How the story of control limits the reproduction of knowledge : a study of narratives in the Swedish Climate Policy Action Plan

Abstract: Responses to combating worsening climate change are legitimized through narratives employed in government policy which build on existing master narratives about climate change produced in the subpolitics of international mega-science mainly influenced by IPCC as an expert authority. In Sweden the climate law forces the government to produce a Climate Policy Action Plan (CPAP) every four years that seeks to show how the set net zero emission target by 2045 is to be reached. This thesis identifies storylines, narratives and the use of archetypical characters employed in the CPAP, focusing on Sweden and climate change. For comparison, material from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and oppositional parties is used to reveal the power effects of narratives and discourse. Sweden is portrayed as a frontrunner that should show how a transition to become fossil-free is possible while maintaining economic growth, competitiveness, and welfare. The results suggest a mutual dependency between the state and industry which can through the theory of ‘accumulation by decarbonization’ explain the use of narratives that promote Swedish industry exports and policies that seek to redirect state capital to interests of the private sector. The use of universal victim categories has a de-politicizing effect that maintains the post-political condition by avoiding antagonism and endorsing new technology as a solution to manage CO2. Measuring climate change in quantifiable targets is an attempt at a discursive problem closure that allow politicians to maintain an image of being in control, legitimize policy and measure progress. I argue that democratic governments are likely to be biased towards reproducing the universal story of control which suggests that the reproduction of knowledge (in government policy) rests on power rather than truth.