2014 Press release 10 June 2014 Ministry of the Environment Press Invitation: Global Commission on the Economy and Climate to hold meetings in Stockholm June 26-27 Members of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and its Commissioning Countries will meet to finalize the report and discuss how to carry out its messages in Stockholm. Journalists who wish to participate in any part of the meeting and/or interview any of the Commissioners/Ministers must notify their participation in advance. External links Read more: New Climate Who Economy Read more: Stockholm Ingrid Bonde, CFO, Vattenfall Environment Institute Felipe Calderón, Chair, The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and former president of Mexico Lena Ek, Minister for the Environment, Sweden Peter Norman, Minister for Financial Markets, Sweden Jeremy Oppenheim, Programme Director of the New Climate Economy Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair, Economic Advisory Council to the Global Commission on Economy and Climate and IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, London School of Economics Where 26-27 June in Stockholm, Sweden Thursday 26 June 13.00-16.00: Nordic Business Leaders Seminar including reception. The Auditorium, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Mäster Samuelsgatan 70, Stockholm City Centre. See enclosed programme. The Swedish Ministers attending the seminar are Lena Ek and Peter Norman. Interview availability for spokespeople on Thursday 26 and Friday 27. Please contact Hanna Björnfors, see contact details. About The New Climate Economy (NCE) is the flagship project of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, a major new international initiative to analyse and communicate the economic risks and opportunities that arise from climate change. The Commission comprises former heads of government, finance ministers and leaders in the fields of economics, business and finance and is chaired by former Mexican President Felipe Calderón. The New Climate Economy project will report in September 2014 in advance of the United Nations Secretary General's Climate Summit. It will make recommendations to government, business and financial leaders on how stronger economic growth can be combined with tackling climate risk. The project is being conducted by a partnership of leading research institutions based in the China, Ethiopia, India, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its work will be overseen by an advisory panel of world-leading economists chaired by Lord Nicholas Stern and including the Nobel Laureates Daniel Kahneman and Michael Spence. It was commissioned by a group of seven countries - Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Korea, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. New Climate Economy research in Sweden The Stockholm Environment Institute is one of the core eight research institutes of the New Climate Economy project. Stockholm Environment Institute leads the work on energy systems and contributes to the analyses of air pollution and sustainable cities. The aim of the research conducted for the project is to help decision makers understand how they can meet their core economic and social objectives, while also taking action on climate change. Felipe Calderón Felipe Calderón was President of Mexico from 2006 to 2012. Among other achievement his government pushed through structural reforms to modernize the Mexican economy in key areas, such as public pensions, tax, the energy sector and universal healthcare. During his period in office Mexico positioned itself as a global leader in fighting climate change: President Calderón presided over the successful UN climate conference in Cancun in 2010 and saw the passing of a comprehensive Climate Change Act in 2012. Felipe Calderón is current Honorary Chairman of the Green Growth Action Alliance, as well as President of the Sustainable Human Development Foundation and a Member of the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute. Lord Nicholas Stern Lord Nicholas Stern is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Chair of the Asia Research Centre at the London School of Economics (LSE). A former Chief Economist of both the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, his research and publications have focused on the economics of climate change, economic development and growth, economic theory, tax reform, public policy and the role of the state and economies in transition. He is best known for leading the Stern Review on the economics of climate change which reported in 2006. He is President of the British Academy and a member of the House of Lords. Jeremy Oppenheim Jeremy Oppenheim is Programme Director for the New Climate Economy project. He has taken a sabbatical from his role as a Director of McKinsey & Company to lead this project. For the last five years, Jeremy Oppenheim has led McKinsey's Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice. In this role he has worked with a wide range of private, public, and social sector clients in many different countries. Prior to joining McKinsey in 1993, Jeremy Oppenheim was a senior economist at the World Bank and is lead author of Resource Revolution: Meeting the World's Energy, Materials, Food and Water Needs (MGI, 2011). Other members of government and the Global Commission attending the meeting Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director, World Bank Group Per Klevnäs, Project Leader, Stockholm Environment Institute Trevor Manuel, Minister in the Presidency for the National Planning Commission, Government of South Africa Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever Contact Hanna Björnfors Communications Officer, Ministry of the Environment Direct: 0046 84 05 30 40 Mobile: 0046 725 00 92 11 hanna.bjornfors[at]gov.se Felipe Benítez Communications Director, Global Commission on the Economy and Climate Mobile: 001 202 215 9664 Felipe.benitez[at]newclimateeconomy.net 2013 Press release 14 November 2013 Ministry of Finance Guidelines for central government debt management in 2014 Today the Government adopted guidelines for the management of the central government debt. The direction of debt policy remains unchanged. The debt shares and interest rate refixing periods for central government debt remain unchanged. "Low market interest rates and Sweden's strong central government finances have meant that borrowing costs have fallen to record low levels in recent years," says Minister for Financial Markets Peter Norman. Related For 2012 the interest costs on central government debt were SEK 18 billion. This can be compared with the Report: Guidelines for central interest costs on central government debt in the 1990s, which amounted to more than SEK 100 billion per government debt management year. 2014 The basis for the Government's decision on the guidelines is that the central government debt is to be managed in such a way as to minimise the long-term cost of this debt while taking account of the risk in its management. The Government chooses to wait to change the model for steering the currency debt. The Debt Office has proposed that the currency debt may be up to 15 per cent of the total central government debt, instead of having a benchmark of 15 per cent as at present. Before considering any change, the Government wants to wait for the findings of the Review of Central Government Debt Policy, as well as a decision on the report on the Riksbank's financial independence and balance sheet. From a cost perspective it is not a disadvantage to retain the present currency share for the time being either. To reduce the risk of losses in position-taking operations the mandate for positions in foreign currencies is reduced from SEK 450 million to SEK 300 million, measured as daily Value-at-Risk with a 95 per cent probability. Central government debt less than half of the EU average The unconsolidated central government debt was SEK 1 201 billion (33 per cent of GDP) on 31 October 2013. Comparisons of the public indebtedness of EU countries use general government consolidated gross debt (the Maastricht debt). For Sweden the Maastricht debt was 38 per cent of GDP at the end of 2012. At the same point in time the corresponding debt ratio for the EU as a whole was 87 per cent and for the Euro zone it was 93 per cent. The overall objective of debt policy is to minimise the long-term cost of the central government debt while taking account of the risk in its management. The debt is to be managed within the framework of monetary policy requirements. The Government primarily steers the expected cost and risk of the central government debt by adopting guidelines for the composition and maturity of the debt. The Government adopts these guidelines following a proposal from the National Debt Office. The National Debt Office is responsible for the operational management of the central government debt within these guidelines. Central government borrowing and debt management are evaluated every second year in a government communication to the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament). The next evaluation will be put before the Riksdag in April 2014. Guidelines for the composition of the central government debt Foreign currency debt: 15 per cent Index-linked debt: 25 per cent Nominal krona debt: 60 per cent (residual). Guidelines for maturities for the central government debt Foreign currency debt: Interest rate refixing period of 0.125 years Index-linked debt: interest rate refixing period of 7-10 years Nominal krona debt: - instruments with a maturity of up to 12 years: interest rate refixing period of 2.7-3.2 years - instruments with a maturity of more than 12 years: benchmark value SEK 70 billion. Contact Victoria Ericsson Press Secretary to Peter Norman +46 8 405 58 62 +46 76 128 93 45 email to Victoria Ericsson, via the Senior Registry Clerk Per Franzén Deputy Director +46 8 405 54 68 +46 702 60 92 41 2012 Press release 15 November 2012 Ministry of Finance Guidelines for central government debt management in 2013 Today the Government decided on guidelines for central government debt management.