Want to Maintain a Growing Economy, yet Cut Down on Emissions? a Success Story: Sweden

Sweden is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, in Northern Europe. It is one of the most industrialized countries in the world, yet committing to our Earth ever since they started manufacturing steel. You may have heard something about Swedish steel. This country has an abundance of history and geography. We all know that the Swedes are descendants of the Vikings. Their history started at the prehistoric ages. Due to its northern latitude, the landscape was principally formed by the ice in the Ice Age. The first written source of this country traces back to 98 AD by Tacitus, in his work titled “Germania 44 and 45”. Tacitus called them Suiones. Even at that time, their fleet was mentioned as an immensely powerful one. Their powerful ships had longbows, yet were easily navigable.

In the 6th century AD, the great historian of the Byzantine Empire called Jordanes, mentions two tribes in Scandza, who are synonymous with today’s Swedes, called Suetidi and Suehans. The former were tall, well-built people. Suehans were supplying black fox skins to the Roman Empire. They had an advanced horse culture as well, as they were smaller than their counterparts, yet blessed with extreme durability. This era was the dawn of the Viking raids. In the west, they even reached America, in the east, Baghdad. The Swedish Vikings amazed the Byzantine Emperor, with their war skills. He invited them to serve as his bodyguards, called the Varangian Guard. The Swedish Vikings are believed to be the founding fathers of Kievan Rus, as they were called Rus. Their actions are commemorated on runestones, such stones can be found in Greece and England as well. They were engraved in Old Norse with the Scandinavian Runes.

We do not know how and when the Kingdom of Sweden was born, but we do know the monarchs of Svealand and Gothia. The former is Sweden, while the latter is G?taland. If you know the epic poem Beowulf, you can read about the Swedish-Geatish wars of the 6th century. G?taland is in the southern part of Sweden, used to incorporate solely today’s provinces of ?sterg?tland and V?sterg?tland, but not the island of Gotland. They were under Danish, and later Hanseatic, control. Smaland in the southeast had few interests to anyone because it consisted of sparsely populated areas with deep pine forests. Their only important city was Kalmar with its castle. The southwest, namely Scania, Blekinge and Halland, fell under Danish rule. Therefore, they had a direct border with Norway in Bohusl?n. Sweden was Christianized in the ninth century, but its total dominance did not come until the early 12th century. There were crusade riots in pagan Finland, even in the 13th century. At this time, Sweden started to colonize the southern part of Finland. That is why there is a significant Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. They are well-represented; their language is co-official with Finnish, and everyone must learn Swedish at school as well as Finnish.

In medieval times, feudalism did not appear in Sweden, only in the Danish-controlled areas. Therefore, peasantry remained largely a class of farmers throughout history. They did not even have slaves, because it was against the Christian principles. Serfdom and slavery were abolished as early as 1335 by a decree of King Magnus IV. Former slaves were absorbed by the peasantry, and some became labourers in the towns. Still, Sweden remained a poor country and only barter-trade ran. The peasants of Dalsland would transport their butter to the mining districts of Sweden in exchange for iron, and it would be taken to the harbours in exchange for fish, and the iron would be exported. In the middle of the 14th century, the Black Death seriously decimated the population. Its impact was so harsh that the population reached the level of 1348 in the early 19th century. At this time, Swedish cities started to gain their independence, they gained strength so rapidly that they were states within states. At that time, Visby was their most significant town. Then, the king decided to counterbalance the domineering Hanseatic trade: the Swedish and the Norwegian throne were united by King Magnus Eriksson, and in 1397, Queen Margaret I of Denmark formed the Kalmar Union with these three thrones. This personal union was not successful because none of Margaret’s successors could keep the Swedish elite under control. Moreover, child kings were frequent, so regents had to govern the country chosen by the Swedish parliament. King Christian II attempted to reunite the thrones by carrying out a massacre in Stockholm, where his army murdered tons of Swedish nobles. This further stirred Swedish resistance, so they installed a new king to their throne, namely Gustav Vasa. This took place in 1523 and is commonly marked as the foundation of modern Sweden. At this time, the country became a fan of Luther’s points and rejected Catholicism. Therefore, Sweden is predominantly Protestant by religion, even though there were rivalries between the Catholic elite. The protestant religion (more precisely, Lutheran) was solidified at the end of the 16th century.

In the 17th century, Sweden became a great European power. Their prominence began with the king called Gustavus Adolphus, who managed to seize territories from Russia and Poland, as well as the Thirty Years War. The king was young, yet was military personnel. During that time, Sweden managed to conquer half of the Holy Roman States and spread the Protestant religion. That is why the northern part of today’s Germany is Protestant. The king had an ultimate goal: becoming the Holy Roman Emperor to strike at the Pope. The king was killed in action at the Battle of Lützen in 1632 and these plans were destroyed. Sweden won the battle; but two years later, they suffered an enormous defeat in N?rdlingen, the then pro-Swedish German provinces did not support Sweden anymore, yet they kept their Protestant religion. Sweden could only keep Swedish Pomerania, Bremen-Verden, and Wismar. Even though the Protestant powers lost against the Catholics, the winning half had to acknowledge the fact that the Holy Roman Empire lost its influence in Europe, and they had to acknowledge their religion as well. Sweden, therefore, became the third-largest country of Europe by land area, only being surpassed by Russia and Spain. However, at the end of the 17th century, the glory was faded by disease and famine, and with the appearance of Russia. Russia destroyed the Swedish army near Poltava in 1709. In 1721, their glory finally ended with the loss of control of the Baltic Sea trade. They lost more areas; and finally, they lost Finland in 1809 when they fell under Russian control. To retain their role in the Baltic Sea, they positioned themselves against Napoleon, even though France was their traditional ally and benefactor (even nowadays, their king is of French descent). Their role in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 forced Denmark to cede the throne of Norway to them in exchange for the German territories (Treaty of Kiel, 1814). The Norwegian attempts were not recognized, they were forced into a personal union with Sweden, which ended in 1905. This was the last time when Sweden was at war with anyone.

On the other hand, life within Sweden changed a lot during the 18th century. The population almost doubled between 1750 and 1850, thanks to their efforts in health care. They introduced a vaccine against smallpox. They started to build connections with other nations. Their most significant city became Gothenburg, besides the capital, Stockholm. Nevertheless, Sweden remained relatively poor and emigration to the United States began to start. By the beginning of the 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg. Nonetheless, they started to heavily industrialize in the 1870s when shipbuilding and metallurgy became their primary sources of income. Trade unions started to form, and the adherence to democracy became stronger than ever. They adopted a new constitution that transformed the country into a modern constitutional monarchy.

Increasingly, industrial giants started to gain ground in innovation. Most of us know something about SKF, Volvo, Scania, ABB, and so on, right? SKF started its activities in the automotive industry, then they changed to renewable energy, they also manufacture bearings for wind turbines. Volvo is known for its cars with their extreme safety, low emissions, and renowned reliability. Even in 1956, they equipped their cars with resistant windscreens and safety belts. Moreover, Volvo and Saab entered the North American market with their models designed respecting traffic safety in the 1960s: more efficient brakes, warning lights for the fastening of safety belts, and other safety innovations were present in their cars. For example, in crashes, the engine does not come into the cabin, it goes under it. They were stable on the road. This brought the night for the American limousines with the big bird tails. Sweden early became a pioneer in telecommunications as well. We all know something about Ericsson, right? Later, it was called Sony Ericsson. They knew in the early 1900s that they had to invest in telecommunications, as well because it was rapidly growing. In the late 1990s, they invented a new standard of data transmission, without the need for costly wires. I guess everyone knows what it is. Exactly, Bluetooth. Staying with electric machines, Sweden committed one more thing to the world in healthcare: they invented the pacemaker in the 1960s. This meant an incredible amount of help for those people fighting against heart diseases, such as arrhythmia. They saved the life of one person, who later helped other people to live longer. This means Sweden is not only a success story in climate action, but also, innovation, health, and other SDGs. But why are they pioneers of climate action?

They started their commitment in 1972. They hosted a UN conference at that time, and they became aware of the depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica. Today, more than half of Sweden’s national energy supply comes from renewable sources, and they are striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, they became a world leader in air and water purity along with their low emissions. However, there is still much to be done, but Sweden has shown what sustainability means. They made an ambitious goal: they will cut down their fossil fuels to zero by 2045, and cars will run on renewable energy. At the same time, they can remain a welfare state. To do so, they must build climate-smart cities, as more than four-fifths of their population lives in cities. That is why the country is sparsely populated and the total population is just over ten million (2019). Moreover, cities are growing, and the motorways are overcrowded. In 1995, Stockholm founded the first urban national park and started to protect their green areas. It is crucial for the capital, as they are nicknamed “Venice of the North''. Old industrial areas are being redeveloped as efficient, low-energy housing estates, and the city has built more tramways. The new eco-area is in an old gasworks, and the city is building eco-friendly homes, where heating is provided by biogas (made of food waste) and electric car chargers are located at every corner. Moreover, Stockholm’s buses (as of 2017) are running on renewable fuel, commuting more than 850,000 passengers every day. The underground system is also run on green energy. This was the target of 2025. But now they have exceeded it. What does it signify? If you are committed to your environment and you strive for it every day, you will exceed your target. But there are other parts of Sweden where electric buses are running; for example, near the Arctic Circle, in Umea, these buses are engineered in the city! Therefore, their maintenance is very affordable, conserving their finances.

Overall, Sweden is a success story in climate action and consciousness. The country uses natural processes to produce energy or industrial products. Therefore, they are cultivating a bio-economy. The country is committed to recycling as much as possible so that they can sustain their economy. As of 2018, the country is using 55% renewable energy for its energy sources. Just recently, they made new ways to produce textiles: they discovered that cellulose from trees is just as effective as plastic and cotton to make textiles. Did you know that one kilo of cotton needs at least 20 cubic meters of water to grow? This is too much! Swedish wood fibre is not irrigated and pesticides are controlled, opening the possibility of a cradle-to-cradle process. Consequently, they made textiles recyclable! What are we still waiting for? A bio-economy is not an ill-based idea. It does come with costs, as it is more expensive than its counterparts, for sure. But it lasts longer as well and, as I have stated many times, if you want to save in the long run, you have to buy something more expensive. Because it will last longer too. After all, you get what you pay for.

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Kindly read more about Sweden and its history | Do you know anything about SKF? | Read more about Volvo’s innovative technologies of safety | Read more about Ericsson here | What is Bluetooth? | What is a pacemaker? | What is Sweden doing to protect the climate?

Authored & Published by Gergely Lázár | Illustrated by O?uz Y?lmazlar | Edited by Lee Vallance | Supported by Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Substack, Twitter & WordPress Publications 

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