“We will now go from words to action – after Paris, we have a new climate agreement in place. Achieving the goal of a fossil-free Sweden requires long-term investments and a climate policy framework,” said Minister for Climate and the Environment Åsa Romson when she initiated the workshop.

Some participants hold a group discussion.
Photo: Johanna Ljung/Government Offices

The discussions that followed raised many important challenges to and possibilities for achieving a fossil-free society, including:

• Behavioural changes and regulatory simplification needed to move forward on climate adaptation.
• Investments in innovation and research in a number of areas, such as use of materials.
• Clearer directives and governance for public procurement.
• A long-term approach as an essential prerequisite was emphasised by several parties, as technological development is often about making very large investments, which requires long-term solutions.
• Clearer goals and interim goals for the coming decades – many people believe that the goals make it easier to generate action in operations.
• Going from forecast targeting to management by objectives, in other words, allowing the image of what we want our society to look like in the future to guide us.
• The transport sector was pointed out as one of the most important challenges.

Among the actors taking part there was a great sense of commitment, high ambitions and broad consensus that Sweden can be fossil free, but that much work remains. The path to this is through collaborating, challenging and learning from each other. In this, the Fossil Free Sweden initiative can play an important role as a platform for cooperation and joint discussions. 

Swedish Government