The Scandinavian country was further from meeting its climate targets for 2030 and 2040 than ever before, the Climate Policy Council said in its annual report.

The independent agency has harshly criticised the right-wing government, which is backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, every year since it came to power in 2022.

"The council notes that the government's climate policy during the electoral term has been insufficient and has worsened the prospects of reaching the climate targets," it said.

The council urged the government to swiftly introduce measures to reduce emissions in the transport sector, one of Sweden's top three emitting sectors.

The government's climate measures, or lack thereof, have "contributed to slower electrification, increased traffic and greater use of fossil fuels," the council said.

Its vice-chair, Olof Johansson Stenman, told AFP that two governmental decisions had been particularly detrimental: cutting petrol taxes, and reducing the requirement for petrol suppliers to blend a certain percentage of biofuels or other low-carbon alternatives into their products.

Those moves have impacted consumer incentive to switch to electric vehicles.

The share of electric cars among Sweden's new car registrations is 36.5 percent, according to Mobility Sweden, compared to 96 percent in neighbouring Norway.

Reducing Sweden's dependence on fossil fuels was also a question of energy independence, Johansson Stenman recalled.

"We can be glad that we're not dependent on Russian gas, unlike the central European countries that largely were, and for whom this has led to high costs," he noted.

Wars raging around the world and an unstable global security situation should not be a reason to slow down efforts, he said.

"On the contrary, it's one more argument in favour of the absolute need to free ourselves from fossil fuels."

Interim Climate Minister Johan Britz rejected the council's criticism.

"The government's policies and its historic commitment to nuclear energy and fossil-free energy, (the simplification of) permit procedures, and the EU's ambitious climate policies together provide a decisive basis for achieving the long-term climate goals," he told Swedish news agency TT.