• Stockholm will buy 50,000 tonnes of permanent carbon removals per year from Stockholm Exergi for 15 years.
• The deal supports the city’s target to become territorially climate positive by 2030 and fossil fuel-free by 2040.
• The removals will help address hard-to-abate municipal emissions, including construction materials and wastewater treatment.

Stockholm Moves Carbon Removals Into Municipal Climate Policy

Stockholm has placed permanent carbon removals at the centre of its municipal climate strategy, agreeing to purchase 50,000 tonnes a year from Stockholm Exergi over a 15-year period.

The decision makes the City of Stockholm the world’s fifth largest buyer of permanent carbon removals. It also positions the Swedish capital as one of the most active city governments using carbon removal procurement to support climate targets.

The agreement comes as governments, companies and investors debate how to balance emissions cuts with high-integrity removals. For Stockholm, the purchase is not designed to replace emissions reductions. Instead, it will support the city’s wider plan to cut fossil emissions while managing residual emissions that remain difficult or costly to eliminate.

A 15-Year Deal For Permanent Removals

Under the agreement, Stockholm will buy permanent carbon removals from Stockholm Exergi, the city’s energy company. The removals will amount to 50,000 tonnes annually for 15 years.

The scale of the purchase is significant for a municipal buyer. It gives Stockholm a larger role in a market still shaped mainly by technology firms, financial institutions and industrial buyers seeking long-term removal credits.

“The City of Stockholm has long been at the forefront of the climate transition. They are once again showing leadership in how municipalities, companies and other actors should act by combining deep emissions reductions with purchases of permanent carbon removals. At the same time, they are helping to build a new industry and create a market for carbon removals, ” says Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi.

For carbon removal developers, long-term public procurement can help reduce market uncertainty. It gives suppliers more confidence to scale projects, invest in infrastructure and demonstrate that demand exists beyond voluntary corporate climate buyers.

Climate Positive By 2030

Stockholm has set out its climate goals in its Environmental Programme and Climate Action Plan. The city aims to become territorially climate positive by 2030 and fully fossil fuel-free by 2040.

That means emissions within city boundaries must fall sharply by 2030. It also means greenhouse gas removals must exceed remaining emissions.

“The City of Stockholm aims to become territorially climate positive by 2030 and completely fossil fuel-free by 2040. Through this purchase, Stockholm is taking a global leadership position among climate-ambitious cities and becomes the world’s fifth largest buyer of permanent carbon removals. This is an important signal at a time when the green transition must accelerate to address the climate crisis,” says Karin Wanngård (S), Mayor of Finance for the City of Stockholm.

The city’s strategy puts strong pressure on its municipal companies and public assets. Stockholm is seeking to reduce the climate footprint of its own operations while also setting expectations for local suppliers and infrastructure partners.

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Why Hard-To-Abate Emissions Matter

The purchase is aimed at emissions that remain hard to avoid inside the municipal group. These include emissions linked to construction materials and wastewater treatment.

Both sectors are difficult for cities to decarbonize quickly. Construction depends on materials such as cement, steel and concrete, which carry large embedded emissions. Wastewater treatment can also produce greenhouse gases that are hard to remove through standard efficiency measures.

For executives and investors, Stockholm’s approach shows how cities may start treating carbon removals as a procurement category rather than a future policy concept. It also shows how public buyers can shape demand for removal credits tied to local climate plans.

The governance lesson is clear. Cities with net-zero or climate-positive targets will need credible systems for residual emissions. That includes stronger measurement, transparent procurement and clear rules on which removals qualify as permanent.

A Market Signal From A City Buyer

Stockholm’s decision adds political weight to the carbon removals market. It also expands the buyer base at a time when the sector needs more long-term demand.

For corporates, the deal may raise expectations around the quality and durability of removals used in climate strategies. For investors, it points to growing public-sector demand for removal infrastructure, especially in regions with ambitious climate policy.

The agreement also reinforces a wider shift in climate governance. Emissions cuts remain the priority, but cities are beginning to plan for the emissions that cannot be removed from operations fast enough.

Stockholm is now placing that challenge into a binding procurement decision. Its move could influence other municipalities seeking credible pathways to climate-positive targets, especially in Europe, where city-level climate policy often moves faster than national regulation.

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