Obstruction in the Green welfare state

Sweden has often been hailed by promoters of ecomodernism as an international leader in environmental negotiations and for its transition away from CO2-intensive energy production since the 1970s. During this time, there has been a near consensus among Swedish policymakers (at least publicly) that climate change is a real and critical issue. Nonetheless, opposition to environmental policy and environmental movements has been voiced by actors influenced by neoliberal ideology and in defence of vested interests. Because of the public consensus on the need for climate action, these actors have used different obstruction strategies than their US counterparts. This chapter will argue that many of the obstruction tactics we see employed globally today, typically involving delay and the geographical displacement of solutions, were already tried in Sweden in the 1990s. As in many parts of Europe, organized science denial became more prominent during the late 2000s, and during the 2010s it merged and grew with far-right ideology. Through this chronology, the chapter will offer an empirical counternarrative to the idea that once the science is settled, constructive action will follow. Indeed, in Sweden, outright denial has recently re-emerged at the centre of national politics, with the political far-right holding direct influence over both the government and climate policy.