A Road to Denial : Climate Change and Neoliberal Thought in Sweden, 1988-2000
Ekberg, Kristoffer LU
and Pressfeldt, Victor
LU
(2022)
In Contemporary European History
31(4).
p.627-644
- Abstract
Neoliberal and conservative actors, financed by the fossil fuel industry, have been identified as crucial parts of a climate change denialist counter movement since at least the 1980s. We claim that this intersection stems from more than just vested interest fuelling advocacy groups. By focusing on the intellectual developments and social networks of core actors in the environmental debate in Sweden, we trace the history of opposition to environmental regulation in a country proclaiming to be an environmental pioneer. Our analysis shows that while the framing of climate change in terms of complexity initially provided actors with arguments for neoliberal policies, the obstruction of climate and environmental action was steeped in a... (More)
Neoliberal and conservative actors, financed by the fossil fuel industry, have been identified as crucial parts of a climate change denialist counter movement since at least the 1980s. We claim that this intersection stems from more than just vested interest fuelling advocacy groups. By focusing on the intellectual developments and social networks of core actors in the environmental debate in Sweden, we trace the history of opposition to environmental regulation in a country proclaiming to be an environmental pioneer. Our analysis shows that while the framing of climate change in terms of complexity initially provided actors with arguments for neoliberal policies, the obstruction of climate and environmental action was steeped in a neoliberal thought style. Our findings demonstrate the importance of scrutinising economic paradigms and thought styles that has enabled the delay of climate policy as well as the continued need for historical and geographically specific studies of obstruction.
(Less)
- author
- Ekberg, Kristoffer
LU
and Pressfeldt, Victor
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-11
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Contemporary European History
- volume
- 31
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 18 pages
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85142914020
- ISSN
- 0960-7773
- DOI
- 10.1017/S096077732200025X
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 29083819-5306-4fb7-9aaf-3672a6a5c6d6
- date added to LUP
- 2022-12-23 11:39:26
- date last changed
- 2023-04-28 13:59:42
@article{29083819-5306-4fb7-9aaf-3672a6a5c6d6,
abstract = {{<p>Neoliberal and conservative actors, financed by the fossil fuel industry, have been identified as crucial parts of a climate change denialist counter movement since at least the 1980s. We claim that this intersection stems from more than just vested interest fuelling advocacy groups. By focusing on the intellectual developments and social networks of core actors in the environmental debate in Sweden, we trace the history of opposition to environmental regulation in a country proclaiming to be an environmental pioneer. Our analysis shows that while the framing of climate change in terms of complexity initially provided actors with arguments for neoliberal policies, the obstruction of climate and environmental action was steeped in a neoliberal thought style. Our findings demonstrate the importance of scrutinising economic paradigms and thought styles that has enabled the delay of climate policy as well as the continued need for historical and geographically specific studies of obstruction.</p>}},
author = {{Ekberg, Kristoffer and Pressfeldt, Victor}},
issn = {{0960-7773}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{627--644}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
series = {{Contemporary European History}},
title = {{A Road to Denial : Climate Change and Neoliberal Thought in Sweden, 1988-2000}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S096077732200025X}},
doi = {{10.1017/S096077732200025X}},
volume = {{31}},
year = {{2022}},
}