Mundus Nordic Green News – 10 December, 2020

Sweden to push back on taxonomy at EU summit

There is widespread concern among Swedish politicians that the EU is in the process of defining Swedish hydropower, bioenergy and forest management as unsustainable from an environmental point of view. At the Riksdag's EU committee, Moderate Jessica Rosencrantz called the situation that arose deeply problematic. She worried that Sweden did not sufficiently defend the Swedish fossil-free energy production and the forest during the negotiations. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said that the taxonomy issue is being taken very seriously and that he had already raised it with European Council President Charles Michel at the pre-meeting of this week's EU summit. He also promised to highlight the importance of the issue directly at the summit.

 

Riksbank joins central bank climate network

Sweden’s Riksbank is one of seventy-seven central banks which have joined the network Greening the Financial System. Dubbed the climate club for central banks, the network seeks to push the global financial system to contribute to meeting targets set out in the Paris Agreement. The pandemic sparked a discussion about the ways in which climate change presents itself as an economic cost, according to Riksbank Deputy Governor, Anna Breman. “It affects the labour market, growth, it could impact productivity, inflation rates, and we have to understand the mechanisms,” she said, adding that climate and sustainability risks will become increasingly incorporated in risk analyses to maintain financial stability on world markets.

 

For instance, the Riksbank became the first central bank to issue bonds connected to coal and oil sands extraction, which prompted regulators to place sustainability demands on Swedish companies. However, the central bank is now under scrutiny for expanding its bond-purchasing programme to stimulate the economy, which may inadvertently be benefiting bonds that do not fulfill sustainability requirements.

 

Volvo Cars to manufacture EV engines in Sweden

Volvo Cars will assemble electric motors at its powertrain plant in Skövde and plans to establish complete in-house e-motor production by the middle of the decade, the car producer announced in a press release. It will invest SEK 700 million to produce the new generation of e-vehicles. The plant in Skövde will be responsible for supplying parts for European car manufacturers. 

 

Ocean Installer name change signals transition to renewables

Ocean Installer is changing its name to Havfram. Ocean Installer was established in 2010 and has for the past ten years worked with construction work for the oil industry. According to CEO, Odd Strømsnes, the company wants to be associated more with renewable energy than just oil and gas. “Offshore wind will be a large, global industry. It is important that the Norwegian supplier industry takes a position there, and our company will do that.”

 

According to Strømsnes “Oil and gas have lost the attraction of the young generation. When we recruit, I think it will be important that we can also offer something else. I understand that when I talk to my own children… We want to be associated more with renewable energy than just oil and gas. At the same time, I certainly do not want to talk down that industry. I am an oilman and I am concerned that we do both. It may sound a bit pompous, but this is the story of the new Norway: Revenues from oil and gas will finance the investment in offshore wind,” he adds.

 

Scatec to build solar power plant in Brazil with Equinor and Hydro

Scatec, a Norwegian renewable power developer, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange signed a letter of intent with Equinor and Hydro to build a 480MW solar power plant in Brazil. The companies say that the Brazilian solar market has a well-developed regulatory framework, with significant long-term potential. Scatec and Equinor are jointly developing a portfolio of projects in Brazil, and currently have a 162 MW solar plant in operation.

 

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