Swedish Greentech Could Help Overcome Energy Crises In Developing Countries

There is a strong correlation between economic growth and reduction in waste, greenhouse gases, making optimum use of natural and human resources, and the production and conservation of energy through ongoing innovation to meet the environmental and human development challenges in a changing world. Using green technologies could bring many tangible and intangible benefits to developing countries, and Swedish companies could certainly play a positive role in helping them achieve sustainable development and economic growth targets and objectives.

Green Technologies, commonly known as Greentech or Cleantech, lie at the heart of environment friendly sustainable development, and are moving up on the global socio-economic development agenda at a rapid pace. Sweden is one of the world’s leading nations innovating, implementing and exporting Greentech. It has been proactively pursuing and practicing policies that have encouraged research and development of reliable technologies for water purification, sanitation, sewage and wastewater treatment, waste management and waste-to-energy, production of biofuels, as well as generation of renewable energy from biomass, wind and solar power. 

The continued push towards the development and implementation of green technologies enabled Sweden to become the first country in Europe to meet the renewable energy targets, set by the European Union (EU) for 2020, eight years ahead of schedule. Renewable energy now  accounts for more than 50 per cent of total energy used in Sweden, while the EU target calls for renewable energy making up for 49 per cent of the total energy used in member countries, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 20 per cent and ensuring that biofuels account for 10 per cent of total auto fuel consumption by 2020.

Imitation Is The First Step Towards Innovation!

Sweden’s successful experience and knowledge of implementing green technologies could be used by many countries around the world, especially in the developing world, where the challenges of developing a sustainable civic and industrial infrastructure in line with the needs and demands of a growing population must be overcome to realise economic growth in the short, medium and the long term. They could also benefit from emulating how Sweden is continuing to develop its economic and human resources without neglecting the environment.

Production of clean renewable energy is continuing to rise in Sweden. Total power production increased by 9.8 per cent in 2012 to 161.3 TWh from 146.9 TWh in 2011 due higher than average hydropower output, which went up by 17.8 per cent to 78 TWh from 66.2 TWh in 2011, nuclear power production recorded a 5 per cent increase to reach 61 TWh compared with 58 TWh a year earlier, while wind power production increased by 18 per cent to 7.2 TWh from 6.1 TWh in 2011.

Power production from combined heat and power (CHP) plants – which use biomass and waste as feedstock - went down by 7.2 per cent due to a mild weather during 2012 to 15.4 TWh from 16.6 TWh in 2011. Total electricity consumption in Sweden in 2012 went up marginally by 1.4 per cent to 142 TWh from 140 TWh in 2011, primarily due to milder weather in the fall and a slowdown in the use of electricity by the industrial sector. 

Higher production of renewable energy also saw an increase in Sweden’s power exports by a record 172.2 per cent in 2012 to 20 TWh from 7 TWh in 2011. Due to higher exports from Sweden, the Nordic region exported 15 TWh in 2012 to the rest of Europe compared with imports of 5 TWh in 2011. The list of benefits of Greentech is very long, but the journey towards achieving positive results starts with the first step in the right direction. Developing countries could take that first step by putting in place practical policies for adoption of Greentech.