In a move raising more eyebrows than praise, Sweden has bankrolled the purchase of 48,000 electric mopeds—for Ghana. The Scandinavian country isn’t doing it out of generosity alone; it’s counting the carbon savings from those mopeds as part of its own emissions reduction strategy.
The deal, which cost Swedish taxpayers a hefty SEK 109 million (about €98 million), is intended to chop 250,000 metric tons off Sweden’s projected greenhouse gas output by 2030. That’s about SEK 400 per ton—on paper, anyway.
But critics aren’t sold. The plan, which echoes long-standing concerns about carbon offset schemes, has been labeled a slick form of climate ledger gymnastics rather than a meaningful environmental step. Detractors point out that the emissions from manufacturing the mopeds may well eat into any gains—and that’s before you even consider whether Ghana will reliably measure or report on the mopeds’ environmental impact.
Adding fuel to the fire, Sweden’s own Environmental Protection Agency recently admitted the country is nowhere near hitting its climate targets—not for 2030, not for 2040, and certainly not for its 2045 net-zero goal.
Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari responded vaguely, saying the government is working on “several measures” to improve Sweden’s progress. But even voices from within the administration, like government-appointed investigator and economics professor John Hassler, are questioning the wisdom of such offset efforts. He doubts whether nations like Ghana, grappling with more immediate challenges, are in a position to prioritize—or even accurately monitor—carbon reduction programs.
In the end, Sweden’s electric moped gambit may look more like a creative workaround than a genuine climate win.
