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CONTENTS ( November 2017 )
EDITOR Peter Berlin Peter@swedishpress.com
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Swedish Press
Feature 12 Sweden 2045: The World’s First Fossil-Free Welfare State Interview 14 Anna Soltorp and Jonas Åkerman Global Swedes 16 Erik Brandsma – Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency
Swedish Press Connects 22 SCA – Swedish Council of America 23 SACC – Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce 24 Embassy of Sweden 25 SWEA – Swedish Women’s Educational Association International 26 MIG Talks – Migrationsverket Road to Community 27 Mitt Liv – A Company Challenging Norms in Office Diversity In the Loop 28 Calendar and Events 29 Ads and Info 30 Sista Ordet Citizen K Returns in 2017 with Seconds Thoughts Cover image: A future city with renewable energy. © Alexandra Gl. Left: Earth graphic © Amarosy
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Sweden 2045: The World’s First Fossil-Free Welfare State By Marcus Andersson
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wenty-eight years from now, Sweden will be entirely free of fossil fuels. The government recently passed legislation to eliminate CO2 emissions by 2045, making Sweden the most ambitious of all countries striving to transition to renewable energy. The European Union’s target is currently set to an 80-95% reduction by 2050 to keep global warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Earlier this year, however, Sweden decided to accelerate the process and become a role model for other European nations to follow. All parties in the Riksdag, with the exception of the Swedish Democrats, are united in this initiative to pass legislation that will come into force on January 1, 2018. Though it sounds idealistic, Sweden will likely achieve its goal, as it is already a remarkably clean country. In 2016, for example, Sweden placed third on the Environmental Protection Index, outperformed only by Finland and Iceland. Furthermore, in EU scoring systems like Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment, Sweden received the highest score in Europe: 67 out of 100 points. As Erik Brandsma, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency, points out, “Sweden has a good starting position through its virtually CO2 free energy system,” which is “a pre-condition for a green economy.” At least 83% of the country’s electricity is already generated by non-fossil fuel energy sources, such as
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hydroelectric, wind, and nuclear power. Not only does Sweden have an advantageous starting point, it also has the cultural strength of having a “long history of co-operation between societal sectors such as government, business, societal interest and academia,” says Brandsma. Many of these co-operative groups are already hard at work to meet the 2045 deadline. On the national level, Parliament has formed several coalitions between government, business, and scientific institutions. The government created Fossil-Free Sweden, for instance, which is a partnership of 200 actors from the private sector, local government, and non-governmental organizations. The Energy Agency is another crucial player in the proposal, having been given the task of working on analysis, scenarios, statistics, and policy instruments in a wide variety of areas such as energy efficiency, climate change and renewables. Think tanks are also vital to Sweden’s future green society by educating the population and influencing public opinion. FORES (Forum for Reforms, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability), one of the major think tanks dedicated to reduced carbon emissions, is an independent agency but still works closely with the government, particularly the Center Party, their most significant investor. In the coming years, several other coalitions will be formed to meet the demands of the formidable 2045 plan.
Inspired by the national dedication to sustainable energy, local governments are beginning to set even stricter deadlines than Parliament has proposed. Västra Götaland, a region with approximately 1.6 million inhabitants (16% of Sweden’s total of 10.1 million inhabitants), is currently the most determined. Gerda Roupe, spokesperson for Västra Götaland’s local government, explains that the region’s goal is to reduce “the national emissions by 80% already by 2030.” Roupe and her team will work closely with Fossil-Free Sweden to become the first CO2-free region in the country. According to Roupe, “Västra Götaland has historically been a forerunner when it comes to developing industries and knowledge” and is currently “the region with the highest amount of energy produced from wind power.” The coastal region is optimistic about the future, seeing great potential to expand fossil-free energy together with industry and commerce. For Västra Götaland and Sweden as a whole, the most serious obstacle to the 2045 target date is the transportation sector. The government has discussed cutting 70% of emissions in the domestic transport sector by 2030, which relies on a rapid electrification of vehicles and the transition to biofuels. The emissions that the Swedish transport sector continues to release will be offset by planting trees or by sustainable investments abroad. As Erik Brandsma stresses, government, academia and business will work together to develop and implement new sustainable solutions to solve the issue. Sweden’s new radical environmental position goes beyond mere technical innovation and government policy. The 2045 fossil-free initiative has encouraged Swedish institutions to invest their funds more responsibly, avoiding corporations that harm the environment. For example, Sweden’s
largest pension fund, which manages the pensions of 3.5 million Swedish citizens, has pulled its assets from fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil, Westar, Southern Corp, Entergy, Gazprom, and TransCanada. As the country approaches total fossil fuel independence, other institutions will likely follow this example. The Swedish Democrats are currently the only party resisting the policy, but their minority position is unlikely to cause future delays. Martin Kinnunen, the environmental spokesperson for the party, says the Swedish Democrats aren’t against the proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions; in fact, the party supported the previous target date. Kinnunen and SD, however, find the new deadline problematic, since they believe it’s too radical and inflexible. “We are pretty close today,” states Kinnunen, “and we might become a fossil-free society before 2045. The point is simply that we shouldn’t be bound to the new deadline.” Critics like SD argue that there’s a risk that reducing CO2 in Sweden might only move emissions to another part of the world and be too restrictive for the domestic economy. If the party receives a majority vote, it could be less willing to create strategies to meet the 2045 deadline. Sweden is taking giant strides toward creating a world free of CO2 emissions. Roupe is hopeful that Sweden’s advances will inspire other nations to follow. “We don’t see this as a zero sum game, where our success becomes a disincentive for somebody else to reach this common goal.” To attain the objectives of the Paris Agreement, says Roupe, and maintain global warming below 1.5°C, “all actors and countries need to do their very best… that’s why it is so important that, those who can, show and inspire others that it is possible to become independent of fossil fuels.”
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