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The blending of discourses in Sweden’s “urge to go ahead” in climate politics

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  • Mathias Zannakis

Abstract

This paper investigates what made possible Sweden’s “urge to go ahead” in climate policy, an issue particularly interesting given the problem with non-compliance in the climate regime. The material reveals that there was tension regarding how great burden Sweden should shoulder and to what extent emissions reductions should be made domestically. Despite this tension, Sweden decided to have a more ambitious national target (−4 %) than required by the EU burden sharing agreement (+4 %), which allocated the EU’s Kyoto Protocol targets within EU-15. It was also decided that emissions reductions should not account for the flexible mechanisms or carbon sinks. Importantly, the national −4 % target was over-implemented (−16 % in 1990–2011). These decisions were institutionalized until the center-right government in 2009 formulated the 2020 targets. Using argumentative discourse analysis, I conclude that what made possible Sweden’s comparatively ambitious climate policy was the discourse coalitions (although different in character) formed around primarily two story lines that were blended: Opportunity (in line with the discourse on ecological modernization) and Ecological Justice (in line with the discourse on civic environmentalism). However, the latter was de-emphasized by the center-right government that came to power in 2006, reflecting the influence of a Sacrifice story line and the increased importance of the norm of cost-efficiency. Convincing others about the truthfulness of the Opportunity story line would possibly be effective for making others willing to commit to obligations and actually implement them. However, the diminishing importance of the Ecological Justice story line may affect negatively how Sweden is viewed internationally. If the overarching aim is to get as many countries as possible to commit to and comply with quantitative commitments within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, then it might not only be of importance whether Sweden can “deliver” but possibly also how one delivers. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

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  • Mathias Zannakis, 2015. "The blending of discourses in Sweden’s “urge to go ahead” in climate politics," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 217-236, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:15:y:2015:i:2:p:217-236
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-013-9235-0
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    1. Stern,Nicholas, 2007. "The Economics of Climate Change," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521700801, January.
    2. Kander, Astrid, 2005. "Baumol's disease and dematerialization of the economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 119-130, October.
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    4. Steven Sarasini, 2009. "Constituting leadership via policy: Sweden as a pioneer of climate change mitigation," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 14(7), pages 635-653, October.
    5. Sevasti-Eleni Vezirgiannidou, 2009. "The Climate Change Regime Post-Kyoto: Why Compliance is Important and How to Achieve it," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 41-63, November.
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