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Den här rapporten redovisar resultaten av ett uppdrag att utvärdera försäljningseffekter av skatten på tunna plastbärkassar (härefter plastpåsar) som infördes i Sverige i maj 2020. Skatten infördes för att minska användningen av plastpåsar. Till följd av skatten höjdes i många mataffärer priset för en vanlig plastpåse från runt tre kronor till runt sju kronor. Frågeställningen om vilken effekt som just skatten har på förändringar i försäljningen kräver att denna effekt på något vis kan urskiljas från andra kända och okända faktorer som påverkar butiksförsäljningen. En regressionsanalys genomfördes därför av de för projektet tillgängliga försäljningssiffrorna för plastpåsar respektive papperskassar i ett antal svenska butiker. Resultatet visar att skatten hade en tydlig effekt i minskad försäljning av plastpåsar och en kraftigt ökad försäljning av papperskassar. Styrkan i effekten kan utryckas som 83 procent färre plastpåsar per krona av butiksomsättning. Analysen visar även att konsumenternas preferens till att köpa papperskassar ökade markant vid införandet av plastpåseskatten. Resultatet gäller enbart för de 43 butiker som utgjorde dataunderlaget. Naturvårdsverkets årliga redovisning över antalet plastpåsar på den svenska marknaden visade för helåret 2020 en minskning av antal plastpåsar med 25 procent jämfört med året innan. I siffrorna för 2020 ingår fyra månaders försäljning utan skatt på plastpåsarna, sannolikt är minskningen kraftigare om perioden före skatten skulle jämföras med perioden efter. Det saknas tillgängliga data för den sammantagna försäljningen av plast- och pappersbärkassar i svensk dagligvaruhandel. Den data som projektet haft direkt tillgång till, som inte är ett representativt urval av butiker, visar att försäljningen av plastpåsar i dessa butiker har minskat med drygt 20 procent mellan första kvartalet 2020 (före skatten) och samma kvartal 2021 (efter skatten). Uppgifter inom Sveriges tredje största dagligvarukedja visar att minskningen i deras butiker har varit ännu kraftigare. Den data som projektet haft tillgång till indikerar också att försäljningen av papperskassar gått ifrån att utgöra drygt 20 procent av de bärkassar som säljs, till att utgöra knappt 70 procent. Papperskassarna dominerar nu som alternativ när konsumenter väljer att köpa en ny engångskasse i mataffären vilket är omvänt scenario från före skatten. Projektet lät i februari 2022 Sifo-Kantar göra en undersökning av användningen av medhavd bärkasse i ett representativt urval av den svenska befolkningen. 9 av 10 personer uppgav i denna undersökning att de alltid eller oftast har med sig en egen kasse när de handlar i mataffären. 7 av 10 personer uppgav att de som medhavd kasse använder tygkasse eller annan flergångkasse. Det finns ingen jämförbar undersökning utförd före det att plastpåseskatten infördes. Därför ger inte denna undersökning något svar om konsumenterna inställning till att ha med egen kasse vid matinköp har ändrats p.g.a. plastpåseskatten. Försäljningsvolymen av rullar med avfallspåsar i plast i svensk dagligvaruhandel steg tydligt under första kvartalet år 2020. Detta kan ha berott på flera faktorer. En följdeffekt av att färre vanliga plastpåsar kommer med hem från mataffären kan vara att hushållen i ökad utsträckning köper särskilt anpassade plastpåsar för exempelvis avfallshantering. This report presents the results of an assignment to evaluate the sales effects of the tax on plastic carrier bags that was introduced in Sweden 1 May 2020. The tax was introduced with the aim to reduce the use of plastic bags. As a result, many of the supermarkets increased the price of a regular plastic bagat the checkout counter from three to seven kronor. The question of how the sales effect of the tax on plastic bags requires that this effect somehow can be distinguished from other known or unknown elements that affect sales. Therefore, regression analysis was applied with available sales data covering both plastic and paper bags in a set number of Swedish supermarkets. The results shows that the tax had a strong effect interms of reduced sales of plastic bags, thus an increased sales of paper bags. The strength of the effect is estimated to be 83 percent fewer plastic bags per krona of the total store turnover. The analysis also illustrates those consumers preferences significantly changed to buy paper bags increased sharply when the tax on on plastic bags was introduced. The results are only valid for the 43 supermarkets which is part of the dataset in this assignment. The annual data collection of the number of plastic bags made by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency of the Swedish market reveals a decrease with 25 percent compared to previous year. The figures for year 2020 includefour mounts of sales without the tax on plastic bags, which is probably why the reduction is stronger than that if the period before the tax were to be compared with the period after the tax. There is no available data for the total sales of plastic and paper carrier bags which covers all grocery stores in Sweden. The directly available data in this assignment, is a sample, thus it’s not representative it illustrates the sales of carrier bags in these stores have decreased with approximately 20 percent between the first quarter of 2020 (before the tax was introduced) and the same quarter of 2021 (after the tax was introduced). Data from Sweden’s third biggest chain of supermarkets shows that the decrease is even greater in their shops. According to the dataset available to the assignment, it indicates that the sales of paper bags have increased from accounting to about 20 percent of the total sales of carrier bags, to 70 percent. Paper bags are now dominating the market as an alternative for consumers when choosing to buy a new disposable bag at the grocery store. Consequently, it’s the opposite from before the tax was introduced. In February 2022, the assignment commissioned Sifo-Kantar to conduct a survey of the use of carrier bags in a statistical representative sample of the Swedish population. 9 out of 10 people mentioned in this survey that they always or usually bring their own bag when shopping at the grocery store. 7 out of 10 people reported to be bringing a used bag, cloth bag or other multi-use bag. There is no comparable study carried out before the introduction of the plastic bag tax. Therefore, this survey does not provide an answer how consumers attitude towards having their own bag when buying food has changed due to the introduction of tax on plastic bags. The sales volume of rolls of plastic waste bags increased sharply during the first quarter of 2020. This may have been due to several elements. A consequence of fewer ordinary plastic bags coming home from the grocery stores could be that the households in a larger extent for example, bought specially adapted plastic bags for household waste management.

I den här studien, finansierad av Energimyndigheten, analysera styrkeområden inom svensk miljöteknikexport. Det undersöks vilka typer av miljöteknikföretag som har varit framgångsrika när det gäller export samt inom vilka miljötekniksegment och på vilka marknader dessa företag har varit framgångsrika. Resultatet visar att exporten av miljöteknik är generellt sett är störst till Europa och Asien. Energi- och resursåteranvändning är det starkaste området inom svensk miljöteknikexport, men bland företag med innovationskraft växer nya exportområden fram.

This paper examines the intensive and extensive margins of carbon leakage. The analysis uses an increase in the Swedish electricity price to identify the impact on imports at the firm and product level. Our model of heterogenous firms predicts that higher domestic electricity prices lead firms to substitute towards imports of electricity-intense products.

"The purpose of the United Nations-guided process to establish Sustainable Development Goals is to galvanize governments and civil society to rise to the interlinked environmental, societal, and economic challenges we face in the Anthropocene. We argue that the process of setting Sustainable Development Goals should take three key aspects into consideration. First, it should embrace an integrated social-ecological system perspective and acknowledge the key dynamics that such systems entail, including the role of ecosystems in sustaining human wellbeing, multiple cross-scale interactions, and uncertain thresholds. Second, the process needs to address trade-offs between the ambition of goals and the feasibility in reaching them, recognizing biophysical, social, and political constraints. Third, the goal-setting exercise and the management of goal implementation need to be guided by existing knowledge about the principles, dynamics, and constraints of social change processes at all scales, from the individual to the global. Combining these three aspects will increase the chances of establishing and achieving effective Sustainable Development Goals."

This paper examines the intensive and extensive margins of carbon leakage. The analysis uses an increase in the Swedish electricity price to identify the impact on imports at the firm and product level. Our model of heterogenous firms predicts that higher domestic electricity prices lead firms to substitute towards imports of electricity-intense products.

This paper uses a monopolistic competitive framework with many sectors to study the impact of trade liberalization on local and global emissions. We focus on the interplay of the pollution haven effect and the home market effect and show how a large-market advantage can counterbalance a high emission tax, implying that trade liberalization leads to lower global emissions. Generally, our results suggest that relative market size, the level of trade costs, the ease of abatement, and the degree of product differentiation at the sector level are relevant variables for empirical studies on trade and pollution.

The thesis comprises four essays examining aspects of international trade and environment. "Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) and Strategic Climate Policy" examines how BCA affects government incentives to regulate emissions and trade in a strategic setting and contrasts the impact of a BCA and a tariff: the distinction being that the level of the BCA is a function of the difference in the trade partner's emission taxes whereas the tariff is not. I show that a BCA leverages the exporter's climate policy provided the exporter has little influence over world prices (i.e. export supply elasticity is large) and has a weak climate policy. "How does the price of electricity affect imports? A study of Swedish manufacturing firms" examines the heterogeneous effects of a domestic electricity price increase on the structure of imports. We identify the magnitude of the impact of the electricity price increase on the structure of firm imports. Our findings agree with the predictions of our theoretical model. "Trade, Transboundary Pollution and Market Size" suggests a new set of theoretical reasons that may help reconcile the contradictory empirical evidence of the impact of trade liberalization on the location of production to countries with weaker pollution policy. Our results suggest that relative market size, the level of trade costs, the ease of abatement, and the degree of product differentiation at the sector level are relevant variables for empirical studies on trade and pollution. Market shares for organic products are typically modest. Yet several consumer surveys find that a majority of respondents would buy substantially more of these products even if they cost more. "What’s holding it back? A study in organic retail coffee purchases" explores reasons for this apparent divergence. The results suggest that the limited overlap between organic and other highly-valued characteristics is one of the most important constraints.