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Le blog L'Europe en débat, fruit d'un partenariat entre ARTE et le Collège d'Europe, parie sur la force du débat pour imaginer l'avenir de l'Europe. Il aborde en français et en anglais l'actualité européenne sur une base thématique. Son équipe, composée d'étudiants, d'assistants et de professeurs du Collège, privilégie dans ses analyses la comparaison, la mise en perspective et le recul. Elle vous invite à participer à cette réflexion collective via les commentaires. Elle cherche ainsi, à dégager des intérêts communs aux citoyens européens en dépassant les intérêts nationaux, préalable à la constitution d'une opinion publique européenne.

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Climate change: The road to Copenhagen - An Euractiv dossier

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Nom d'auteur : Luis Bouza Garcia

Description : Je suis l'assistant académique du programme d'Études générales européennes du Collège d?Europe

Priority climate - how far will Swedish presidency take us? Perspective - Sweden

Picture by hughrocks in Flickr

The Three Gorges Dam in the river Yangtze, China. Dams like that one were associated in the 1930s in the USA with massive electrification and economic recovery. Nevertheless, they have recently become controversial.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that global emissions must be at least halved between 1990 and 2050. Key provisions of the Kyoto Protocol expire in 2012. There is a heavy political pressure on the European Union (EU) to cope with climate change. What can be expected of the Swedish presidency? And what is the reaction of the Swedish people to climate change like?

Sweden’s CO2 emissions according to the World Bank’s Little Green Data Book 2009

CO2 emissions per unit of GDP in 2005: 0, 2 kg/ $ PPP

CO2 emissions per capita: 5, 4 metric tons

CO2 emissions evolution (1990–2005): - 1, 9 %

The Swedish presidency has passed mid-term and the Climate Conference in Copenhagen, where world leaders will negotiate to draw up a United Nations agreement on tackling climate change, approaches fast. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has promoted fight against climate change as one of the top priorities of Swedish presidency. Albeit stressing that the success of the Copenhagen summit depends more on China and the United States than on Sweden, the government has made it clear that its utmost goal is to reach an agreement in December.

The choice of agenda came by no means as a surprise to the Swedish people, who have seen environmental policy play an essential role in politics for decades. The grass-roots of the 1960´s formed strong organisations and put pressure on politicians, the latter forcing the industry to take measures so as to limit emissions and save energy. The first United Nations climate conference was held in the Swedish capital Stockholm in 1972, on Swedish initiative.

Therefore environmental policy as such appears uncontroversial in Sweden. However, Fredrik Reinfeldt and his centre-right government show a relatively new face as they claim climate change to lie at the heart of their ambitions. Traditionally less in favour of far reaching and costly environmental policy than the social democrats and left wing parties, the government now steps into the political territory of the latter. During the 2006 elections campaign, climate was not highlighted by Reinfeldt, who focused on job creation. It might appear difficult for the prime minister to stress the climate issue as EU president without also considering it more than before on the national level and thus, both political blocks are now claiming to be prioritizing climate. With the government increasingly stressing the climate issue, both political blocks are now concerned with it.

There are reasons for the government to move in this direction. Firstly, there is no doubt Swedish people are well-informed, concerned and willing to give up comfort in order to reduce energy consumption. Saving electricity, recycling and avoiding driving are some of the ways Swedish people take action. Secondly, if Swedish environmental policy once was considered to lie ahead, European neighbours have caught up. If Sweden wants to be a role model in the field, thus sticking to the tradition, the government realizes ambitions ought to be high.

However, not everyone is impressed. Swedish state-owned company Vattenfall has caused the government criticism, by building new coal stations in Germany. And of course, it is all very well with ambitions. Only – when it comes to environment and climate – it appears so easy to be in favour, but, oh, so difficult to achieve something concrete. Therefore, critical voices call for the Swedish government to do more, if it wants to prove itself capable of more than mere words in Copenhagen.

Whether or not convincing as an environment policy maker on the national level – the Swedish government will, as president of the EU, continue striving towards an agreement. How far we will get will depend less on Sweden than on many other countries.

Find out more:

Swedish climate debate (in Swedish)

Swedish presidency (in English)

Naturskyddsföreningen, Swedish environmental protection organisation (in English)

Agnes Eklund

Rédigé par Luis Bouza Garcia | Énergie : politique, lobbies et environnement | Commentaires (1) | | +

Le 22/10/2009 à 15:36

Commentaires

1 - Le 22/10/2009 à 17:11, par Alter Ego

It is surpising to see that climate change is not so much of a Swedish priority as one would expect (http://matsengstrom.wordpress.com). I thought that it was because the Swedes disregard fellow Europeans as not serious enough on the issue. Agnes, do your think that Swedish political culture has changed as to put jobs and economy before climate? Or maybe it is just uncontroversial and parties are no longer cleaved on the issue...

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