Tag: climate change (Page 1 of 2)

Den första internationella konferensen om sufficiency

5 May 2023 /

Detta blogginlägg är skrivet av Oskar Lindgren som deltog på den första internationella konferensen om sufficiency, arrangerat av Science Po and University of South Australia den 4 maj 2023.

IPCC:s senaste syntesrapport som släpptes i mars 2023, som är en summering av tidigare delrapporter sedan 2016, underströk behovet av att skyndsamt minska utsläppen för att begränsa den globala uppvärmningen till 1,5 °C. Så långt inget nytt. Däremot betonades tydligare än tidigare vikten av beteendemässiga förändringar för att i närtid minska utsläppen. En typ av åtgärder som lyfts fram fokuserar på “sufficiency”. Sufficiency, eller tillräcklighet, syftar till åtgärder som minskar efterfrågan på resurser och energi och beskrivs i rapporten som en viktig utsläppsminskande strategi.

Sufficiency-styrmedel definieras av IPCC som “a set of measures and daily practices that avoid demand for energy, materials, land and water while delivering human well-being for all within planetary boundaries”. Genom att begränsa efterfrågan på konsumtion och följaktligen produktion ämnar sådana styrmedel möjliggöra skyndsamma utsläppsminskningar i kombination med ett fokus på en rättvis fördelning av resurser. Tillräcklighet är avgörande i relation till den resursanvändning i rikare delar av världen som slukar mycket av det utsläppsutrymme som finns tillgängligt om vi ska nå Parisavtalet.

Källa: Sufficiency Summit

I ljuset av det fokus IPCC riktar åt sufficiency-styrmedel samlades ledande forskare, beslutsfattare, civilsamhällesrepresentanter och praktiker på Sufficiency Summit i Paris och Adelaide, Australien. Konferensen ämnade diskutera sufficiency inom olika sektorer, dess nuvarande roll i den internationella klimatpolitiken samt hinder för dess utbredning. Här kommer en redogörelse av de, enligt min uppfattning, mest spännande diskussionerna som fördes under konferensen.

Beteendeförändringar kräver styrmedel

Dr. Yamina Saheb, huvudförfattare till IPCC:s rapporter, inledde konferensen med att beskriva att definitionen av sufficiency bör ses som fyra kausalt relaterade delar där (1) styrmedel krävs för att möjliggöra och uppmuntra till minskad efterfrågan på (2) energi, material, land- och vattenanvändning och andra naturresurser (3) som samtidigt kan förbättra välmående, (4) inom ramen för de planetära gränserna. Sufficiency begränsas därmed inte till energisystemet, vilket varit i huvudsakligt fokus inom forskningslitteraturen. Fortsättningsvis bör sufficiency enligt definitionen inte leda till försämrat välmående på global nivå, snarare utjämna skillnader i konsumtion och resursanvändning.

Saheb betonade vikten av sufficiency-relaterade styrmedel för att minska de globala utsläppen, vilket enligt IPCC:s uträkningar har potentialen att minska utsläppen med över 50% inom flera sektorer jämfört med nuvarande policy-scenarios.

Källa: IPCC, 2022

Samtidigt är sådana styrmedel frånvarande i IPCC:s egna utsläppsscenarios samt i länders nationellt fastställda bidrag. Saheb poängterade att även om sufficiency som begrepp uppmärksammas i rapporten återstår mycket arbete med att normalisera begreppet, inte minst inom politiken, där det föga förvånande alltjämt möter stort motstånd.

Bostäder i fokus

Sufficiency-orienterade styrmedel tillskrevs i syntesrapporten stor betydelse inom bostadssektorn. Professor David Ness från University of South Australia underströk den stora potentialen till utsläppsminskningar från bostäder och städer genom ett ökat fokus på sufficiency. Detta innebär enkelt utryckt att undvika behovet av material och energi genom att bygga om och rekonstruera, snarare än att bygga nya bostäder.

Inom bostadssektorn är sufficiency enligt IPCC den första ordningens strategi, följt av effektivisering och förnybar energi, för att minska energianvändningen och följaktligen klimatpåverkan från bostäder. Detta innebär att på ett så resurseffektivt som möjligt använda befintlig infrastruktur, men att effektivisering och förnybar energi bör användas vid nybyggnation. Ness fördelade sedan ordet till vad han beskrev som ”hjärnan bakom all bra klimatpolitik i Paris” – Paris stads chef för programmet för klimatomställning, Yann Françoise.

Begrepet sufficiency härrör från det franska ordet sobriété, som översatt innebär ’nykterhet’ eller ’återhållsamhet’. Françoise menade att ordet bara för några år sedan var tabu att nämna i politiska kretsar, men att det nu blivit ett modeord – till och med Emmanuel Macron pratar nu om sobriété som en vital del i klimatomställningen. Frankrike har legat i framkant vad gäller sufficiency, där begreppet är centralt i landets lag för energiomställning från 2015. Samtidigt menar Françoise att lagen lägger ansvaret för sufficiency (dvs återhållsamhet i konsumtion) på individen, vilket bortser från behovet av strukturella förändringar för att möjliggöra sufficiency-relaterade beteenden. Detta anknyter till vad Saheb underströk – sufficiency är först och främst en politisk strategi där förändrade beteenden förutsätter styrmedel.

I Paris ämnar Françoise implementera sufficiency på just detta sätt. Staden och politiken ska möjliggöra återhållsamhet i folks dagliga konsumtion, inte förvänta sig det av dem givet dagens förutsättningar. Detta kan ske genom att skapa förutsättningar för alternativa transportmedel, såsom cykling och gång, stötta lokalt producerade livsmedel samtidigt som man tar bort subventioner till eller förbjuda klimatskadlig konsumtion, produktion och tjänster. Enligt egen utsago är Françoises viktigaste uppdrag att inrätta styrmedel som försvårar ohållbara beteenden och uppmuntrar till dess dito på ett, ur allmänhetens perspektiv, önskvärt sätt.

Politiker måste våga prata om produktionsvolymer

Ciaran Cuffe, ledamot i EU-parlamentet samt tidigare minister för hållbara transporter och planering i Irland, var ansvarig för EU-parlamentets förslag till revidering av EU:s byggnadsdirektiv och lade stort fokus på sufficiency i parlamentets förslag. Konceptet är nu för första gången på god väg att inkluderas i EU-lag. Även om det stundtals funnits ett motstånd mot konceptet menar Cuffe att EU-kommissionen, med Ursula von der Leyen i spetsen, hörsammat behovet av styrmedel som syftar till återhållsamhet och begränsningar.

Samtidigt associeras sufficiency ofta till försämrad livskvalitet och välfärd, enligt Costa Ines dos Santos, tidigare miljöminister i Portugal. Det är en utbredd uppfattning att begränsningar av konsumtion hämmar innovation, utveckling och folks levnadsstandard, vilket hon menar är en tankevurpa som förhindrar begreppets utbredning. Begränsningar bör snarare ses som en möjliggörare för innovation, där vi under ett begränsat utrymme baserat på planetära gränser kan sporra nya affärsidéer och mer hållbar produktion. Genom att formulera och kommunicera sufficiency som en möjliggörande strategi för näringslivet kan vi vinna argumentet om behovet av sufficiency, menar hon.

Sufficiency är alltjämt långt ifrån ett etablerat begrepp på den internationella politiska arenan. Dr Irene Maldini på OsloMet University menar att problemformuleringen gällande produktionens klimatpåverkan ofta är tydlig; den höga produktionsvolymen i den rika delen av världen är ett problem. Samtidigt är lösningen sällan att begränsa produktionen, snarare göra den mer effektiv. Om vi fortsätter kringgå det direkta sambandet mellan problemet och lösningen, kommer sufficiency fortsätta befinna sig i utkanten av den politiska diskussionen och dess potential fortsatt vara underutnyttjad, enligt Maldini.

En framåtblick

Även om sufficiency må vara ett nytt modeord i det till synes aldrig sinande hållbarhetslingot så är det ett koncept med potentiell mobiliseringspotential. Det uppmärksammas inte bara av vetenskapen, utan verkar även väcka (om än begränsat) intresse inom politiken och näringslivet. Även om tillräcklighet och återhållsamhet vad gäller konsumtion varken ligger på många politikers läppar eller influerar individers konsumtionsbeteenden så knackar konceptet på den politiska och samhälleliga debattens dörr.

Tyvärr lades fokus under denna konferens övervägande på varför sufficiency är en nyckelstrategi för skyndsamma utsläppsminskningar, inte hur sufficiency kan normaliseras i den politiska diskussionen. Detta är ett återkommande problem även i den vetenskapliga litteraturen. Att ständigt ökande konsumtions- och produktionsvolymer är problematiskt ur ett klimatperspektiv har vi vetat länge – inte minst sedan Donella Meadows banbrytande bok om tillväxtens gränser. Men en reduktion av överflödig konsumtion lär knappast ske spontant, på basis av mer data eller genom en bättre förståelse för konsumtionens klimatpåverkan.

Jag tror att vi slösar värdefull omställningstid genom att undvika prata om hur sufficiency kan normaliseras i den politiska och samhälleliga debatten; under vilka förutsättningar är sufficiency-orienterade styrmedel ett relevant alternativ, givet dagens sociala, ekonomiska och politiska system? Vilka sociala och ekonomiska – utöver de uppenbara klimatmässiga – nyttor medför en sufficiency-orienterad politik? Och, inte minst, hur kan en sådan politik utformas och implementeras på ett sätt som gör det till ett önskvärt alternativ? Frågan är som Françoise träffsäkert poängterade – hur tar vi oss dit?

Förbehållet att sufficiency alltjämt är ett relativt nytt begrepp behöver forskningen ha ett starkare fokus på policy-relevanta ansatser där resultaten ämnar bidra till att stötta den politiska beslutsprocessen.

Forskningen bör söka svara på hur sufficiency-orienterade styrmedel kan utformas på ett sätt som gör dem önskvärda eller åtminstone acceptabla för allmänheten, civilsamhället, näringslivet och inte minst politiken.  Däri ligger den stora utmaningen.

Sverker C. Jagers’ inaugural lecture

23 November 2022 /

On 21 November 2022 Sverker C. Jagers held his inaugural lecture as new Zennström visiting professor. The lecture on the need of climate change leadership, was followed by a panel discussion led by Mikael Karlsson. We were delighted to have Niklas Zennström in the audience, whose generous donation through Zennström Philanthropies to Uppsala University funds the guest professorships in climate change leadership.

The Zennström visiting professorships

The Zennström Professorship in Climate Change Leadership is a ten-year series of visiting professorships. It is co-funded by generous donations from Zennström Philanthropies, founded by Niklas Zennström, Uppsala University alumnus, and his wife Catherine Zennström. Earlier, over the past six years, four visiting professors have been hosted by the department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala university: Doreen Stabinsky, Kevin Anderson, Keri Facer and Stefania Barca. In 2021 Mikael Karlsson, associate professor in environmental sciences became the formal head of the climate change leadership (CCL) unit at the department.  Thereupon, he has suggested new candidates for the Zennström visiting professorships, including Sverker C. Jagers.

In September 2022, Sverker C. Jagers, otherwise professor in political science at Gothenburg university, joined CCL as the fifth Zennström guest professor. Jagers has long standing experience working with environmental politics and environmental governance, driven by a deep interest in interdisciplinary science. Particularly, he is interested in assessing social and political acceptance of effective environmental and climate instruments, and under what conditions and by whom such instruments are feasible. 

We used the occasion of Niklas Zennström’s visit to Uppsala this November to arrange Jagers’ official inaugural lecture as Zennström guest professor in climate change leadership.

Fltr: Mikael Karlsson, Johan Tysk, Niklas Zennström, Sverker C. Jagers. Picture by J. Wahlgren

Inaugural lecture on the need of climate change leadership

In his inaugural lecture, Jagers proceeded from the theory of social dilemmas and collective action to explain the origin of climate change from a societal perspective and discussed how to overcome this problem. From Jagers’ perspective, climate change is similar to many other collective action problems, such as littering and corruption. The tricky thing with climate change, he argues, is the long-term and sizeable temporal and spatial scales – we’re basically dealing with a gigantic coordination problem. And just like any other collective action problem, it is unlikely that contributing actors will change their behavior spontaneously or voluntarily. Therefore, dealing with climate change requires active guidance and help; where climate change leaders are needed to show the possibility of alternative routes or contribute to necessary coordination through firmer steering. In his lecture, Jagers discussed several potential candidates who can take on this leadership role, including scientists, businesses, religious communities, and other members of civil society.  

Lecture room photographed from behind, with people in the audience and Sverker C. Jagers presenting
Inaugural lecture at Sonja Lyttkens lecture hall, Ångströms laboratory
View of the audience during the inaugural lecture with Niklas Zennström and vice rector Johan Tysk
Niklas Zennström (left) and vice rector Johan Tysk (centre) in the audience
Niklas Zennström in the audience, listening to Sverker C. Jagers inaugural lecture
To the left, Niklas Zennström
Audience view with a woman in the audience standing and holding a microphone during the Q&A session after the lecture
The audience in the room and on Zoom asked questions after the lecture.

Digging into the nitty gritty of Jagers’ research

As a political scientist by training, Jagers particularly elaborated on the possibilities and obstacles for political climate leadership. Political leaders compared to other societal actors, he argued, have the most comprehensive and stringent toolbox, which makes them relevant to study from a leadership perspective. Research on collective action shows that people are willing to undertake behavioral changes to reach a common objective only insofar others do so as well. But in the pursuit of answering why individuals undertake collective action, research has found several determinants that could explain why individuals behave in ways that contribute to a common objective. In his research studies, Jagers has looked at public opinions on climate taxes and laws and found that if people perceive climate policies as being fair and effective, they are more likely to support them. This means that for individuals to support collective action on climate change, policy instruments should be fair and effective, or at least perceived as such. Jagers suggested that for policymakers to show climate leadership, they should consider such determinants when developing and implementing climate policies, as a means to increase policy support and legitimacy. 

Factors affecting public acceptance of climate policies – a key message of the talk

Jagers then moved on to discuss environmental research from a broader perspective, asking what sorts of questions research should pose and answer. He argued that environmental research today is too focused on asking questions to prove a point (are these tragical things happening in society justifiable?) or testing a theory (could one explain the climate change problem by approaching it from another angle?) or challenging theories (does X explain climate change problems better than Y?). Jagers argued that science should be more applied and that researchers should pose questions which can help solve, avoid or mitigate a problem. According to Jagers, science should contribute to making the world a little bit better and naturally, scientists should to a higher degree ask questions that prompts such research (how can this theory help solve that problem?).  

Examples of climate leadership in different sectors

Jagers’ lecture was followed by a panel discussion led by Mikael Karlsson with representatives from different sectors. The panelists were chosen to match the actors (potential climate leaders) that Sverker C. Jagers referred to in his presentation: Naghmeh Nasiritousi, Associate Professor in political sciences at Stockholm university, Annika Gottberg, environmental specialist at Church of Sweden, Mattias Johansson Head of Public Affairs at Volvo Cars and former chief of staff at the Ministry of the Environment (C) and Eva Svedling, elected CEO Global Challenge (Global Utmaning) and former undersecretary of state at the Ministry of the Environment (MP). The panelists summarized their thoughts from having listened to Jager’s inaugural lecture. They furthermore discussed challenges and opportunities in their respective sectors with regards to climate change and how leadership promoting collective action and transformation can be taken. 

Mikael Karlsson standing on the left of the panel composed of three women and one man
Panel discussion moderated by M. Karlsson. Panel members: Naghmeh Nasiritousi , Annika Gottberg, Eva Svedling and Mattias Johansson

Nasiritousi agreed to many of Jager’s points and continued the discussion on political climate leadership, pondering about the lack of such leadership today and how research could help in supporting the evolution of political climate leaders. Johansson, representing the private sector, agreed that there is a current deficit in political climate leadership, but while this has implications for them as a company, he argued that their pathway forward is clear: electrification is happening with or without policy support. He continued saying that the private sector has to change because of customer and investor pressure, but also because they think it is the right thing to do. 

Svedling argued that they can support climate leadership by providing a platform where civil society actors, businesses and politicians can meet and discuss climate solutions. Global Utmaning, where Svedling will take over as CEO in February, can work as a node to bring different societal actors together to accelerate climate action as well as pushing others to do the same. 

Sverker C. Jagers taking notes during the panel discussion
Annika Gottberg resonates from the point of view of the Church of Sweden and their climate actions.

In the Church of Sweden, values are seen as crucial in overcoming barriers to climate action. According to Gottberg, nurturing values of equality and justice is key in their climate work. The Church can, through its wide community and as an important meeting point for people, shed a light on climate justice issues and support individuals in taking climate action. As an organization, they can also undertake measures themselves and “lead by example”. 

Following the panel discussion, Karlsson invited the audience to ask questions about Jagers’ presentation. A question that awoke interest concerned the question of power and how powerful actors can prevent or hamper climate leadership. Jagers found this question excellent, arguing that power is of course relevant in all types of collective action problems, not least concerning climate change. However, given limited time and the complexity of the issue, Jagers invited the audience to attend his master course, where Jagers expands on his thinking on the relationship between power, leadership and climate change. 

Mikael Karlsson gives the word to Sverker C. Jagers to comment on the panel discussion
Mikael Karlsson and Sverker C. Jager on the left of the seated panel composed of three women and one man
Sverker C. Jagers comments on the panel discussion.
Fltr: M. Karlsson, S. C. Jagers, N. Nasiritousi, A. Gottberg, E. Svedling, M. Johansson

Celebrating our new Zennström guest professor

After the successful official part of the event, the day ended with a mingle at the Ångströms laboratory with climate friendly finger food and more informal discussions with the panel, the audience and the new Zennström guest professor, Sverker C. Jagers.

Mikael Karlsson bringing out a toast on Sverker C. Jager
Mikael Karlsson bringing out a toast for Sverker C. Jagers

Recordings of the lecture and the panel discussion

Inaugural lecture recording
Panel discussion recording

In final week of COP27, progress rests on ‘loss and damage’

14 November 2022 /

As ever, the annual climate summit of the Conference of the Parties (COP) has centered on a few and highly conflictual issues. Most notably, loss and damage, and the financing of such, is for the first time included in the formal negotiations and highly advocated by low-income countries. Moving onto the final week of COP27, observers report that negotiations are moving ahead too slowly and too little, and that several knots need to be untied.

This year’s COP meeting in Sharm-El Sheikh in Egypt started per usual with heads of states convening for the World Leaders Summit. Joe Biden, encouraged by the midterm election results which soothed worries of US climate policy drawbacks, announced a new plan to cut methane emissions and supported the “Early Warnings for All Action Plan” drafted by the World Meteorological Organization. The plan aims at establishing warning signals for extreme weather and climate-related events, especially for the most vulnerable countries. French President Emmanuel Macron strongly emphasized the need for climate justice considerations in his speech and that “loss and damage” righteously should be discussed during the coming two weeks.

Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi, President of this year’s host country Egypt, has named this the “Implementation Summit”. He urged all parties to center their efforts towards implementing the rules agreed upon last year in COP26 in Glasgow.

Leading up to the summit, discussions were expected to concern financing and the previously precluded concept of “loss and damage”, as well as clean energy developments and climate adaptation. As expected, both formal negotiations and informal discussions have centered around these issues. 

Money talks

Financing has been a cornerstone and stumbling block in the climate negotiations since the Paris Agreement in 2015. The failure to deliver the annual $100 billion by 2020, agreed upon in Copenhagen 2009, has come into light as poorer countries are increasingly devastated by extreme climate catastrophes. Such as the one in Pakistan earlier this year, leaving over 20 million people in need of humanitarian aid. The World Bank headed by president Malpass – who have been accused of climate denialism by former Vice President Al Gore – has come under increasing fire for insufficient climate financing as well as continued financial support to fossil fuel projects. 

A partial success concerning climate finance from the first week was the tentative support for the “Bridgetown Agenda”, proposed by Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley. The agenda seeks to reform the international financial system to ensure financial flows to low-income countries. It received support from French President Emmanuel Macron, with Germany and the UK tentatively supporting the idea. The Bretton Woods financial system managed by the World Bank and IMF is, according to Mottley, insufficiently structured to allow poorer countries to adapt to increasing climate-induced extreme weather events. With poorer countries being charged with substantially higher interest rates than the rich, Mottley argued that poorer countries should receive concessional lending, but also that discussions must include oil and gas companies, which in recent months have seen unprecedented windfall profits. “How do companies make $200 billion in profits in the last three months and do not expect to contribute $0.10 on every $1 of profit to a loss and damage fund?” she said. Success of the Bridgetown Agenda does, however, rely heavily on the support of the G7 countries who historically been reluctant to adopt concessional lending and debt cancellation policies.

US Climate Envoy John Kerry announced a plan to marshal investments in renewables in developing countries through a framework for carbon credits. The plan, dubbed the “Energy Transition Accelerator”, would allow private companies to gain carbon credits by investing in projects in developing countries. The initiative has not landed well amongst developing countries. Critics argue that another voluntary carbon market will neither instigate necessary deep emission reductions in richer countries nor ensure any additional funding – that would happen anyway – to clean energy developments.  

Rich countries criticized for preventing loss and damage mechanism

The most contentious – but previously precluded from formal COP negotiations – issue is the financing of loss and damage arising from climate change calamities. Although discussions within the UNFCCC have been ongoing since COP19 with the establishment of the “Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage”, strengthened at COP25 with the Santiago Network and with the Glasgow Dialogue at COP26, progress has been slow. Securing hands-on financing is not expected in Egypt, but emphasis is directed towards settling on the mechanisms of such funding. One week into the negotiations, however, a few countries have pledged to provide loss and damage money. Scotland broke the ice, followed by Denmark, Germany, Belgium Austria and New Zealand. More countries are expected to follow suit and pledge to the loss and damage fund in the second week of the summit, but sums are still far from adequate. Concerning the loss and damage mechanism, progress is even slower. Rich countries, especially the G7, have been accused of distracting from establishing a mechanism by proposing the alternative Global Shield insurance scheme, aimed at establishing a protection scheme to account for climate catastrophes. This has not landed well amongst poorer countries. It is perceived as a way of circumventing the loud calls for a loss and damage mechanism. The Global Shield insurance scheme does not include slow onset events brought about by climate change and includes only a fraction of countries in need of loss and damage money.

Demonstrations and fossil fuel delegates

A worry leading up to the summit in Egypt has concerned the role of civil society groups and activists. The Egyptian regime, with a record of human rights abuses and mass imprisonment of civil society actors, have come under critical scrutiny and commentators have warned of regressive restrictions. The currently imprisoned Egyptian human rights advocate Alaa Abd el-Fattah has become a figurehead of demonstrations and campaigns. Although attempts to raise human rights issues have been made and demonstrations have taken place, civil society organizations have been largely smothered.

If civil society action has been much curtailed during the first week, the oil and gas industry has not. With over 600 oil and gas representatives participating at the meeting, according to official registration lists, they outnumber all delegations from African countries. 

What to expect from the final week of negotiations

Moving onto the second week, informal discussions will center around a few topics that traditionally fall outside the scope of the COP summits, beginning with water scarcity and gender issues on Monday. On Tuesday, attention will be directed towards the role of civil society. Discussions on Wednesday will raise to the fore biodiversity issues, paving way for the UN Biodiversity (COP15) starting on 7 December in Canada, ending with “solutions day” on Thursday where prospects for novel solutions such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and hydrogen centers on stage. 

Turning to the formal negotiations, government ministers have replaced government leaders in the pursuit of untying the knots from the first week. The most pressing issue being the loss and damage funding, and whether the funding mechanism or the insurance scheme proposed by the G7 countries will prevail. How these negotiations end will much likely define whether COP27 will be seen as a step forward or not, especially concerning the contested issue of accountability.

A conference draft of formal agreements is expected on Wednesday, but a final draft is not expected until the end of the week. As last year’s COP focused on keeping the 1.5C target alive, a year later, that ambition looks even bleaker. In the run-up to the negotiations several reports concluded that the target is slipping away. That it is politically unfeasible to keep the 1.5C target alive and that there is “no longer any credible pathway” to achieving it. The last-minute calamities and weakened commitments in Glasgow made Alok Sharma, President of COP27, tearfully claim that the 1.5C target was, albeit barely, kept alive. Egypt’s COP27 President Sameh Shoukry will face a similar task. 

Klimatpolitik från Rosenbad till Sharm el Sheikh

8 November 2022 /

På andra dagen av COP27 men 640 mil från Sharm el Sheikh modererade Mikael Karlsson ett samtal om regeringens klimatpolitik och COP27 med Isabella Lövin och Mats Engström. Oskar Lindgren satt i publiken och skriver här om vad som diskuterades under detta samtal i det anrika Sjöfartshuset i Gamla Stan i Stockholm.

Isabella Lövin, tidigare vice statsminister, miljö- och klimatminister samt språkrör (MP), inledde samtalet med att kontemplera över utmaningar och möjligheter med att nå Parisavtalet, givet den senaste tidens rapporter som visar att 1,5-gradersmålet är på väg att glida oss ur händerna. Lövin menar att COP27 som inleddes den 6 november i mångt och mycket handlar om vilket narrativ som vinner. Det ena narrativet som driver på för en grön omställning, där den framställs som bra för hälsan, ekonomin och näringslivet. Det andra narrativet som rör finansiering av omställningen, där det verkar ha skapats en ohelig allians som bromsar implementeringen av klimatåtgärder. Alliansen består av fattigare länder som med all rätt kräver finansiering från rikare länder, samt länder och företag som är motsträviga mot en omställning, vilket skapar infekterade förhandlingar om exempelvis loss and damage. Lövin är oroad över att vi fastnar i förhandlingar om finansiering, när detta möte bordas ägnas åt implementering av den regelbok som beslutades förra året under COP26 i Glasgow.

Mats Engström, författare och senior policyrådgivare för Svenska institutet för Europapolitiska studier, håller med om denna farhåga, men tycker att vi bör se bortom de officiella förhandlingar som pågår. Han liknar mötet med ett korallrev av människor där näringsliv, civilsamhälle och politiker möts och fattar viktiga beslut som inte alltid kommuniceras i officiella kommunikéer.

En politik på efterkälke

Mikael Karlsson, docent i miljövetenskap och lektor i klimatledarskap på Uppsala universitet, undrar om politiken sackar efter andra aktörer, vilket Lövin menar att den ibland gör. Hon tror att det har skapats en rädsla och osäkerhet för vad en omställning innebär. Denna rädsla har även nästlat sig in i Sverige, vilket blev tydligt med den retorik som fördes under valrörelsen där omställningen beskrevs som dyr och att Sveriges roll är obetydlig i sammanhanget med tanke på storleken på våra utsläpp. Denna idé är korkad, enligt Lövin, eftersom Sverige har ett viktigt ansvar som föregångare men även för att det finns många andra länder som är mindre än Sverige. Om inte vi, vem? tänker undertecknad.

Engström menar att denna för omställningen politiska tveksamhet bland annat beror på den oheliga allians som Lövin nämnde tidigare, men även för att rika länder inte levt upp till vad man lovat, både i termer av finansiering men även egna utsläppsminskningar. Nu sluter man äntligen avtal med flera så kallade tillväxtekonomier, såsom Sydafrika och Indonesien, men samtidigt skönjer Engström ett motstånd mot detta i flera näringsdepartement i rika länder eftersom det ökar konkurrensen för nya teknologier. Trion på scen är överens om att finansieringen, även under detta klimattoppmöte, blir en knäckfråga.

Varken Engström och Lövin vill svara på om det känner sig optimistiska inför mötet. De menar att klimatförhandlingar är långsiktiga processer och inte lämpar sig att utvärderas enskilt. Engström svarar dock, om än lite ovilligt, att ett framsteg är om det inte blir steg bakåt. En dos realistisk optimism, men rimligtvis krävs det mer av dessa förhandlingar tänker jag för mig själv. Lövin känner dock en gnutta optimism inför att begreppet ansvarsutkrävande (accountability) har stigit på agendan. Även om Parisavtalets mål är frivilligt måste vi börja prata om ansvarsutkrävande och mekanismer för att hålla länder och företag ansvariga för deras agerande, menar Lövin.

Sveriges ordförandeskap i EU

Vid årsskiftet tar Sverige över ordförandeskapet i EU:s ministerråd. EU-kommissionen har under ledning av Ursula von der Leyen drivit på för en stringent klimatpolitik inom unionen bland annat med den gröna given och lagstiftningspaketet Fit for 55. Engström, med gedigen kunskap om EU-politik, anser att Sverige är bra rustat inför ordförandeskapet, men att inriktningen för ordförandeskapet tills vidare är höljt i mörker. Han hoppas dock på att regeringen fokuserar på hur den gröna given ska implementeras över tid, men att Ukrainakriget och elkrisen riskerar att överskugga klimatarbetet under ordförandeskapet.

Den tidigare europaparlamentarikern Isabella Lövin bedömer att det är en helt annan fart i klimat- och miljöarbetet inom EU jämfört med hennes tid i Bryssel, mycket tack vare von der Leyens ambitiösa agenda. Dessutom har klimatarbetet stärkts genom att ge vice ordförande Frans Timmermans inflytande över flertalet portföljer, vilket Lövin menar är nödvändigt för att klimatpolitiken ska genomsyra beslut inom andra politikområden. Samtidigt har det byggts upp en stabilitet i kommissionen över tid, framför allt vad gäller genomförande av klimatlagstiftning. Detta är positivt och kan avskräcka politiker – i Sverige hoppas undertecknad – från att avskaffa nationella klimatstyrmedel och mål.

Den svenska regeringen i otakt med tiden

Även om det ambitiösa EU-arbetet rullar vidare har den nytillträdde svenska regeringens förslag inom klimatområdet väckt kritik, bland annat nedläggningen av miljödepartementet och den sänkta reduktionsplikten. Engström menar att omvärlden mycket noggrant iakttar utvecklingen i Sverige, exempelvis har den högsta chefen för den tyska miljömyndigheten uttryckt oro över skrotandet av miljödepartementet. Men Engström tycker att det är för tidigt att sia om hur bilden av Sverige som klimatpolitisk föregångare påverkas av den nya regeringens politik. För det första måste vi vänta in den budget som finansminister Svantesson sedvanligt till fots ska föra till riksdagen den 8 november, sedan får det kommande året utvisa hur bilden av Sverige förändras.

Avvecklingen av reduktionsplikten skapar, enligt Lövin, en ogynnsam ryckighet för näringslivet. Det har funnits en bred samsyn kring reduktionsplikten i riksdagen – inklusive alla partier utom SD – om att reduktionsplikten ska vara långsiktig. Detta för att möjliggöra att investeringar i förnybara svenska drivmedel frigörs, vilket välkomnats av näringslivet. Lövin förmodar att detta förslag är obegripligt ur ett näringslivsperspektiv. Dessutom är det ett stort mysterium att regeringen inte presenterat några andra förslag för att väga upp utsläppen som den avvecklade reduktionsplikten leder till, anser Lövin.

Vad gäller nedläggningen av miljödepartementet är båda talarna eniga, klimat- och miljöministern Romina Pourmokhtari (L) lär ha ett svagt mandat i förhandlingar med departementschefen Ebba Busch (KD). Lövin befarar att politiska hissningar – att frågor lyfts upp på högre beslutsnivå när exempelvis näringslivs- och miljöintressen hamnar i konflikt – kommer minska, vilket kan leda till att sådana konflikter löses (eller snarare begravs) internt i departementet.

För att knyta ihop detta brett utblickande samtal menar Karlsson att en del frågor som diskuterats under eftermiddagen kommer att besvaras med regeringens budget. Frågor gällande COP27 får vänta ett par veckor till, men Karlsson själv känner en viss optimism inför mötet. Spelplanen är förändrad, med maktskifte i Brasilien, ett EU med von der Leyen i spetsen som driver på klimatomställningen – som inte lär väja undan för en svensk politik som går i motsatt riktning – samt att den amerikanska presidenten kommer till mötet stärkt av det historiska klimatpaket som antagits i USA.

En motorväg mot ett klimathelvete

Det jag främst tar med mig från detta samtal är vikten av den institutionella styrka som byggts upp både inom EU och det internationella klimatpolitiska samfundet. När enskilda politiker eller länder sviker står det starkt och driver på omställningen. Även om denna omställning går förödande långsamt går det ett finna hopp i att dessa institutioners stabilitet i samklang med kulturella och politiska vindar vid någon tidpunkt kan accelerera omställningen till den takt som klimatkrisen kräver. Men tiden börjar bli knapp, vilket FN:s generalsekreterare Antonio Guterres med all tydlighet sade i sitt tal till världsledarna på COP27 “vi befinner oss på en motorväg mot ett klimathelvete med gaspedalen i botten”. Om vi inte bromsar in hastigt lär det inte finnas någon handbroms att tillgå.

—

Seminariet anordnandes av 2050.

Winter is coming and so is energy sufficiency?

3 October 2022 /

In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gas and energy prices have soared to dramatically high levels. Hoping for a mild winter but preparing for the worst, Europe is now considering energy conservation and rationing policies. Perhaps time has come for the important but mostly forgotten climate solution: energy sufficiency.

The ongoing energy crisis has uncovered the European dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied more than 40% of the EU’s total gas consumption as well as 27% of oil imports. This share is shrinking quickly as Russia has turned down the flow into the European energy system. As a response to this, the EU and its Member States have adopted radical measures to safeguard energy supply and avoid economic losses.

Energy sufficiency measures are taken as winter is approaching
As winter is approaching, different measures are taken across Europe to save energy.

EU plans to reduce energy use drastically

On 14 September, the EU Commission proposed the REPowerEU plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030. The plan includes amongst other things an update of the energy efficiency target to 14,5% (the earlier target was raised from 9 to 13 percent as late as in May earlier this year). Only ten days later, the Commission proposed an “emergency plan” which sets out to reduce electricity use in the EU by 10 percent until March 2023. It also mandates an obligation to reduce electricity use by at least 5 percent during peak hours and a temporary “solidarity contribution” on excess profits from energy producers. EU Member States are also incentivized to undertake voluntary energy and gas savings. The EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans states:

“Demand reduction is fundamental to the overall success of these measures: it lowers energy bills, ends Putin’s ability to weaponize his energy resources, reduces emissions and helps rebalance the energy market. A cap on outsize revenues will bring solidarity from energy companies with abnormally high profits towards their struggling customers.”

Several European governments are following suit

The French government is planning to cut total energy use by 10% and impose energy rationing as a last resort. The country has launched a program of sobriété (sufficiency) including restrictions on indoor temperature in public buildings. As winter approaches, president Macron has stated that sacrifices by the French people is necessary.

Germany, where gas makes up 27 percent of the energy mix and of which 55 percent was imported from Russia before the invasion, have also proposed several energy-saving measures, including limitations on temperature in public buildings. Private companies are encouraged to do the same.

Italy, importing 40% of their gas from Russia, is preparing an emergency energy-saving plan including amongst other things restrictions on domestic radiation, street lighting and opening hours for restaurants and shops.

In Spain, the parliament approved a decree in the beginning of August to limit air conditioning and heating in public and commercial buildings including shopping centers, cinemas, rail stations and airports.

In Sweden, the government has assigned state authorities to undertake measures to reduce electricity use until April 2023. Beyond this, the political response to the energy crisis has been weak. Instead, the debate running up to the national elections in September saw a revived focus on nuclear power. This captured not only the energy but also the climate policy discussions.

The imperative for energy sufficiency

The current emphasis on energy savings is promising as it shines a light on an alternative, often neglected policy strategy, namely energy sufficiency. Energy sufficiency, in its simplest form, is about avoiding carbon emissions by targeting and reducing energy use. National energy policy have traditionally focused on improving energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewables, while neglecting sufficiency. But research shows that energy sufficiency is fundamental for rapid climate mitigation. In the latest IPCC report on Mitigation of climate change, demand-side mitigation strategies such as sufficiency was for the first time included. The IPCC defines the three strategies followingly:

“(i) sufficiency, which tackles the symptoms of the environmental impacts of human activities by avoiding the demand for energy and materials of the lifecycle of buildings and goods; (ii) efficiency, which tackles the symptoms of the environmental impacts of human activities by improving energy and material intensities; and (iii) the renewable pillar, which tackles the consequences of the environmental impacts of human activities by reducing carbon intensity in energy supply.”

To reduce environmental impacts from energy use, sufficiency policies should be undertaken first, followed by efficiency and consistency (Saheb, 2021). This is because sufficiency holds great potential to reduce GHG emissions rapidly.

Less is better!?

Although the scientific community emphasize sufficiency as an important climate solution, efforts steering towards energy demand reductions have been mostly ignored in policy making. This is unsurprising since energy sufficiency conflicts with current economic, political and social ideas such as economic growth, consumerism and ideas of “more is better”. But what sufficiency research shows is that less could actually be better. In terms of climate change mitigation, sufficiency policies are cheap and can reduce carbon emissions fast (Spangenberg and Lorek, 2019). In terms of wellbeing, energy sufficiency combined with better provisioning systems could actually lead to improved global health and wellbeing (O’Neill et al., 2018).

But energy sufficiency does not mean restraints for all, but mainly for affluent countries and especially for the over-consuming “super-rich” (Otto et al., 2019). This is the other side of energy sufficiency, namely to provide universal minimum levels of energy to ensure basic needs and wellbeing for all within planetary boundaries (IPCC, 2022). We live in a world constrained by ecological resources and when a majority of these resources are eaten up by wealthy countries and individuals, not much is left. At the same time we’re struggling – and currently failing – to stave of the climate crisis. Energy sufficiency responds to both of these challenges.

Person in a woolen pullover with a cup of tea
Although behavioral changes are important, energy sufficiency goes beyond individual downshifting.

Energy sufficiency policies are needed

Although individual downscaling to some extent is necessary, an orientation towards sufficiency requires that infrastructure and systems of consumption and production change, to ensure that all have access to necessary (clean) energy services. Research on energy sufficiency policies have grown exponentially in recent years. Ambitious work by scientists from a range of disciplines have developed policy packages and practices.

The suggestions laid forward by the EU Commission and European governments, such as restrictions on indoor temperature, air conditioning and business opening hours are however concrete examples of sufficiency policies. These are all effective in the short-term. But a long-term sufficiency orientation requires further, systemic measures. It requires a planned reduction of energy use. This includes policies such as the abolishment of environmentally harmful subsidies, energy taxation, infrastructure development, upper income limits and ban on advertisements for energy-intensive products, to name a few. For a full list of existing sufficiency policies, the Energy Sufficiency Policy Database is a great seed for inspiration. Such policies require that the EU Commission and EU Member States acknowledge energy sufficiency as an important lever next to efficiency and renewables. Behavioral changes and short-term measures are indeed important, but limited in our current societies which are built on unsustainable infrastructure and geared towards increasing emissions, not the reverse.

The energy crisis as an opportunity

The energy crisis is by all means a crisis. Low-income and vulnerable households are affected the most. A transition towards sufficiency should not be built on havoc, but on a planned reduction of energy use to ensure decent levels of clean energy services to all. Such a transition does not happen through radical measures in the midst of an energy crisis. But the crisis could be, if the momentum towards energy sufficiency sticks, a stepping-stone towards recognizing the importance of energy sufficiency.

This is a moment to revitalize solidarity and collective responsibility. To recognize what values such as “enoughness” and limitations means for us as individuals and society at large. The energy crisis provides a strong imperative for energy sufficiency, but further action is needed. Only then can Europe break free from its dependence on Russia, ensure energy security and do its parts in mitigating climate change.

Article written by Oskar Lindgren, research assistant in the CCL team.

Starting with the Masters Narrative

30 March 2021 /

Last week Stefania Barca, Zennström Professor in Climate Change Leadership at Uppsala University gave a talk at Uppsala Klimatveckan 2021, which set the stage for the next 15 months of her professorship. The topic was on the Anthropocene and drawing out the masters narrative of such a concept. From this starting point, the arguments to decolonise climate change leadership compel us to reflect upon the assumptions and narratives that frame our ways of understanding and engaging with the world. You can watch the full talk below.

This talk invited members of the public to work through this challenge with us: how can we consider the ways in which we approach the decolonising challenge? What are the core assumptions we carry with us in our methods of engagement? How to we recognise these and counter (or work through) them?

We will shortly release a statement that responds more fully to the questions we were given by Uppsalabo, along with further resources we find helpful. Please check back here shortly.

If you are interested in getting involved with this process, please do reach out to us. We are eager to learn from your ideas!

To read more about Stefania Barca’s approach to Climate Change Leadership we encourage you to read her statement on Just Transition.

Stefania Barca, Zennström Professor in Climate Change Leadership

9 February 2021 /

We are so pleased to announce the arrival of our fourth professor in Climate Change Leadership: Stefania Barca.

Stefania Barca, Zennström Professor in Climate Change Leadership Foto Mikael Wallerstedt

Stefania Barca is a scholar in Environmental History from Coimbra University. With a particular focus on social movements and Just Transition, Stefania will be bringing diverse and highly engaged networks from the Global South into dialogue with European environmental and workers rights organisations to work through the tricky questions of a Just Transition.

Her professorship begins with a series of conversations in Uppsala in relation to climate fiction, the arts and films. These explore the different methods and messages that can emerge from creative and participatory conversations. Her professorship will culminate in a conference on Just Transition in spring 2022.

You can read more about her background and planned activities here.

Läs mer om Stefania här (på svenska).

New report calls for the radical restructuring of universities in era of climate change

14 December 2020 /

What is required of universities in face of climate change? Read the new HEPI report by Keri Facer to find out!

Zennström Professor Keri Facer has called for the radical restructuring of Higher education and universities in response to climate change. You can read more on the website of the Higher Education Policy Institute. Or download the report here:

HEPI Report: Higher Education and Climate ChangeDownload

For more explorations and discussions regarding the role of the university in a changing climate, explore our work here.

The Non-Human Animal: Negotiating Bio Relations

14 December 2020 /
Download the report hereDownload

In this report you can read about the 2019 collaboration between Zennström Climate Change Leadership at Uppsala University and the Uppsala Art Museum. Some of the ideas and findings from this report are elaborated upon in a forthcoming publication.

This report is written in English.

Några ord från Kuratorn, Rebecka Wigh Abrahamsson, Uppsala Art Museum

En rapport om samarbetet mellan Uppsala konstmuseum och Uppsala universitet kring utställningen ”The Non-Human Animal –  Negotiating Bio-relations”  hösten 2019. Samarbetet leddes av Keri Facer, Zennströmprofessor i Climate Change Leadership vid Uppsala universitet, som i sin forskning har ett stort fokus på konstens och humanioras roll i samtalet om och förståelsen kring klimatförändringarna.

Här beskrivs de olika aktiviteterna och de multidisciplinära perspektiv som vävdes samman i projektet, från pedagogiska och rituella, till diskussion om den politiska infrastrukturen.  

En premiss i papporten är behovet av skapa fler intellektuella och emotionella rum för att diskutera alla de konflikter och motstridiga intressen som blir tydliga under antropocen, t ex möjligheten att bearbeta sorg. Här diskuteras vilken effekt ramverket kring dessa skapade rum får på samtalen.

Flera exempel på olika interdisciplinära modeller som prövades under projektet lyfts fram, samt den stora potential som finns i att se över och tänka nytt kring vad det betyder att vara människa idag genom pedagogiska, imaginära, rituella och politiska strukturer.

Resources

10 December 2020 /

Find recorded lectures, podcasts and reports with members of the Climate Change Leadership initiative.

Follow our youtube channel for talks and events with the Climate Change Leadership initiative at Uppsala University. Follow the CEMUS youtube channel for associated talks and events.

Find resources and reports for climate justice and Just Transition here.

Find resources and reports for the Swedish Carbon Budget work here.

Find resources and reports for the work on universities and education here.

Föreläsning: ”Laggards or leaders (bromskloss eller ledare); Paris, 2°C & the role for Sweden” av Kevin Anderson. Den hölls på Hotel Lysekil den 9 mars och publik var människor som hade samlats för att protestera mot Preems utbyggnad av oljeraffinaderiet i Lysekil. Dagen efter deltog Kevin Anderson som vittne i Mark- och miljööverdomstolens förhandlingar om Preems ansökan om utbyggnad. Mars 2020.

Seminarium: Fossilfri välfärd och negativa utsläpp – vision, kollision eller tomma ord? Den 11 februari 2020 samlades forskare och beslutsfattare för att ta sig an dessa två centrala idéer i den aktuella klimatpolitiken: fossilfri välfärd och negativa utsläpp. Isak Stoddard, doktorand hos CCL och NRHU, var med i panel diskussionen.

Report: Internationalisation and Sustainability The report below provides a brief exploration of the relationship between internationalisation and sustainability agendas in the contemporary university. It reports on a short programme of desk research by the team and a workshop bringing together university leadership, students, faculty and administrative staff. It identifies key tensions, possibilities, and routes towards achieving more sustainable internationalisation strategies in universities. The report has been compiled rapidly to respond to current debates and is intended as the basis for wider discussion.

Report: Internationalisation and SustainabilityDownload

Transforming Universities for the Future keynote lecture by Keri Facer at the International Association of Universities Conference. December 2019.

En koldioxidbudget för Umeå: Vår del av Paris avtalet. Med Aaron Tuckey och Martin Wetterstedt. October 2019.

Watch Professor Keri Facer’s inaugural lecture on Renewing the European University’s Mission in a Changing Climate. An early version of the text of this talk is also available here. October 2019.

Universitetens roll för en hållbar värld – omvärldens förväntningar. Almedalen lecture and panel discussion with Keri Facer, Göran Enander, Ingrid Petersson, Matilda Strömberg, Lotta Ljungqvist, and Carl Johan Sundberg. July 2019.

Climate vision – what is the role of universities in combating climate change? Almedalen panel hosted by Keri Facer with Eva Åkesson, Emma Nohrén, and Matilda Ernkrans. July 2019.

Climate change leadership – perspectives from science, industry and politics. Almedalen panel hosted by Keri Facer with Anna Rutgersson, Åsa Wikforss, John Hassler, Klas Palm, and Kristina Persson. July 2019.

Four-part interview with Keri Facer, on the role of the future, the richness of the meanwhile, and desirable futures at the Constructing Social Futures Conference 2019 for Futuuri magazine. June 2019.

Sustainability Talk on Campus Gotland, Uppsala University by Keri Facer. Building a University for the Common Good. March 2019.

Watch a short film: Professor Kevin Anderson on Living within our carbon budget: the role of politics, technology and personal action

A Democracy Now! broadcast with Kevin Anderson: World’s Richest Must Radically Change Lifestyles to Prevent Global Catastrophe. From the United Nations Climate Summit in Katowice, Poland. December 2018.

Sweden’s carbon budget challenge – turning Paris’ aspirations into local climate action Part 1 and Part 2. A lecture and panel discussion with Kevin Anderson, Agneta Green, Anders Wijkman, and Karin Sundby. July 2018.

The Swedish Carbon Cycle 2018 with Kevin Anderson.

From Paris to Sweden: 2° C, integrity, and the climate law, Kevin Anderson talk in Halmstad. June 2018.

ClimateExistence Conference: The Science, Politics and Culture of Climate Change – Beyond a Climate of Fear by Kevin Anderson followed by a dialogue between Vanessa Andreotti, Jens Holm, Anja Fjellgren Walkeapaa and Kevin Anderson, hosted by Sanna Gunnarsson, intervention by Klimatriksdagen. May 2018.

Kevin Anderson on Climate change and the need to change behaviour in the West. Research and the Sustainable Development Goals at the Danish Institute for International Studies. 26 April 2018.

Kevin Anderson on Climate change and economic growth: Can they be managed together? From Klimatriksdagen seminarium. February 6, 2018.

Kort intervju: Kevin Anderson om flygets utsläpp och alternativa fakta. February 2018.

Kevin Anderson: Revealing the naked emperor – Paris, 2° & carbon budgets. Talk at SR and SVT-event, November 2017.

A Democracy Now! broadcast with Kevin Anderson: Our Socio-Economic Paradigm Is Incompatible With Climate Change Objectives. From the United Nations Climate Summit in Bonn, Germany. November 2017.

Quit the loose climate talk and let’s get serious! A talk between Kevin Anderson and Hugh Hunt. Climate Matters show live from COP-23 in Bonn, Germany. November 2017.

Kevin Anderson discusses negative emissions at UNFCCC with Glen Peters, Corinne Le Quéré, and Youba Sokona. November 2017.

Kevin Anderson and Isak Stoddard on Carbon Budget and Pathways to a fossil free future in Järfälla Kommun. October 25, 2017.

Podcast: Transition for beginners – How not to fly with Kevin Anderson, Radio Luftbalett, October 27, 2017.

Leader or Laggard? Reviewing Sweden’s climate and sustainability agenda . A lecture and panel discussion from Almedalen 2017 with Kevin Anderson, Ranjula Bali Swain, Hanna Hansson, and Erik Westholm.

Are universities making the world worse? Education and research in an age of climate change . A panel discussion from Almedalen 2017 with Kevin Anderson, Josefin Wangel Weithz, and Johanna van Schaik Dernfalk.

Sustainable development dilemma – why are facts not enough to convince? A panel discussion with Kevin Anderson, Henrik Hamrén, Maria Osbeck, and Anna Rudels from Almedalen 2017.

Climate Catastrophe or Societal Transition – What is Needed of Politicians and Individuals? An interview with Kevin Anderson and Stigbjörn Ljunggren. Almedalen 2017.

Courage and Climate: An Interview with Kevin Anderson. Interviewed by Paul Campion and Stephen Tuscher, students at the Newman Institute, for Civic Courage in Theory and Practice, a course taught by Brian Palmer. November 2016.

Climate Change: A Parisian Tale of Triumph and Tragedy. Uppsala University Lecture in Climate Change Leadership August 2016 with Kevin Anderson.

Education, Sustainable Development and the Challenges of Climate Change . CEMUS Spring Semester Introduction lecture 2016 with Professor Doreen Stabinsky.

Find external resources linked to people and groups doing inspiring work.

Sister’s Academy develops new art-based research methods to collect data. Based in Denmark.

Emergence Network is a research inquiry into the otherwise via practices that trouble the traditional boundaries of agency and possibility.

Climate and Mind explores the relationship between climate disruption, human behaviour, and human experience.

Bifrost is an environmental humanities intervention on climate change bridging nature and culture, science and art, understanding and action, challenges and solutions.

Gesturing towards decolonial futures is a portfolio of artistic, pedagogical and cartographic experiments that seek to not only imagine but also enact the world differently.

Ecoversities network explores what the university might look like if it were at the service of our diverse ecologies, cultures, economies, spiritualities and Life within our planetary home.

Dark Mountain is a radical project looking for other stories that can help us make sense of a time of disruption and uncertainty.

Education, Universities and Climate Change

10 December 2020 /

This is a set of quick links to some of our work on Universities, Schools, Education in general and Climate Change

Universities and Climate Change

Zennström Professor Keri Facer’s Inaugural Lecture on ‘Learning to live with a lively planet: renewing the mission of the research university’

A report from the Initiative on Internationalisation and Sustainability – is it possible to square these two agendas?

A keynote from Keri Facer on Universities and the SDGs to the Transforming Higher Education for the Future (IAU) Conference in Puebla, Mexico, November 2019

A public debate on cities and climate change, with Richard Florida, at KTH Stockholm. Keri joined the panel to reflect on the climate implications of Florida’s proposals.

A public debate on universities and climate change – at Almedalen, with Professor Keri Facer, the Minister for Higher Education Matilda Ernkrans, Uppsala University Vice Chancellor Professor Eva Åkesson and the lead for Sweden’s Environment agenda, Dr Emma Nohrén.

A public debate on the role of science, industry and government in addressing climate change.

In Swedish – Universitetens roll för en hållbar värld – a public debate at Almedalen with Uppsala universitet, SLU, Karolinska institutet, Stockholms universitet, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, KTH

What are the links beteween climate change and civic university agendas? A short post for the UK’s Higher Education Policy Institute

University Innovation Agendas – AIM Days and climate change – a report from Laila Mendy.

What sort of knowledge do we need to think about long term futures? Science and Futures in Government. A talk by Dr Claire Craig.

Are universities making the world worse? Education and research in an age of climate change . A panel discussion from Almedalen 2017 with Kevin Anderson, Josefin Wangel Weithz, and Johanna van Schaik Dernfalk.

General Education and Climate Change

A report from the Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures programme, led by Professor Keri Facer, which makes recommendations on Education and Climate Change

Four-part interview with Keri Facer, on the role of the future, the richness of the meanwhile, and desirable futures at the Constructing Social Futures Conference 2019 for Futuuri magazine. June 2019.

Education, Sustainable Development and the Challenges of Climate Change . CEMUS Spring Semester Introduction lecture 2016 with Professor Doreen Stabinsky.

Popular and Public Education

A report on the important role of transformative public education – public, dialogic, collaborative, transgressive – in addressing Covid-19, with implications also for climate change.

A report on a Legacy 17 workshop – a popular education strategy for addressing questions of sustainability.

Leading activity within Uppsala University

We have been working over the last year with the 2050 plan for the University Campus, supporting long term thinking about the link between climate change and university campuses. This includes events and consultation workshops.

Sustainability Talk on Campus Gotland, Uppsala University by Keri Facer. Building a University for the Common Good. March 2019.

Carbon Budgets

10 December 2020 /

Vad är en koldioxidbudget?

Den globala koldioxidbudgeten är den begränsade totala mängd koldioxid, det utsläppsutrymme, som kan släppas ut till atmosfären för att klara ett visst temperaturmål. Den kan brytas ner och fördelas i tid och rum och därigenom uttryckas som lokala årliga koldioxidbudgetar.

En koldioxidbudget är förstås den siffra, den mängd koldioxid, samt tillhörande förslag på minskningstakt för att klara denna. Men budgeten består också av de tolkningar av vad Parisavtalet innebär och möjligheten till så kallade negativa utsläpp. I sig hjälper den till att konkretisera vad det innebär att koldioxid ackumuleras i atmosfären, och att CO2‑utsläpp därför måste betraktas ur ett kumulativt perspektiv.

Det är detta arbete som gjorts i detta projekt för svenska kommuner, regioner och län för åren 2020-2040. Efter 2040 måste utsläppen fortsätta att sjunka mot noll.

Om samarbetet med svenska kommuner, regioner och län

Kevin Anderson är pionjär inom arbetet med att omvandla den globala koldioxidbudgeten till nationell och lokal nivå och har bland annat tagit fram en budget för Manchester, Skottland samt för England via deras Climate Change Act.

År 2017 tog Järfälla kommun kontakt med klimatledarskapsnoden (CCL) och undrade om Järfälla kunde få en koldioxidbudget beräknad (Anderson et al., 2017). När projektet var klart tog fler kommuner samt län kontakt med CCL och bad att få budgetar beräknade.

Det stora intresset resulterade i att det under 2018 startades ett projekt, Koldioxidbudgetar 2020-2040, för att beräkna budgetar åt fler kommuner, regioner och län. Framförallt under upplaga två, men även under de senaste omgångarna dialog förts med deltagande organisationer via mail och möten. Mötena har syftat till att behovsanpassa innehållet i rapporterna samt att författarna får ta del av kommunala och regionala perspektiv, kunskaper och erfarenheter.

Sammanlagt har vi nu beräknat koldioxidbudgetar för ett tjugotal kommuner, regioner och län runt om i Sverige

Dessa rapporter kan hämtas här.

Pågående arbete

Just nu planerar vi för 2021 års arbete, ta gärna kontakt med oss om ni är intresserade att delta.

Som inspiration kan nämnas att EU just röstat igenom att koldioxidbudgetar ska användas samt att staden Manchester i England har antagit följande ambitiösa mål:

  • Proposal one: Manchester adopts the Tyndall Centre’s proposed targets and definition of zero carbon and includes them formally in the Our Manchester and Manchester City Council policy framework. Namely: a limited carbon budget of 15m tonnes CO2 for 2018-2100; 13% year-on year reductions in CO2 from 2018; zero carbon by 2038.
  • Proposal two: Manchester recognises that action on climate change is a fundamental part of achieving the city’s 2025 vision and objectives. And by taking urgent action to become a zero carbon city, starting in 2018, we will achieve more benefits for Manchester’s residents and businesses up to 2025 and beyond.
  • Proposal three: Manchester accelerates its efforts to mobilise all residents, businesses and other stakeholders to take action on climate change, starting in 2018.
  • Proposal four: Manchester puts in place an action plan and the resources needed to stay within the proposed carbon budget, starting in 2018.

Under 2018-2019 pågår också ett Vinnovaprojekt med titeln – Digital plattform för beräkning av koldioxidbudgetar och simulering samt sam-skapande av klimatåtgärdspaket – ta gärna kontakt med oss om det låter intressant.

The Zennström Professors

10 December 2020 /

The internationally recognised Zennström Professors in Climate Change Leadership work with academics, students, civil society and public and private partners to understand the scale of the transition needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and begin to develop routes towards these transitions. To date we have had four Zennström Professors.

STEFANIA BARCA – ZENNSTRÖM VISITING PROFESSOR 2021 – 2022

We are delighted to welcome Stefania Barca as our next Zennström Professor in Climate Change Leadership. Stefania is a scholar in Environmental Humanities, with a strong commitment to environmental and climate justice.

Stefania Barca
Zennström Professor in Climate Change Leadersship
Foto Mikael Wallerstedt

During her time in Uppsala she will be building on the legacies left by the previous professors, as well as facilitating new initiatives around the Covid-19, climate and care nexus. In particular Stefania looks forward to actively contributing to the convergence of labour, feminist, youth and climate justice organisations towards a politics of Just Transition.

Stefania will begin her time in Uppsala with with a series of events with academics, practitioners and activists, exploring emergent themes stemming from such creative and participatory conversations. Her professorship will culminate in a conference on Just Transition in spring 2022, the first of this kind in Europe.

contact: stefania.barca@geo.uu.se

KERI FACER – ZENNSTRÖM VISITING PROFESSOR 2019–2020

Dr. Keri Facer, Professor of Educational and Social Futures

Keri Facer is Professor of Educational and Social Futures at the University of Bristol, School of Education. She works on rethinking the relationship between formal educational institutions and wider society and is particularly concerned with the sorts of knowledge that may be needed to address contemporary environmental, economic, social, and technological changes.

Since 2013, Keri has been Leadership Fellow for the RCUK Connected Communities Programme. This research programme is creating new relationships between communities and universities, drawing on arts and humanities perspectives and methods to enable new forms of knowledge production to address urgent contemporary issues.

Keri’s aim is to work across the whole of Uppsala University to explore how universities can build partnerships with local, national, and international communities, how we can develop powerful knowledge, and how we can educate students to enable the massive transitions we need to live well with climate change.

Contact: keri.facer@geo.uu.se

KEVIN ANDERSON – ZENNSTRÖM VISITING PROFESSOR 2016–2018

Dr. Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change

Kevin Anderson is one of the leading climate scientists in the U.K. He is Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester and Deputy Director at the renowned Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Kevin is a well-known and established researcher within climate change science who engages frequently with policy-makers, the private sector, civil society as well as the media. He has pioneered research on carbon budgets and pathways to acceptable mitigation levels. His work on the technical, social and economic interactions involved in the transformation of energy systems and the mitigation and adaptation to climate change, addresses questions at the core of this professorship’s theme.

Kevin is a prominent thinker, writer and communicator who built on and expanded the work of the first visiting professor in Climate Change Leadership, Doreen Stabinsky.

Contact: kevin.anderson@ccl.uu.se

DOREEN STABINSKY – ZENNSTRÖM VISITING PROFESSOR 2015–2016

Dr. Doreen Stabinsky, Professor of Global Environmental Politics

Doreen Stabinsky is Professor of Global Environmental Politics at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. Her research, teaching, and writing concern the impacts of climate change, particularly on agriculture and global food security. She also serves as advisor to various governments and international environmental organisations, and has a large international network of collaborators.

Doreen stresses the central role that education must play in addressing the growing challenges of climate change and is known for her ability to strengthen young people’s capacity to contribute to a better world. The fact that the focus of the professorship itself was inspired by, and emerged from a student-led course on Climate Change Leadership at CEMUS, made Doreen a fitting first holder of the Zennström Visiting Professorship.

Contact: doreen.stabinsky@ccl.uu.se

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