages to maintain its status as a global leader in the fight against climate change by persistently tackling sustainability projects.

The Swedish Parliament has initiated 16 environmental quality objectives that include clean air and reduced climate impact, reports InsiderMediaGroup.com. It is hoped that the objectives will be reached by the year 2020.

Sweden was ranked fourth worldwide in the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), which was developed by Columbia and Yale Universities to gauge various factors influencing sustainability. Other countries at the top of the list included Finland, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Switzerland and Uruguay.

The creation of eco-municipalities in Sweden has launched a big step toward progress. Seventy of the country’s 289 municipalities have been designated as eco-municipalities with a strong focus on reducing environmental impact. Action includes increasing public transportation use, expanding the amount of green space by taking advantage of rooftop areas, and using biogas and solar energy as alternative sources of power and heat.

Kristianstad is a city that provides an interesting example of environmental sustainability. This Swedish city converts all its sewage into biogas to be used as a sustainable energy source. The biogas generated is capable of fueling 22 city buses and heating as many as 80,000 apartments.