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Swedish Press N Y A
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Driving Change Through Innovation
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October 2019 Vol 90:08 $5.95
08 2019
Innovatum In Memoriam: Hans Rausing Interview with Cecilia Malmstrรถm
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We Are Moving in the Right Direction, But Not Fast Enough Interview with Professor Tomas Kåberger, Chairman and Board Member of Multiple International Environmental Organisations
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omas Kåberger was born in Gothenburg. He then moved to Västerås where he spent most of his school years. He was strongly influenced by ASEA and its nuclear activities at the time, as well as by the nuclear development and the energy debate in the 1970s. He spent two years at the United World College in Wales before entering Chalmers University of Technology in 1979, where he continued to take an interest in energy issues. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Physical Resource Theory, which included thermodymanics and economics. Energy was the focal point of his research. He knew from thermodynamics that there were many technical opportunities to make the energy generation system more efficient, more benign, less hostile to society at large. His Ph.D. thesis was in the field of economic policy and technology development.
Naturskyddsforeningen (Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) valaffischer 2018.
Tomas Kåberger. Photo: ETC.se
Meet Tomas Kåberger and learn from his deep insights into the sometimes painful but surely inevitable transition from energy generation using nuclear and fossil fuels to renewable alternatives.
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Kåberger: “Around that time I also spent some years working for the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen) in order to learn about political decision-making processes in large energy companies. When studying the background in thermodynamics and technology, and gaining an understanding in the economics theory, it felt very frustrating that what was technologically possible and economically profitable was still not being implemented.”
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After the 1990s, when he served on several government commissions and worked directly with industry, he found that while he could not defend the current inefficiencies, at least he could explain them. As Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency he saw Sweden reaching the renewable energy target set for 2020, almost a decade early. “Since 2011 I have been working more internationally, in particular in China and Japan, while serving on the board of Vattenfall when in Sweden.”
Horns Rev 3 wind farm in the North Sea. Photo: Vattenfall
We asked Kåberger if it is realistic to think that the targets of the 2016 Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas reduction will be met. His reply: “It is not something that will happen by itself, but with the industrial development that has taken place since 2016, the cost – especially of solar and wind electricity production, but also some auxiliary technologies like batteries – has fallen so far that the transition is more profitable than it was in 2015. It is now obvious that the transition from fossil fuels to renewables does not pose technological difficulties; it is not even an economic
Energy storage. Photo: Maksym Yemelyanov
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problem. However, it is a problem of financial structures, because with a rapid transition within the energy system, a lot of incumbent companies will lose enormous asset values, and they are therefore actively resisting the development. They may succeed in slowing down the progress, but it is no longer possible for them to stop the evolution, because the economic benefits of increasing their share of the renewables is now so obvious that the direction of the development is unstoppable.”
Solar energy production plant. Photo: Wang Song
It is encouraging that we are moving in the right direction, but it is frustrating that we are not moving fast enough. To accelerate the transition, greater awareness is needed about the opportunities. The industrial development and the reduction in cost have happened so fast that only a few people have understood how dramatic the improvement in competitiveness of renewables has become. Too many people still rely on old rules of thumb, believing that things are not profitable when in fact the oppositeis true; they just have not realized it yet.
Germany’s renewable energy. Photo: Spiegel
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A coal power plant. Photo: Shutterstock
“One should also be aware that, even if the transition goes very well, there will be problems created for society at large in the form of environmental liability in the fossil-fuel and electricity industry – liabilities that these old companies will not be able to cover. We have seen early examples of this already when the German government a couple of years ago had to take over the economic liability for long-term nuclear waste management, because the electric power generation companies were unable to generate enough profits to cover the significant costs for long-term nuclear waste management.
The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in 2010. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard, EPA
We will see the same development in the offshore oil industry where governments, such as the one in Norway, have to pay for the decommissioning of old oil platforms which will need to be removed, and oil wells that must be securely plugged in a way that oil will not leak out into the sea in the future.” As Kåberger points out, this is not a trivial exercise, as it will cost trillions of dollars globally. All the oil companies dealing with offshore oil have this liability and will most likely try to get
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out of it in different ways. There are similar problems in the onshore fossil fuel industry and old mines, such as coal mines, oil shale mines and tar sands. The nuclear liabilities become even more catastrophic if we have more nuclear accidents, because decommissioning of nuclear reactors that have had accidents of different kinds is extremely costly, like at Fukushima, Chernobyl, and so on. Such costs are well beyond what the electricity companies are able to afford.
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Image by Minaus on Devian Art
Towards the end of our interview, Kåberger reflected on his professional and personal plans for the future. “I will continue to seize opportunities as they appear, with focus on supporting the rapid development of sustainable energy strategies globally. I will also continue to work with emerging companies in Sweden and Europe which can contribute in a significant way to this development, because we cannot rely exclusively on existing companies. I also find it very important to support the transition of existing companies, because forcing them out of business is not the most efficient way of enabling the process.” Interviewed by Peter Berlin
Photo: Yarruta
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[Lifestyle]
Top Sju
4 October 4 marks “Kanelbullens dag” (The day of the cinnamon bun) in Sweden. Introduced in 1999 by Hembakningsrådet, Kanelbullens dag was created to honor Sweden’s cinnamon bun tradition and increase sales of yeast, flour, sugar and margarine. Enjoy a cinnamon bun at your local Swedish café (sold all year around) or bake your very own, flavoring the dough with cardamom to make it taste just like the real thing. Finish by sprinkling cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla over your rolled-out dough.
Cinnamon buns. Photo: Tina Stafrén
5 Fall has arrived, and so have the delicious rönnbär (rowan berries). Swedish food site “Mitt Kök” recently listed five good reasons to consume the Swedish superberry every day. Rowan berries strengthen the
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body’s immune system and can both prevent and treat urinary tract infections. Rowan berries are also rich in vitamin C and can relieve pain; they are said to be good remedies e.g. for rheumatism and constipation. They are also perfect for cooking: make juice, jelly, jam, wine or add them to dough when baking bread or homemade muesli.
21 American news giant CNN recently included Kalmar Castle in a list of the most beautiful castles in the world. Among 21 magnificent castles, Kalmar Castle, founded in the 1100s, was praised for being well preserved and filled with activity. According to CNN: “In addition to exhibitions, children’s activities and guided tours, Scandinavia’s best-preserved Renaissance castle also features special events like the Van Gogh multimedia show, which is open until November 2019.”
31 Celebrate Halloween, October 31, at Liseberg in Gothenburg this year! The impressive amusement park features five horror houses, including Liseberg’s
11 Halloween at Liseberg. © Liseberg
new Halloween edition “Skogen.” Said to be the scariest of them all, Skogen is set outdoors in Liseberg’s “Lustgård” (approximately Garden of Eden), inviting visitors on a tour in the dark featuring evil scenery and nasty creatures. Liseberg’s Halloween celebration kicks off on October 11 and stays open Friday to Sunday until November 3.
27 On October 27 Swedes convert to winter time. For summer time, at the end of March, the clock is moved forward one hour and at the end of October the clock is moved back one hour. The dates for winter/ summer time vary each year. If you have trouble remembering whether to move the clock forward or backward, mutter to yourself “Spring forward, Fall backward” – a popular saying in English-speaking countries.
The movie drama En komikers uppväxt, written by Swedish novelist and comedian Jonas Gardell and based on his 1992 novel with the same name, premieres on October 11. The movie, which tells the story of twelve-year-old Juha Lindström and targets subjects such as bullying and life in Sweden in the 1970s, was directed by Rojda Sekersöz and features actors such as Elisabet Xie, Jakob Eklund, Johan Rheborg and Ulla Skoog.
3 Time to decorate for fall! Swedish design site “LEVA&BO” (www. expressen.se/leva-och-bo) has listed three hot interior design trends for the fall of 2019. They aim for soft and round/bulky shapes. This year, lamps and sofas have soft rounded shapes and vases are round and bulky. Natural materials are in fashion; woods such as oak, ash and birch (ek, ask, björk) are just right. Colorful and cozy colors of the 1990s are also making a comeback this year – so don’t be afraid to combine several colors, for example yellow and green.
[Lifestyle] Fashion New Challenges for the Swedish Fashion Industry By Åke Ryhagen, June 10, 2019
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weden’s textile industry was established in the early 1800s and continued growing until the early 1950s. The industry was concentrated in and around the city of Borås and included well-known brand names such as Algots, Eiser and Borås Wäfveri. The city of Norrköping was also a leader in the textile industry. In the mid-1900s, Sweden was 85 percent self-sufficient in textile production, and the sector employed 70,000 workers. In the following years, competition from countries with lower salaries affected the Swedish textile sector, forcing it to undertake radical reorganization and closures. However, the textile industry left behind the fashion segment, which has grown many times over. This is the sector that designs and markets garments which are often produced in low-cost countries. In the sports area one finds Peak Performance, founded in Åre in 1986, as well as Fjällräven and Haglöfs established in Örnsköldsvik. Pioneers in the leisure segment include Marc O’Polo, followed by Boomerang and Björn Borg, among others. At the start of the new century, several Swedish brands were acclaimed for their Scandinavian touch, such as Acne, Filippa K, Hansen & Jacob, Hope, House of Dagmar, J Lindeberg, Odd Molly,
Editor’s note: Åke Ryhagen passed away shortly after submitting the typescript to Swedish Press. We feel privileged to have the opportunity to publish his article. Oscar Jacobson, Tiger of Sweden, and Topeco, to name a few. The Swedish fashion segment grew by 15 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year, and the annual turnover was SEK 305 million ($32m). Exports increased by close to 20 percent, greatly helped by H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) with its almost global dominance. The Swedish fashion industry is doing extremely well, particularly those companies that have found qualified agents and representations abroad. Borås remains to this day a centre for the industry, including a Fashion School and a Museum of Fashion. Today the Swedish fashion industry finds itself at a crossroads. All the brands are having to adapt to today’s situation, with digitalization, boutique closures, e-commerce, and new consumer behavior
patterns. For example, the Indiska chain of boutiques is experiencing profitability problems, and new owners have stepped in. Marc O’Polo recently closed its last store in Sweden, but its fashion inventory continues to be available online. Even so, things are looking up for the Swedish fashion industry, at least for those companies which adapt to the new market realities. For example, sporting brands Aim’n and NA-KD sell globally via Instagram instead of participating in traditional fairs and exhibitions. Even if manufacturing moves to low-cost countries, the design and marketing remain in Sweden. 56,000 workers are currently employed in the Swedish fashion indutry, which is close to the figure in the mid-1900s. One-third of all Managing Directors are women. H&M today ranks as the world’s seventh biggest fashion company and represents 57 percent of the Swedish fashion industry. The Association of Swedish Fashion Brands, ASFB, has conducted interviews to find out which areas the sector will focus on in the future. The keywords are “internationalization”, “e-commerce”, and “sustainability”. A merger between the Swedish Fashion Council and ASFB is under way, with the aim of strengthening Swedish fashion domestically and internationally. Swedish Fashion Council 2016 for best graduation dress – Matilda Forssblad’s collection “Fuck your feeds – a room of my own”. Photo: Peter Håkansson
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