In 2018, the Swedish Parliament established a comprehensive new Climate Policy Framework. The Framework includes Climate Law, Climate Goals and the Climate Policy Council, a small public agency tasked with evaluating governmental policies in all fields, suggesting improvements and stimulating public debate. Any new government must also present a Climate Plan within a year of assuming power.

So what made Sweden take a leadership role in climate policy? This talk will present how the Swedish Climate Policy Framework is intended to function, how it came into existence, and how it has worked during its first two years of operation. It will include discussion of the Climate Policy Council's two reports including one on the transport sector. The talk is highly recommended for both policymakers and researchers.

Needless to say, the wealthy, highly industrialized and natural resource based country of Sweden is among the world’s high emitters. How does a country like this expect to reach a net zero emission goal by 2045 and with a goal of 70% emission reduction in the transport sector by 2030? What progress has been made so far? What are the challenges? What are the tools that government holds to reach the goals? What do other societal actors do (or not do) and why? What do the voters say about the actions proposed? What does Greta think about it all?

The event will consist of a presentation by Professor Sverker Sörlin, followed audience Q&A. After the event the Swedish Embassy will host drinks and light refreshments.

About the speaker

Sverker Sörlin is Professor of Environmental History at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, and co-founder of the KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory. His research is focused on the role of knowledge in environmentally informed modern societies and the science politics of climate change and the Anthropocene. As a writer and critic he has published narrative non-fiction, essays, biographies, journalism and scripts for television and film. He is also an expert and government adviser on research policy. He is a member of the Climate Policy Council of eight experts appointed by the Swedish government charged with the mission to evaluate annually the government’s policies to reach the net zero emission target by 2045.