The Problem of Climate Change

Is the issue of climate change a qualitatively different problem than other problems that environmentalists and governmental environmental policy has addressed? Is there something categorically, qualitatively different?

Absolutely.

And what is that?

The problem is so much connected to the structure of the human society, the way we are living, the way we are building, planning, and everything. It very much depends -- for example, I mentioned acidification earlier. [That work] was to clean the emissions from the huge industrial plants for sulfur, but when we're talking about climate change and greenhouse gases, the single human being is very much one source of the problem. And that is the big challenge when we are talking about it. We cannot solve it by substitution -- of course, we need technical development -- but we cannot just take it away, as we did with, for example, freons and sulfur.

For the individual citizen in a democracy we're talking about the way they transport themselves, the way they get to work, the way they house themselves. The whole array of the lifestyle is being challenged, if we continue on the same course and do not respond to what climate change signs is telling us.

Exactly. It's very much connected to our lifestyle. Consumption patterns, for example, are very important when we're talking about climate change.

Let's relate to how we go about solving this problem in the context of what you have done in your life. Presumably, as one finds the elements of this problem, you must draw on scientific advisory boards to help elucidate the elements of the problem that the government has to solve. How does that work in Sweden? Give me an example, possibly, of a committee ...

Yeah. We are, in Sweden, talking about combating climate change. We are very much looking at different type of market-based solutions which make it more expensive to emit greenhouse gases and cheaper if you are not. You can see, for example, that the taxation system for cars is built upon the emissions of greenhouse gases. We have carbon tax, and in general, which means not only fuel, [you are taxed] if you use oil as your heating system. You have no taxes on biofuels and such things, which means that our advice is very much based on the type of tools that can be used.

But of course, at the end you are [depending] on the single man or woman on the street, how they behave and what they want. You have to tell them about the problem in a way so they understand, so they accept that there are changes in the society due to climate change.

Do you think it's easier to do that in a society like Sweden where there's a tradition of the welfare state, a tradition of a very active government role, and a very educated populace?

Compare with the United States, for example? -- maybe. [We have] challenges, too. As you said, people in general in Sweden are very interested in environment, they would like to do something for environment. But that is one thing. There are assorted ways to deal with fractures; everyone is different.

Climate change has a deep impact on the way you live, of course. As long as we don't have technical solutions ... transportation, for example: as we can see over the whole Western world, and which is increasing also in other parts of the world, transportation is a need. But we need technical solutions so that we have transportation without emissions of greenhouse gases. And we are not there yet, not yet.

Next page: The Swedish Response