Take a Cool Guess—The Fun Quiz on Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability. Today’s Topic: Climate Heroes
Question: Sweden has taken more action than any other country to mitigate climate change. What country ranks #2?
Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.
Relevance/Hint: In 2020, 42% of their energy will come from renewables, which they build by removing subsidies for fossil fuels and investing heavily in solar. Situated in hot and sunny Northern Africa, they boast the world’s largest solar thermal (concentrated solar thermal) plant. Do you know we’re riding on the Marrakesh Express?
Craig,
That’s what you get by conducting all your research on the basis of Facebook !
Sweden is struggling economically, largely because of previous damage to the economy from previous socialist-left administrations.
By geographic happenstance Sweden is blessed with vast hydro-electric resources, timber and Iron ore.
In recent years economic growth has slowed and several major industries have been sold out of government control as the economy has slowed, this situation will not be improved by Sweden’s main export partner, Germany, entering economic recession due to a range of factors the principle being the failure of a over -reliance on Renewable energy.
In the last decade Sweden has sold most of the Nation’s government owned corporations in order to reduce debt and finance increasingly burdensome welfare schemes.
The conservative government tax cuts have produced some relief and encouraged an increase in domestic consumer confidence and demand.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rates Sweden has become alarmed at the increasingly byzantine and unworkable politics besetting Sweden.
It has taken four months since the general election for Sweden to form a working government.
The new government relies on an uneasy combination of alliances between the old centre-left party, communists, Greens,independents and left-socialists.
The Left-socialist faction’s leader, Jonas Sjostedt, has vowed, to “fight every measure that pushes Sweden to the right,” threatening the government’s stability before it even takes office!
The government will attempt to implement a 16-page ‘manifesto’ that looks like an untidy compilation of socialist, environmentalist and center-right ideas, rather than a detailed and well thought-out policy agenda.
The manifesto aims to please everyone. Promising large US style tax cuts, unfunded climate change policies, better social assistance programs, along with a pragmatic approach to asylum and integration.
In a recent poll of Swedish voters 89% considered the “manifesto” “quite bad” or “very bad.” Only 11 percent called it “good.”
In recent years the fast growing Swedish Social Democrats have received the biggest share of the vote currently 31.1 percent.
The SSD is anti-immigration, anti-social welfare, anti-EU, anti-green, pro-business, pro-tax cuts.
The Swedish centre right party refused to consider a coalition with the fast growing SSD which allowed the formation of a government who allied parties received only 39% of the vote!.
Stefan Lofven is almost certain to remain prime minister, even though his party and its allies failed to win enough votes to be able to govern!
Sweden, like most nations has no plan to deal with redundant solar panels.
……is this really a nation you wish to emulate ?