Impacts of key technologies on the sustainable development goals to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden
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Background
The target of the Swedish climate policy framework is to reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2045, implying large transformations of the current industry, energy and transport sector. Electric vehicles, wind and solar power, biomass, carbon capture and storage, climate-neutral concrete and green hydrogen are considered key technologies in the Swedish climate transition. There is, however, a growing need to identify how such technologies impact the broader scope of sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to determine the positive and negative effects of the large-scale implementation of key technologies on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, the aim of this study is to allocate the effects as domestic or international spillovers. The study is based on expert opinions elicited from workshops in which the effects of each key technology on the SDGs were addressed. The workshop results were qualitatively analyzed to construct causal relationships and compared against published literature to gain empirical support.
Results
This study identified impacts for 11 out of the 17 SDGs. More than half of the impacts in Sweden were positive, whereas most negative impacts were identified as international spillovers. Positive impacts in Sweden are foremost linked to economic growth and job creation as well as sustainable industrialization and innovation. Internationally, negative spillover impacts mainly stem from mineral extraction, with consequences for human health, environmental degradation, local democracy and corruption.
Conclusions
The multifaceted linkages between climate mitigation efforts and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are highlighted in this study, illustrating a need for policy coherence. Large-scale implementation of key technologies will result in more positive than negative impacts in the domestic context, reinforcing the Swedish implementation of the SDGs. However, the opposite is true for international spillovers, where the Swedish climate transition might hamper the fulfillment of specific SDGs in other countries. To achieve a sustainable climate transition, a holistic view incorporating all the SDGs and the core principle of “Leaving No One Behind” needs to be employed. The next steps could include stakeholders in policy and industry to identify actions and initiate collaborative approaches to strengthen positive and minimize negative impacts from climate mitigation efforts on the SDGs.
