| 1. |
- Hedeler, Barbara, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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Policy mixes and policy feedback: Implications for green industrial growth in the Swedish biofuels industry
- 2023
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Ingår i: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews. - : Elsevier. - 1364-0321 .- 1879-0690. ; 173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, innovation systems scholars have advanced the understanding of the evolution of industries around renewable energy technologies as well as the role of policy feedback (and indeed politics) surrounding the development of domestic green industrial development policies. To take a step towards combining these literature streams, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of policy mixes and policy feedback in the emergence of domestic green industries. This is achieved in the empirical case of biofuels in Sweden, and the findings show that policy feedback dynamics created difficulties in aligning the national policy mix with the technology and industrial developments in the country. The resulting political uncertainty predominantly hampered the scaling up of domestic production capacity, while R&D and import of biofuels instead could grow strong. Based on this empirical case, a process model is developed to explain the role of policy feedback in the development of domestic industries, thus demonstrating how the growth of domestic industries is driven by the interplay of policy effects and various feedback processes. The findings suggest that future research into the role of policies in “green” domestic industry growth should devote more attention to the dynamics driving the co-evolution of policy, technology and industry structures.
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| 2. |
- Näsman, Mattias, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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A promised land? : First summary of the research program
- 2023
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This document lays out the background for the research program “A promised land? Drivers, challenges and opportunities related to the (green) industrialization of Northern Sweden,” (nr. M22-0029) awarded by the Swedish Riksbankens Jubileumsfond’s in 2022. The document summarizes work in progress and may therefore be updated and republished in different versions according to the requirements of the program. This interdisciplinary program aims to understand the economic, social, and political challenges and opportunities of the ongoing industrial transformation in northern Sweden. A key element of the program is to identify drivers, obstacles, and preconditions in a historical, present, and forward-looking process-perspective.
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| 3. |
- Bergquist, Ann-Kristin, et al.
(författare)
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Command-and-control revisited : environmental compliance and technological change in Swedish industry 1970-1990
- 2013
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 85, s. 6-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper addresses the issue of environmental policy instrument choice for achieving deep emission reductions in the industrial sector. Specifically, it provides: (a) a theoretical and empirical review of the conditions under which performance standards can provide efficient incentives for deep emission reductions and technology adoption; and (b) an analysis of the design and the outcomes of the standards-based regulation of industrial pollutants in Sweden during the period 1970–1990. Our empirical findings suggest that the Swedish regulatory approach comprised many key elements of an efficient policy-induced transition towards radically lower emissions in the metal smelting and pulp and paper industries. The regulation relied solely on performance standards, thus granting flexibility to firms in terms of selecting the appropriate compliance measures. These standards were implemented in combination with extended compliance periods. R&D projects and the new knowledge that was advanced incrementally in interaction between the company, the environmental authorities and research institutions provided a direct catalyst to the regulatory process. In these ways the Swedish regulatory approach provided scope for creative solutions, environmental innovation, and permitted the affected companies to coordinate pollution abatement measures with productive investments.
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| 4. |
- Lindmark, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Weak support for weak sustainability : Genuine savings and long-term wellbeing in Sweden, 1850 – 2000
- 2018
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 145, s. 339-345
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study genuine savings as an indicator of long-term welfare for Sweden for the period 1850 to 2000. Sweden has developed long series of comprehensive ‘green’ national accounts for this entire period and is, therefore, interesting as a testing ground for the hypotheses linking green accounting and sustainability. We find support for the weakest of the hypotheses in the theoretical literature on weak sustainability and genuine savings, namely that genuine savings are correlated with future economic well-being. However, the stronger hypotheses in this literature are not supported: there is no one-to-one relationship between genuine savings and prosperity, there is no indication that the relationship becomes stronger for longer time horizons, or with more comprehensive savings measures. The findings suggest that genuine savings, at least as currently measured in national accounts and satellite accounts, may not be a good forward-looking indicator of future prosperity.
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| 5. |
- Söderholm, Kristina, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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The transition to chlorine free pulp revisited : Nordic heterogeneity in environmental regulation and R&D collaboration
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 165, s. 1328-1339
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development paths leading to the transition to cleaner bleaching technologies in the pulp industry. It devotes particular attention to the key features of the Swedish transition, but also compares this to the Finnish experiences. The empirical investigation builds on an analytical framework highlighting the conditions under which pollution regulations can provide efficient incentives for deep emission reductions at industrial plants. Existing and new archive material, including not least comprehensive license trial acts for Swedish pulp mills over an extended time period, are studied. Based on this historical analysis our findings contradict previous literature, the latter emphasizing that pressures from consumers and the public were the most significant driving forces behind the adoption ofeand innovation inealternative bleaching technologies during the late 1980s. Instead, this paper asserts, the green pulp transition was characterized by regulation-induced technological change and was made possible by long history of industry-wide cooperation in environmental R&D. Furthermore, while previous research has emphasized the leading role of the Nordic countries in green pulp innovation, we identify a number of profound differences between Finland and Sweden. These emerge from various national contexts in terms of, for instance, industry structures and strategies, political cultures, and regulatory styles. Finally, at a more general level the paper provides a few policy implications for supporting the ongoing transition towards a forest-based bioeconomy.
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| 6. |
- Söderholm, Patrik, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Regulation in the Pulp and Paper Industry : Impacts and Challenges
- 2019
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Ingår i: Current Forestry Reports. - : Springer. - 2198-6436. ; 5, s. 185-198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose of ReviewIn this article, we review existing research addressing how environmental regulations have influenced the pulp and paper industry. These regulations appear in different forms and designs and address air and water pollution as well as climate change. The paper devotes particular attention to how various regulations have affected sustainable technological change and the prospects for inducing deep emission reductions without jeopardizing industrial competitiveness and future investments.Recent FindingsExperiences from key pulp and paper regions, not least the Nordic countries, suggest that gradually tightening performance standards have contributed to radical reductions in emissions, e.g., chlorine compounds and biological oxygen demanding agents, and without imposing excessive compliance costs. This outcome can largely be attributed to how the regulations have been designed—and implemented—in practice, as well as to the presence of efficient and legitimate institutions. Long-term emission reduction targets, in combination with extended compliance periods and trustful firm-regulator relationships, contributed to radical technological innovation and permitted radical emission reductions without excessive compliance costs. The development of alternative bleaching technologies is an apt example. In contrast, the impact of carbon pricing schemes, including the EU emissions trading scheme, on carbon dioxide emissions reductions and related technological change in the pulp and paper industry has however been modest. Self-regulation, certification, and community pressure have exerted relatively modest influences on the environmental performance of the industry.SummaryImportant avenues for future research are identified. These include the following: (a) comparative research on how policy mixes in various countries have influenced environmental compliance and innovation; processes; (b) future studies of environmental regulations, their design and implementation, in emerging pulp and paper producing countries, not least China; and (c) research on how environmental regulations can affect ongoing restructurings in the industry towards a broader palette of products in biorefineries.
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| 7. |
- Söderholm, Patrik, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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The political economy of industrial pollution control : environmental regulation in Swedish industry for five decades
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0964-0568 .- 1360-0559. ; 65:6, s. 1056-1087
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paper analyzes the prerequisites for a regulatory-driven transition toward radically lower air and water pollution in industry. This is achieved in the empirical context of the Swedish mining and metals industry, and by investigating the environmental licensing processes during two regulatory systems. The paper derives an analytical framework that explores under what circumstances such licensing processes can result in radical emissions reductions without seriously jeopardizing the competitiveness of the industry. Archived material covering six environmental licensing processes, three during each system, is used to illustrate the various design and implementation issues. The results suggest that regulatory-driven green transitions benefit from trust-based bargaining procedures in which companies are involved in repeated interactions with regulatory authorities, and which extended probation periods permit tests of novel abatement technologies (including innovation). The findings also illustrate the importance of abstaining from simplified normative notions about policy instrument choice (e.g. taxes versus standards).
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| 8. |
- Udeagha, Maxwell Chukwudi, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental sustainability in South Africa: Understanding the criticality of economic policy uncertainty, fiscal decentralization, and green innovation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Sustainable Development. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0968-0802 .- 1099-1719. ; 31:3, s. 1638-1651
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- South Africa, like most developing nations, is confronted with choosing between the need to advance their economy and the need to protect the environment. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs-7, 11, 12 & 13) provide a strong foundation for this investigation. To this end, the current research investigates the combined impacts of economic policy uncertainty, fiscal decentralization, and green innovation on environmental sustainability for the instance of South Africa with yearly frequency data from 1960 to 2020. The current research leverages on dynamic ordinary least squares, fully modified ordinary least squares, and canonical cointegration regression. The Maki cointegration test shows how the variables being evaluated have an equilibrium connection across the time period under review. Empirical findings support the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework. These findings imply that, in the first stages of economic expansion, ecological environment is being sacrificed for economic progress (scale stage). Based on the EKC hypothesis, long-term quadratic economic growth reduces emissions by 0.162% whereas a 1% rise in economic growth increases emissions by 0.791%. Similar to this, long-term economic globalization and economic policy uncertainty impair ecological sustainability, whereas long-term fiscal decentralization and green innovation raise it in South Africa. These results have broad environmental repercussions. The present investigation supported environmental stick measures and investment in initiatives on a fundamental change from fossil-fuel energy consumption base to renewables. The final portion highlights further insights.
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