Abstract
Low carbon energy transitions are important to mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, and reduce fossil fuel resource depletion. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) are seen as leaders in low carbon energy transitions. This paper provides a comparative data analysis of low carbon energy transitions in the Nordic countries from the 1960s to 2015, and assesses evidence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The paper finds that the EKC has been observed in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden in terms of total CO2 emissions, but not in Norway and Finland. For per capita CO2 emissions, there is evidence for the EKC in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, but not for Norway. For energy use per capita, the EKC is only observed for Denmark, while improvements are needed for the other countries. Norway is an outlier, in comparison with the other Nordic countries, hence the country should implement more stringent climate change mitigation policies to reduce its emissions. Overall, the research suggests that the Nordic countries, particularly Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, can provide valuable lessons for national, regional, and global low carbon energy transitions.
Highlights
The need for low carbon energy transitions is driven by rapidly growing energy demand, as well as environmental concerns like climate change, peak oil, natural resource depletion, and air pollution
There is some recent research on low carbon energy transitions in the Nordic countries (e.g., Araujo on Iceland and Denmark [17]; and Sovacool for a regional overview [1]), the current literature does not evaluate the Nordic low carbon energy transitions from the perspective of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)
The EKC can shed further light on the dynamics and directions of low carbon energy transitions and can help provide insights into how economic development relates to environmental pollution, both on an aggregate and per capita basis
Summary
The need for low carbon energy transitions is driven by rapidly growing energy demand, as well as environmental concerns like climate change, peak oil, natural resource depletion, and air pollution. The Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, are seen as global leaders in low carbon energy transitions. The Nordic countries have ambitious climate and energy policies in place, aiming to be fossil free by 2050 [1]. Iceland relies almost completely on geothermal energy for heating, including for district heating, and exclusively on hydropower and geothermal energy for electricity production [2]. Sweden relies heavily on hydropower and nuclear energy for electricity production and on biofuels for heating. Denmark reduced its reliance on fossil fuels over time and increased its share of renewable energy, wind energy and biofuels. Finland has a more varied energy portfolio, but today relies predominantly on nuclear
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