Million tons carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
I am writing this for all my number crunching friends ahead of COP 27 which starts today. Sweden is going for net zero by 2050. It may be of interest to look at the numbers.
I have chosen to see Sweden as a mosaic of property: fixed as real estate (including farms, forests) or movable as vehicles. And on industrial properties I see industries. All of these are investments that need to be adapted.
The table below is meant to answer more questions and comes with simple answers that hopefully you want to comment.
- How much take up is from the forest?
- Where are the absolute biggest emission sources?
- What about agriculture?
- Given our situation, what are the strategies open to us in Sweden?
Some answers
mtCO2 eq. per year.
THE FOREST takes up 37-40 mt
BIGGEST SOURCES FOSSIL the car 9.38, abroad 9.26 AGRICULTURE emits but only a small part is fossil (11%)
The strategy must be to: Reduce the footprint of transport: Switch to renewables/plan cities so that transport does not is needed.
Increase manufacturing % renewable and reduce production by making products live longer. Increases uptake in the forest and in agriculture.
METHOD: Fee with dividend on all property. Dividend is paid to all equally. E.g. higher property tax on clearcutting Lower tax on agriculture which is a plus.
Tax on fossil fuels that are burned with dividend.
The dividend gives a surplus to low carbon emitters and the higher emitters pay more.
Fossil must go
I think like this: Fossil is much more difficult to deal with because what fossil releases are not taken up again by fossil infrastructure.
Everything else takes back CO2 as it grows. Only if we harvest more than it grows will we reach the Paris Agreement.
Levies on fossil – paid back to all – should keep rising until we hit zero. The money in the economy will stimulate investments in alternatives.
It also shows where the money should be invested: to make agriculture sustainable and regenerative while ensuring food for those of us who live in the country.
Stephen Hinton Consulting 