Nationalism, Ecological Modernisation and Climate Change

Drawing from political science research on climate policy change in the European Union and Sweden, this contribution addresses the nexus of nationalism and ecological modernisation and its consequences for climate change policy. The legacy of industrialisation, with its focus on fossil fuelled economic growth, still limits the capacity of many nation-states around the world to adopt radical policies on climate change mitigation. Within conservative nationalism, both industrialised and non-industrial countries argue that switching to renewable energy would increase costs for energy and reduce economic growth. In response to increasing environmental degradation, the discourse of ecological modernisation has developed as a political theory of social change and practical environmental policy in liberal democracy. It is presented as reformist, capitalist approach to environmental policy where sustainability and economic growth go hand in hand. It focuses on international trade, market rationality, the role of technology, efficiency, and business in environmental policy. Ecological modernisation has guided environmental and climate policy in Sweden and the EU since the 1990s, most recently the European Green Deal from 2019. The paper suggests that the nexus of nationalism and ecological modernisation can be described along different dimensions related to climate change governance: space, time, community and agency. It is found that, contrary to features of conservative nationalism, ecological modernisation relies on global targets and requires that nation states around the world adopt such policies. But it takes a nationalist or supranationalist approach to economic and industry related climate policy. There is international competition on the clean technology markets, and European companies must be protected through a level playing field. But this comes at a cost for other countries, since EU legislation increasingly apply to non-EU actors which cannot be compensated for negative consequences. This is apparent, for instance with the new EU legislation for decarbonising maritime shipping. The culture war on climate change initiated by far-right nativist populist parties, currently on the rise in Europe and other nation states, denies climate change and reintroduces a protectionist perspective on industrial development economic growth, downplaying the role of free trade as well as ecological modernisation. Climate change is described as a socialist-liberal conspiracy, why there is no or little need for climate action. If needed, action can be taken in the future, with technology manufactured domestically. This is exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, with the EU and the US wanting to avoid dependence on Chinese technology. In all, it is argued that ecological modernisation requires strong climate policy by nation states, thus differing from conservative nationalism. But it takes on a rather nationalist-protectionist perspective on industry related climate policy. In that sense, it resembles conservative nationalism, but not far-right nativist populism.