Nuclear power faces an uncertain future in Sweden. Major political parties, including the Green party of
the coalition-government have recently strongly advocated for a policy to decommission the Swedish
nuclear fleet prematurely. Here we examine the environmental, health and (to a lesser extent) economic
impacts of implementing such a plan. The process has already been started through the early shutdown
of the Barsebäck plant. We estimate that the political decision to shut down Barsebäck has resulted in
2400 avoidable energy-production-related deaths and an increase in global CO2 emissions of 95 million
tonnes to date (October 2014). The Swedish reactor fleet as a whole has reached just past its halfway
point of production, and has a remaining potential production of up to 2100 TWh. The reactors have the
potential of preventing 1.9–2.1 gigatonnes of future CO2-emissions if allowed to operate their full lifespans.
The potential for future prevention of energy-related-deaths is 50,000–60,000. We estimate an
800 billion SEK (120 billion USD) lower-bound estimate for the lost tax revenue from an early phase-out
policy. In sum, the evidence shows that implementing a ‘nuclear-free’ policy for Sweden (or countries in
a similar situation) would constitute a highly retrograde step for climate, health and economic protection.