Search

Sveriges långsiktiga nationella klimatmål är ett av världens mest ambitiösa. Sverige ska nå noll nettoutsläpp av växthusgaser till år 2045. Det ska ske genom att minska utsläppen med minst 85 procent jämfört med 1990. Kvarvarande utsläpp ska kompenseras genom så kallade kompletterande åtgärder, både inhemska åtgärder och internationella klimatsinaster. På senare tid har regeringens intresse för internationella klimatinsatser ökat. En delförklaring kan vara att Sveriges ekonomi präglas av en mycket låg koldioxidintensitet. Sverige har en av världens mest klimateffektiva ekonomier, i paritet med Schweiz och Danmark (Gütschow och Pflüger, 2022). Den låga koldioxidintensiteten innebär att marginalkostnaden för klimatåtgärder inom Sveriges territorium i många fall är hög i jämförelse med andra länder. En annan förklaring bakom det svenska intresset för internationella klimatinsatser är Sveriges historiskt stora engagemang i internationell politik. Relativt storleken på Sveriges ekonomi har Sverige en lång historia av att vara världsledande inom klimatrelaterat bistånd och klimatfinansiering. En del av detta engagemang tar sig uttryck genom svenska statens satsningar på internationella klimatinsatser inom ramkonventionen om klimatförändringar. Satsningen består dels av klimatrelaterat bistånd, bilateralt liksom genom stora bidrag till multilaterala fonder som den globala miljöfonden, gröna klimatfonden och anpassningsfonden, dels av Energimyndighetens program för internationella klimatinsatser. Parisavtalets Artikel 6 reglerar hur stater kan samarbeta internationellt. Skärningspunkten mellan FN:s reglering av samarbeten under Artikel 6, Sveriges ambitioner inom kompletterande åtgärder för att uppfylla nationella klimatmål och EU:s begräsningar av det svenska handlingsutrymmet är komplex. Denna rapport syftar till att skapa underlag för att förstå om den svenska satsningen på Artikel 6 bidrar till möjligheten att nå de svenska klimatmålen. Rapporten försöker reda ut: I hur

How can the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) be made more effective? This paper argues that in order to make the UNFCCC fit for purpose, there is a need to identify the specific institutional reforms that can create ripple effects to accelerate climate action across governance levels and relevant organisations. Longstanding calls to reform the UNFCCC have targeted inefficient procedures with the intent to promote effective outcomes and - after entry into force of the Paris Agreement - to transform the UNFCCC towards holding more implementation-focused deliberations. Despite such calls, UNFCCC reform has been modest, at best. Central to the failure of reform proposals are vested interests with conflicts of interest that seek to obstruct climate action. Without addressing these elephants in the room, reform proposals will make modest contributions to overcoming key challenges. It is due time to start retargeting institutional reform from addressing procedural inefficiencies at the UNFCCC towards addressing vested interests. We propose a new research agenda to understand ways to undermine incumbent actors seeking to preserve business as usual and support new entrants that facilitate climate action through green spiralling. A reform process addressing vested interests could improve both procedural efficiency and implementation., Funding Agencies|Indra Overland - Swedish Research Council Formas [2019-01973]

Stockholms stad står i begrepp att uppdatera stadens miljöprogram, klimathandlingsplan och klimatbudget. I revideringen ska hänsyn tas till nya vetenskapliga rön om vad som krävs för att begränsa den globala upphettningen till 1,5°C samt till vad som anses rättvist utifrån stadens historiska utsläpp. Denna rapport bidrar med underlag för bedömningar av vad som kan anses vara Stockholms stads rättvisa bidrag till det globala klimatarbetet till år 2030. Syftet studeras med utgångspunkt i de senaste vetenskapliga rönen kring utsläppsbudgetar och klimaträttvisa samt erfarenheter från jämförbara städer. Världens länder är enade i en strävan efter att begränsa den globala uppvärmningen till 1,5°C år 2100. Anledningen är enkel, en global uppvärmning som överstiger 1,5°C anses få svåröverblickbara konsekvenser, inte minst för fattiga och sårbara befolkningar, samt öka risken för att utlösa irreversibla återkopplingsmekanismer i klimatsystemet som leder till en kraftigt förstärkt klimatuppvärmning. I rapportens första kapitel presenteras en översikt av det aktuella forskningsläget kring det förbrukade och kvarvarande utsläppsutrymmet för att begränsa upphettningen till 1,5°C. Även om osäkerheterna är stora är slutsatsen att det kvarvarande utsläppsutrymmet är begränsat mycket robust. För att ha en 67-procentig chans att begränsa ökningen av jordens medeltemperatur till 1,5°C högre än under förindustriell tid kan mänskligheten släppa ut cirka 400 miljarder ton koldioxid, förutsatt att utsläppen av andra viktiga växthusgaser som metan och lustgas kraftigt begränsas. Med utsläpp av koldioxid på 2020 års nivå är detta utsläppsutrymme slut runt år 2030. Den globala, kollektiva ansträngning som behövs för att förhindra farlig mänsklig påverkan på klimatsystemet är oerhört utmanande. Målet om att begränsa uppvärmningen till 1,5°C skapar rambetingelser för världssamfundets kollektiva klimatarbete men besvarar inte frågan om ansvarsfördelning för att nå målet. Parisavtalet åberopar K, Granskning:Rapporten är inte formellt sakkunniggranskad, men genomläst före publicering av flera personer.

During the formulation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, many promoted policy coherence as a key tool to ensure achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a way that “leaves no one behind.” Their argument assumed that coherent policymaking contributes to more effective policies and supports over-arching efforts to reduce inequality. As the 2030 Agenda reaches the halfway point, however, countries are falling short on many SDGs, particularly SDG 10 (reduce inequality). This study revisits the basic assumptions about policy coherence underpinning the SDGs. We systematically screened the peer-reviewed literature to identify 40 studies that provide evidence about whether coherent policymaking contributes to more effective outcomes and helps to reduce inequality. We find that coherent policymaking did not help reduce inequality in a majority of cases and made it worse in several. Our findings challenge the narrative that coherence is a necessary pre-condition for progress on the SDGs for all people., Funding: Svenska Forskningsradet Formas [2018-01706, 2020-00396]

We consider complex multistage multiagent negotiation processes such as those occurring at climate conferences and ask ourselves how can an agent maximize its social power, intended as influence over the outcome of the negotiation. This question can be framed as a strategic game played over an opinion dynamics model, in which the action of an agent consists in stubbornly defending its own opinion. We show that for consensus-seeking opinion dynamics models in which the interaction weights are uniform, the optimal action obeys to an early mover advantage principle, i.e. the agents behaving stubbornly in the early phases of the negotiations achieve the highest social power. When looking at data collected from the climate change negotiations going on at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we find evidence of the use of the early mover strategy. Furthermore, we show that the social powers computed through our model correlate very well with the perceived leadership roles assessed through independent survey data, especially when non-uniform weights incorporating economical and demographic factors are considered., Funding: Swedish Research Council [2020-03701]; ELLIIT framework program at Linkoping University

Paris-compatible climate scenarios often consider bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) as an important technology for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Although the main barrier to BECCS deployment is often associated with lack of economic policy incentives, unfavorable regulations can also impede investments. Over the past decade, the regulatory conditions at the UN and on the EU level have developed to be more permissive toward BECCS. For instance, CDR accounting guidelines have been developed by the UN, and the EU CCS Directive regulates responsibilities regarding storage of CO2. However, several existing regulations still cause deployment hurdles. Taking a European viewpoint, this perspectives article takes stock of recent regulatory developments and provides a discussion on legal acts that need to be reformed in order to facilitate BECCS deployment. Although the European trend is characterized by developing a regulatory regime that is more supportive of BECCS, we identify three areas for further improvement: (1) allowing EU Member States to use negative emissions from BECCS to comply with their obligations under the legislative pillars that underpin the EU’s climate objectives: (2) amending the CCS Directive to exempt physical leakage of biogenic CO2, attributable to sustainably sourced biomass, from the requirement to surrender emission allowances in the EU ETS or, if BECCS has been economically rewarded, the penalty for leakage should correspond to the level of the reward; and (3) pushing to erase the last few barriers due to multilateral regimes, such as clarifying whether BECCS is covered by the geoengineering moratorium maintained by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. These proposed reforms would further improve the regulatory preconditions for BECCS deployment in the EU.

Biochar may contribute to both agricultural productivity and atmospheric carbon dioxide removal. However, despite the many potential upsides of adding biochar to amend carbon-depleted soils in sub-Saharan Africa, deployment is largely lacking. This paper explores the socio-economic factors that can explain tendencies to avoid action. Based on a survey of 172 farming households, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions in the Mbeya and Songwe regions of Tanzania, which were targeted for a biochar aid program in 2014, several socio-economic drivers behind the continued use of biochar deployment were identified in this follow-up study. A key deployment driver was the increased crop yields, perceived to be the result of adding biochar to soils, increasing yields from 1 metric ton per hectare to 3 metric tons per hectare. Food security and family income were cited as the main reasons to engage in biochar production and use. Climate change mitigation and increased resilience were other key reasons that motivated adoption. In terms of socio-economic factors, farmers with low education and income, the majority being males aged 40–60 years, contributed to low adoption rates in the study area. Respondents often cited the alternative usage of biochar feedstocks, lack of government involvement or extension services, traditions, and farming customs as the main constraints limiting biochar deployment., Funding: Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research CouncilEuropean Commission [2016-06359]; FormasSwedish Research Council Formas [2019-01973], LUNETs

The world’s agricultural production is declining due to severe loss of soil fertility through natural processes or because of human activities. Biochar has been identified as a potential soil amendment to regain its fertility and increase crop productivity. This study aimed to assess the effects of biochar on soil nutrients and crop yields in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Data were collected through key informant and household interviews, and from sampling of soils in coffee farms where biochar of maize cobs origin was incorporated at the rate of 3 t ha-1. Purposive sampling approach was deployed to identify the villages in which farmers have been incorporating biochar in farms. A total of 172 households, 30 key informants, and 12 top and subsoil samples were involved in this study. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 20, and excel spreadsheet was used for descriptive results and relationships. The findings revealed that biochar significantly increased soil pH, iron (Fe), organic carbon (OC), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and exchangeable bases (potassium-K, magnesium-Mg). T - tests showed significant increase of soil nutrients in biochar treated soils. In addition, biochar increased coffee and maize yields from 1 t ha-1 to 3 t ha-1., Funding: The funding for this research was provided by the Swedish Research Council [Grant No. 2016-06359] and Formas [Grant No. 2019-01973]., LUNETs