Equitable transition is the government's responsibility - and the whole environmental movement is needed.
We agree with the government that climate change is one of the major issues of our time. The climate crisis is happening right now and risks making the planet uninhabitable. It is therefore with great concern that we note that our picture of reality differs significantly from the government's description of the situation in a debate article in Dagens Industri.
Here is Oxfam Sweden's response to the article. The text is also published on ETC Debatt.
The government has been criticized for weakening Swedish climate policy. The Climate Policy Council notes that this will be the first time in two decades that active political decisions are likely to lead to Sweden's emissions increasing rather than decreasing. At the same time, there are still no answers on how to live up to Sweden's international commitments, such as the promises already made on climate financing. This is at a time when the climate crisis is already causing significant losses in terms of human lives and livelihoods. Extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and cyclones, are becoming more frequent and hitting those who are already most vulnerable the hardest. 28 million people in East Africa, as many as the entire population of the Nordic region, are fighting for their lives in the worst drought in over 40 years.
It is true that Sweden's territorial emissions, i.e. the emissions that occur within its borders, have decreased. But this figure does not reflect the large emissions that our way of life and our consumption lead to in other parts of the world. And climate change does not take into account any national borders.
The figures behind Sweden's consumption-based emissions show a clear and worrying inequality trend: Oxfam's report Swedish Climate Inequality (2020) shows that Sweden's total consumption emissions per year decreased by 11% (10 million tons of CO2) between 1990 and 2015. But the richest 10%, who have a carbon footprint 8 times higher than what is required to reach the Paris Agenda's climate targets by 2030, only decreased by 1%, and the richest 1% increased their emissions by 11%. Instead, the lowest 50 % and the middle 40 % accounted for almost the entire reduction.
Inequality is a deadly component of the climate transition, creating a breeding ground for political discontent, reduced trust in democracy and escalating violence and conflict. This is a perspective that risks being completely missing from the government's national climate summit, based on the list of invitees and the agenda.
The necessary transition we are facing has major social consequences and it is the government's responsibility to support those who will be most affected by this transition, and to target measures at those who cause the most emissions. The government's proposal shows total ignorance of the link between climate and social policy.
A successful climate action plan must address the deep climate inequalities within and between countries - and this is impossible without specifically limiting emissions from the richest individuals and companies that are the biggest emitters. The business community has a great responsibility to help Sweden achieve its climate goals, and we know that many Swedish companies are concerned that Sweden is slowing down the pace of the climate transition.
The government refers to the business community as "the new environmental movement", and the business community has a key role to play in Sweden's ability to change - but this must be done in collaboration with other actors. The environmental movement is large and also includes research and non-profit organizations that work daily to transform society to achieve the climate goals. The entire environmental movement is central to our ability to produce new knowledge, to anchor it with the public, and to influence decision-makers who can drive change at global, national and local levels. It is the real climate movement that demands action and justice and keeps the flame burning in the fight against climate change. And it is the government's responsibility that we reach the climate goals - the government cannot and must not push the responsibility to the business community or other actors, but politics needs to ensure that the transition of the business community and all of Sweden takes place to the extent and at the pace needed and with justice in focus.
We simply note once again: it is too slow. It is not enough. And at the same time, human lives, cultural heritage, animals and nature continue to be lost forever. Experts warn that we are facing a summer of extreme heat and drought in Sweden, and in many places there are already fire bans and threats of water shortages. Ultimately, it is the government's responsibility to prevent and protect us all from this.
Hanna Nelson, Head of Policy, Oxfam Sweden
Astrid Nilsson Lewis, lead climate researcher, Oxfam Sweden
