Prime Minister Stefan Löfven spoke at the Climate Change Conference in Paris, France on Monday, November 30

I am an industry man. I started my working life as a welder. I know first-hand that with the right foresight, industry can bring about change, massively and fast.

In fact, the industrial revolution is what brought us here today. It gave us unprecedented wealth and growth. But it was also the starting point for an economy built on coal and other fossil fuels, and for unsustainable global warming.

We are gathered here today to accelerate a new green industrial revolution that will be ever as transformative as the one 250 years ago.
But this time change must be global, it must build on renewables, and it must be just.

But just as before, change will be guided by innovations. The solar cell, combined with smart energy storage, might very well be the ‘Spinning Jenny’ of our time.

Winners will be societies at the forefront – not those that wait until the last minute. So I have set an ambitious goal for my country: Sweden will be among the first fossil free welfare nations of the world.

It is not only a matter of climate-altruism – it is also in our best economic interests. I want Swedish companies to develop the new emission-reducing products and innovations that the world is asking for. This will create jobs and export revenues.

Being a rich country, we have a head-start. Consequently, it is our duty to support those countries that did not cause the emissions, but are most vulnerable to its effects. Sweden is strongly committed to showing leadership. We remain the largest per capita donor to the Green Climate Fund. In addition, we will make substantial new contributions to the Adaptation Fund and to the Least Developed Countries Fund.

Altogether, Sweden is here to enter into an ambitious, fair and durable agreement. Our main priority is to keep global warming as far below two degrees as possible.

So let us not see Paris as an end, but as a beginning. Let us continue to raise the level of our ambitions. And let us be guided by this core belief: global climate action will not hold humanity back – it will propel us forward.

Thank you.
Swedish Government