NEW FUNDING

Centre wins bid to host 40 MSEK research programme on transformation to fossil free future

A new research programme hosted by the Stockholm Resilience Centre will work towards transformations to a fair and fossil free Sweden. Photo: J. Flobrant/Unsplash

The 4-year programme, Fair Transformations to a Fossil Free Future, is funded jointly by Mistra and Formas

Story highlights

  • FAIRTRANS will collaborate with trade unions and other large Swedish popular movements and civil society organisations
  • It will design roadmaps for Sweden to stay within the remaining carbon budget of the Paris Agreement
  • Expected impacts include a distinct reduction of the present societal polarisation, increasing legitimacy for rapid decarbonisation

Stockholm Resilience Centre will be the host for a new research programme designed to promote transformations to a fair and fossil free future in Sweden.

Fair Transformations to a Fossil Free Future (FAIRTRANS), will develop economic and political frameworks for transformations together with key actors from the business sector, trade unions and other organisations in Sweden.

We will explore how we can turn conflicts into cooperation and contribute to a thriving and sustainable planet and fair future for all.

Thomas Hahn, programme co-director & associate professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre

Extensive collaborations

In collaboration with trade unions and other large Swedish popular movements and civil society organisations FAIRTRANS will design roadmaps for Sweden to stay within the remaining carbon budget of the Paris Agreement.

We will engage with large organisations to develop strategies for action and learning, to ensure that their members are included and can benefit from the transformations.

Stephan Barthel, joint programme co-director

Barthel is also a centre professor but represents University of Gävle in this consortium. Other partners include the think tank Global Utmaning, Uppsala University, as well as individual researchers from the Royal Swedish Institute of Technology, Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Lund University.

The think tank Global Utmaning coordinates the extensive collaboration with civil society, including the largest confederations of trade unions (LO, TCO and Saco), the Consumer Cooperative Federation, the Swedish Swedish Tenants'Association (Hyresgästföreningen), the two large confederations of Swedish enterprises (Svenskt Näringsliv, Företagarna), the government initiative Fossil-Free Sweden, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, AI Sweden and Swedish Investors for Sustainable Development.

A number of sub-contractors also participate in FAIRTRANS, including Material Economics, Svensk Kolinlagring, The Remote Lab, Future Position X, Eco-Forestry Foundation, and We Don't Have Time.

Impacts

Expected impacts include a distinct reduction of the present societal polarisation, increasing legitimacy for rapid decarbonisation, and a new societal contract that is scientifically credible and socially legitimate.

Specifically, FAIRTRANS will:

  • Calculate comprehensive national roadmaps, taking into account a globally fair national carbon budget and trade-offs with planetary boundaries and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Develop a digital platform and a voluntary market for incentivising carbon sequestration in agriculture
  • Produce scientific knowledge to ensure digital climate action that is fair and inclusive
  • Develop new digital tools to capture broad-based societal attitudes towards transformation in Sweden and the EU
  • Explore scenarios for decoupling, rebound effects and how this influences a rapid, fair and growth-independent climate transformation

Based on Mistra’s research call “Societal transformations for climate action”, FAIRTRANS won the funding in competition with ten other proposals.

All proposals were truly inspiring and exciting. FAIRTRANS stood out and presented a convincing path from science to societal impact and also demonstrated a considerable ability to engage a wide range of civil society organisations towards a fair and fossil free future.

Åsa Moberg, programmes director, Mistra

Topics: Funding
Published: 2021-03-25

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