A Review of 'Energy and Transport in Green Transition: Perspectives on Ecomodernity'

The book “Energy and Transport in Green Transitions – Perspectives on Ecomodernity” deals with the societally and scientifically crucial topic of energy and climate change mitigation. The book starts by setting high ambitions as the authors attempt “to go beyond both the extremism of the anti-capitalist critique and the radical enthusiasm of techno-economic positivism” in their exploration to find ways to resolve political, economic and technological entanglements “to boost a greener economy and culture”. It aims to so through a regional comparative study that looks at mature Western economies, the rapidly developing China, and the developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors present an excellent descriptive historical review for those interested in the broader picture of energy production and automobile sector in the regions addressed. However, in an attempt to cover as much ground as possible while assuring "maximum accessibility”, the authors' explanation of the dynamics of change involved is not conveyed in an analytically convincing manner

Adding Fuel to the Fire : North-South dynamics in the geographies of transport energy: the case of EU biofuels

Since the 2000s, the European Union (EU) has promoted biofuels for transport to achieve climate change mitigation, and rural development in the global South. In contrast, critiques have argued that biofuel promotion impedes more meaningful mitigation while also resulting in dispossession of land and loss of labour opportunities in the global South. In this thesis, I study why the EU is promoting liquid biofuels for transport despite critique. I ask the following main questions: Can EU biofuel regulation assure the desired outcomes of significant mitigation of transport emissions and positive social effects in rural areas? If not, what would constitute more viable alternatives for achieving the desired outcomes?Within a sustainability science frame, I draw on critical realism, emancipatory social science, and a mixed methods approach to examine the complex interdependencies of energy and geography across three interconnected analytical domains: ‘geopolitics’, ‘energy markets’ and ‘energy landscapes’. For each domain there is a specific empirical focus and a corresponding theoretical body. The main structure of the thesis starts with a systematic ‘diagnosis and critique’ of EU biofuel regulation, then proceeds to discuss ‘alternatives and transformation’.My analysis unfolds in three major parts with respective findings. First, EU biofuel regulation impedes more meaningful mitigation of transport emissions. Its intrinsic mechanisms encourage firms to further expand intensified land-use practises for the production of energy commodities. This spills over to new land areas for increased production, and does not ensure substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions. Second, EU biofuel regulation has adverse social effects on the ‘transnational rural precariat’ especially in the global South where many states and governments accepted investments for the production of liquid biofuels as a means for development although it resulted in accumulation by dispossession. Together, these mechanisms tend to shift land and labour relations towards intensive agriculture with output designated for external regional markets, and without delivering ample social benefits to populations in these rural areas. Third, EU biofuel regulation is a response to (multiple) crises in capitalism: liquid biofuels have provided firms with new accumulation opportunities and the EU’s regulatory mechanisms allow firms in pre-existing geographies of production and consumption to produce commodities in more ‘flexible’ ways. Importantly, I found that this ‘flexing’ is a defining feature of EU biofuel regulation wherein the ensuing geopolitical territorialisation reproduces the ‘transport energy landscape’ and its underlying social relations.Finally, I discuss more viable alternatives for achieving the desired outcomes that can be promoted by exploiting the now identified gaps and contradictions inherent to the EU’s support of liquid biofuels for transport. To conclude, I theorize the role of energy geographies in climate change mitigation, and delineate my contributions to the research agenda of sustainability science

Effektivt beslutsfattande för energieffektiviseringar – en fallstudie av uppvärmningssystem inom vattenkraften

Syftet med studien var att analysera den kringliggande problematiken för energiproducenters beslutsfattningsprocess när de utvärderar investeringar i energieffektiviseringsåtgärder för uppvärmningssystem i vattenkraftsbaserade produktionsenheter i Sverige. Studien har utgått ifrån de dokumenterade barriärerna för investeringar i energieffektiviseringsåtgärder och applicerar konceptet om Environmental Management Accounting och Total Cost Assessment för uppvärmningssystem på en produktionsenhetsnivå i form av en fallstudie av Sveriges ledande producent av vattenkraftsbaserad el, Vattenfall Vattenkraft AB (Hydro). Forskningen motiveras av organisationens avsaknad av detaljerad information om sin energiförbrukning och kostnader relaterade till den, samt forskningsluckor inom området trots att vattenkraft är världens mest förekommande form av förnybar energi i världen. Studien visade på att för att närma sig ett mer rationellt beslutsfattande gällande investeringar i energieffektiviseringsåtgärder behöver Hydro tillgodose ingenjörer med kostnadsanalytiska modeller som underlättar för att visa de sanna kostnaderna för energieffektiviseringsprojekt. Hydro behöver även tillgodose organisationen med fysisk och monetär data för produktionsenheters energianvändning och definiera jämförbara relativa indikatorer för produktionsenheternas prestanda. Intervjuer med nyckelpersoner inom beslutsfattningsprocessen inom området visade på att organisationen fokuserar sig på driftsäkerhet och maximering av anläggningars energiproduktion, och frågor om anläggningarnas energiförbrukning är lågprioriterade. Detta mynnar sedan ut i en diskussion om vilka drivkrafter och barriärer som existerar inom organisationen för att implementera en ny management praxis där man kartlägger energiförbrukningen och kostnaderna den står för, samt på vilken nivå inom koncernen detta skall finansieras. Uppsatsen avslutas med ett antal rekommendationer om hur och varför Hydro bör etablera ett Environmental Management Accounting-system och vilka fysiska och monetära parametrar som är viktiga att inkludera när man skapar en prioriteringsstruktur för investeringar i energieffektiviseringsåtgärder för uppvärmningssystemen i vattenkraftsbaserade produktionsenheter. Studien rekommenderar Vattenfall (som ett statligt ägt företag och som Sveriges ledande producent av vattenkraftsbaserad el) att etablera detta för att strategiskt positionera sig inför framtida energi- och klimatpolitiska scenarion, att säkerställa att potentiella gynnsamma energieffektiviseringsåtgärder utförs och för att försäkra sig om att koncernen och dess ägare lever upp till sina uttalade klimat- och energipolitiska målsättningar. Avslutningsvis dras slutsatsen att för att bryta ett principal-agent grundat dödläge inom området behöver åtgärderna vara centralt finansierade, detta eftersom åtgärderna fyller ut gliporna i den nuvarande miljöprofilen och hjälper koncernen att leva upp till sina uttalade miljöambitioner och följaktligen skyddar sitt rykte och varumärke.The purpose of this study was to analyze the problems surrounding the decision making process for a energy producer when dealing with (potential) energy efficiency measures. This work creates the basis of a investment prioritizing structure directed at heating systems within Swedish hydro power based production facilities managed by Vattenfall. The research was called for by Vattenfall, as the organization lacked both a decision making process and detailed information on energy consumption and costs in this area. A situation found to be a general knowledge gap throughout the field of study despite hydro power being the most common form of renewable energy in the world. The study is centered on the documented barriers for energy efficiency and develops a process to apply established concepts of environmental management accounting and total cost assessment to the issue of efficiency measures of heating systems. After delivery of an in depth literature review and delineation of a structured cost assessment methodology, this study documents a case study at a production unit level at the hydro power department of Vattenfall Hydro in order to validate the approach. It was found that in order to move closer towards achievement of rational decision making for energy efficiency investments, Hydro needs to provide engineers and accountants with cost assessments frameworks that aid the presentation of the true costs of energy efficiency projects. Hydro also needs to gather and provide physical and monetary data for the energy usage at given facilities or operational units, and then define comparable relative environmental performance indicators. The work builds arguments that key decision making figures within Hydro generally focus their time and money on ensuring safety of operation and maximizing energy production rather than engaging in facility-based energy (demand-side) efficiency. Working from this, the thesis discusses drivers and barriers to the implementation of new management routines for mapping costs of energy consumption patterns and at what organizational level it should be financed. The study then delivers recommendations of how and why a environmental management accounting system should be implemented, and what important physical and monetary data need to included when creating a investment prioritizing structure for heating system energy efficiency measures in hydro power based production units. Findings also reflect Vattenfall’s status as a state-owned corporation and Sweden's leading hydro power based energy producer. With this in mind, this report recommends that measures be taken in order to further Vattenfall’s strategic position and reputation within future energy and climate political scenarios. It is found desirable that the organization ensures that it seizes potentially beneficial energy efficiency measures for reason of political standing and stakeholder legitimacy – by this it is inferred that there may be significant reputational value in such work. Finally it was concluded that in order to break a principal-agent dilemma based stalemate noted within the analysis, it is suggested that such endeavors may need to be centrally financed by Vattenfall, with the motivation that this aids in the filling of gaps in their current environmental profile and help them live up to the environmental ambitions communicated at a corporate level

Regulating a global value chain with the European Union's sustainability criteria – experiences from the Swedish liquid transport biofuel sector

AbstractDespite promises that they can contribute toward more environmentally beneficial transportation there are many sustainability concerns about liquid transport biofuels. In response to pressure from civil society, the European Union (EU) has introduced sustainability criteria for biofuels. A hybrid regulatory system involving state and non-state actors stipulates that retailers and producers must comply to be eligible for fiscal support such as tax exemptions. Flexibility in the system allows choice between different means of compliance, including a range of voluntary schemes. We present an analysis of views within the Swedish liquid transport biofuel sector in 2012 – a year after the introduction of EU sustainability criteria. Using document analysis, official statistics, and a survey, we use four key structures of global value chains — input–output structure, territorial configuration, institutional framework, and firm-level chain governance structure — to structure an analysis of biofuel value chain coordination. This yields three main findings regarding how the Swedish liquid transport biofuel system operates within, and views, the new regulatory framework. Firstly that it uses a broad portfolio of feedstock mainly from within Europe, seemingly avoiding countries where any supply conditions may be in doubt; second, larger retailers and producers achieve compliance without the need to provide additional social sustainability information; third, that actors exhibit predominantly Eurocentric perspectives on sustainability, express confidence that their supply chains have strong ‘sustainability performance’ and desire long-term policy stability. We conclude that despite a deep critique of the sustainability of biofuels amongst civil society and academia, EU regulation allows for production systems that reflect a European- and climate change mitigation-centred view on biofuel ‘sustainability’

Landsbygdernas och de mindre orternas civilsamhällen

Denna rapport introducerar det forskningsfält som uppstår när landsbygdsforskning och civilsamhällesforskning möts. Texterna i rapporten presenterades vid en konferens som genomfördes 2021 av en grupp forskare som är verksamma inom civilsamhällesforskning och landsbygdsforskning. Som framgår av konferensens titel, ”Landsbygdernas och de mindre orternas civilsamhällen”, skulle den ge möjlighet för dessa två forskningsområden att mötas och fördjupa varandra. Rapporten är tänkt som en ingång till aktuell forskning på detta tema och vi tror den kan vara intressant läsning för både aktiva inom civilsamhällets organisationer och verksamma inom myndigheter, regioner och kommuner som relaterar till landsbygdernas civilsamhälle i sitt arbete. Rapporten inleds med ett kapitel som kortfattat och översiktligt beskriver hur civilsamhällesforskning och landsbygdsforskning växt fram och diskuterar behovet av forskning som sätter fokus på landsbygdernas och de mindre orternas civilsamhällen. De inkluderade kapitlen presenterar forskning där landsbygdernas civilsamhällen studerats med olika metoder och ur flera olika perspektiv. I den första delen av rapporten presenteras forskning som beskriver skillnader och likheter i civilsamhällesengagemang mellan städer och landsbygd i Sverige, behandlar hur tillgång till service också kan påverka tillit till institutioner och diskuterar betydelsen av känslor i relation till civilsamhällesengagemang och samhällsutveckling. Vidare presenteras en övergripande bild av kunskapsläget om social innovation som svar på landsbygdens samhällsutmaningar, med särskilt fokus på civilsamhällets roll och samverkan med andra samhällsaktörer. Utifrån en studie av civilsamhällesprojekt finansierade med offentliga medel diskuteras också hur de ekonomiska bidragsresurserna omvandlas till immateriella resurser till nytta för lokaldesamhället. Rapporten innehåller också kapitel som diskuterar civilsamhällets alternativa bildningsvägar som utgår från platsers egna premisser, sociala rörelser för hållbarhet på den svensk-samiska landsbygden samt ett kapitel som diskuterar hur medborgarskapet omformas när boende i landsbygder och mindre orter i större utsträckning behöver förlita sig på civilsamhällets lösningar för att få tillgång till vardaglig service och grundläggande infrastruktur

Biomass-based energy on the move – The geographical expansion of the European Union’s liquid biofuel regulation

The growth of biomass-based markets for transport fuel is an expanding geographical process driven by regulation in the European Union (EU). Based on a certification scheme that illustrates the regulatory mechanisms in the EU’s liquid biofuel market, this article explains how larger processes of territorialisation and uneven development interact with specific processes of commodity production and flexing in this expansion. The study combines a content analysis of certification standards with a spatio-temporal analysis of data from certificates distributed 2010–2017. It shows that certification standards mirror EU regulation and, importantly, how the activities of firms extend EU rule beyond its territory. It suggests that the regulatory mechanisms seem to promote vertical integration, encourage large-scale production via horizontal integration of several different industries, and exclude small-scale production. Hence, it argues that the EU-based territorialisation re-produces historical patterns of territorial accumulation of land-based resources, wherein agro-industrial economic clusters in the global North accumulate value by exploiting biomass producers in the global South

The decreasing availability of reindeer forage in boreal forests during snow cover periods: A Sámi pastoral landscape perspective in Sweden

This paper argues that Sámi reindeer pastoralism in Sweden is highly stressed during the critical snow cover periods due to large-scale human interventions, especially forestry, and that these have over time significantly worsened the ecological conditions for natural grazing-based responses to changing snow conditions caused by climate change. Informed by a literature review, the paper conceptualises two, overlapping ecological dynamics that shape the availability of lichen as key forage resources within a Sámi pastoral landscape perspective: the grazing dynamics of reindeer during snow cover periods as determined by climatic stochasticity, and the more predictable vegetation dynamics of lichen habitat formation, growth and sustenance based on structured forestry practices. This could help articulate an intervention ecology that pursues sustainable ecological conditions for natural grazing-based Sámi reindeer pastoralism, along with other goals. As such alternatives are likely to face political resistance, the article discusses the implications of its findings within a science–politics interface

Strategies of the Sámi movement in Sweden: mobilization around grievances related to the ecological conditions of reindeer pastoralism, 2012–2022

Reindeer pastoralism, practiced by groups of the Indigenous Sámi people in Sweden, is being threatened by a new wave of encroachments. In this paper I take stock of how the Sámi movement has mobilized around grievances related to the ecological conditions that support natural pasture-based reindeer pastoralism. I apply the contentious politics approach to social movement theory, and Felix Kolb’s conceptualization of five strategies that social movements have used when interacting with the state to achieve political change. Drawing upon 10 years of data from the Sámi public news service, my study makes three main contributions. First, I identify a set of themes found in the public grievances connected to ecological conditions articulated by reindeer pastoralist organizations in the public sphere that are a focus for mobilization. Second, I present an overview of the five strategies that the Sámi movement applies in claims-making to address those grievances: the public preference mechanism, the political access mechanism, the judicial mechanism, the international politics mechanism, and the disruption mechanism, and show how they relate to one another. Third, I discuss the limitations of current mobilization efforts, and argue that cross-movement coalitions are needed to challenge the hegemonic bloc