Swedish petrocultures: Pervasive fossil fuel practices that obstruct climate change mitigation

Research Project, 2021 – 2024

While Sweden has increased the share of renewables in its energy system other aspects of our fossil fuel dependent society seem difficult to change. For example, counted globally, emissions from consumption and transport by Swedes and for Swedes are steadily rising. The overarching aim of this project is to identify and analyse the central cultural beliefs and practices that have historically shaped and maintained a Swedish petroculture and that today hinder climate change mitigation practices. We address this issue by identifying the
cultural and material conditions historically connected to oil consumption that underpin our current lifestyles as well as analysing and assessing competing public and policy narratives that have either underpinned or challenged this Swedish petroculture. Understanding the details of this pervasive culture and making them visible will provide novel and fundamental knowledge on the role fossil fuels and especially oil have played in late modern Swedish
society. This will, in turn, result in a better understanding of cultural practices and materialities as well as goal conflicts and contradictions in current policy that counteract or provide challenges to Swedish climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.