Environmental protection expenditure 2025
Environmental protection investments in water remain high in 2025
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-10-08 8.00
Total environmental protection expenditures in 2025 remained at the same level as in 2024. Land and groundwater was the only environmental domain to record an increase in investments.
- Environmental protection investments and current expenditures related to water continued to account for the largest share of environmental protection expenditures, says Frida Olsson, economist at Statistics Sweden.
The Swedish industry’s total environmental protection expenditures amounted to SEK 36 billion in 2025. The share of environmental protection investments was approximately equal to that of the current expenditures in environmental protection. Investments accounted for 49 percent of total environmental protection expenditures, while current expenditures represented 51 percent.
Environmental protection investments remained largely unchanged in 2025 compared with 2024. The environmental domain Water accounted for the highest level of investments for the second consecutive year, representing 41 percent of total investments in environmental protection. The current expenditures in environmental protection decreased compared with the previous year. Water was also the environmental domain with major current expenditures.
Unchanged distribution between investments and current expenditures
Increased investments in land and groundwater
In 2025, investments in the environmental protection domain Other increased by 64 percent, primarily due to higher investments in Land and groundwater. Total investments in this environmental domain amounted to SEK 2 176 million, representing an increase of 134 percent. The environmental domain Other also includes investments in biodiversity, noise abatement, research and development, and radiation protection.
As in 2024, investments in the environmental domain Water remained at a high level in 2025, amounting to SEK 7 333 million. Investments in Waste management decreased by 61 percent in 2025 compared with 2024, largely due to a high increase in 2024. Investments in the environmental domain Air also declined, by 4 percent, corresponding to SEK 260 million. Overall, environmental protection investments decreased by 1 percent.
Water investments remained high in 2025
Decline in current environmental protection expenditures
Compared with 2024, current environmental protection expenditures decreased. This marks a break in the trend, as expenditures have increased annually since 2018. The environmental domain Air declined by 17 percent, making the largest contribution to the overall decrease. Current environmental protection expenditures also decreased in the domain Other, which includes, among other areas, biodiversity, land and groundwater protection.
However, not all environmental domains recorded lower expenditures. In the domain Water, expenditures were already high in 2024 and increased further in 2025, by 7 percent. As a result, this partly offset the overall decline in current environmental protection expenditures.
First decline in current environmental protection expenditures in several years
Environmental protection expenditure by NACE industry
The industries Electricity, gas, hot water supply (NACE 35) and Water supply (NACE 36) together accounted for more than half of total environmental protection expenditures. Pulp and paper (NACE 17) and Basic metals, fabricated metal products (NACE 24-25) each accounted for around 9 percent of total environmental protection expenditures in 2025. The corresponding shares in the previous year were 10 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
One of the industries showing the largest increases in 2025 was Basic metals, fabricated metal products (NACE 24-25), where total environmental protection expenditures increased by SEK 442 million compared with 2024. The largest decline was recorded in Mining and quarrying (NACE 07-09), where environmental protection expenditures decreased by SEK 2 114 million in 2025.
Energy and water industries accounted for the majority of environmental protection expenditures in 2025
Publication
Tables are available at http://www.scb.se/mi1302
Definitions and explanations
Environmental protection refers to activities that aim to prevent, reduce or eliminate pollution or other deterioration of the environment. Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, has produced common international definitions for environmental protection and how expenditures are to be calculated.
Investments in environmental protection are broken down into investments for emissions treatment that do not affect the process (such as filters and separate purification plants), and investments for the prevention of emissions involving investments in new or changed production processes. Current expenditure on environmental protection includes labour costs, expenditure for energy, materials, and supplies, such as for the operation and supervision of purification plants, for environmental administration tasks, environmental management and certification, as well as payments for collection and treatment of waste and wastewater. Costs for purchasing services carried out by others are also included.
Current prices reflect the nominal value, which is not adjusted for value changes due to inflation. Environmental protection expenditures are reported in current prices.