Incentives and actions of a transitioning industry

Abstract: This thesis seeks to investigate the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and the Swedish Climate Act in the transition to net-zero in energy intensive industries, with a focus on the steel sector. Several empirical studies have previously been done on both national and international policies and how they influence low-carbon transitions and technological innovation within industry. What is somewhat lacking in the literature on the decarbonization of energy intensive industries is the analysis of how they themselves conceptualize and mention specific policies and climate-related issues. This research fills an important gap on the ways in which companies externally conceptualize, react to, and talk about external pushes towards decarbonization. Based on green state theory and transition theory, this research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine five Swedish companies’ annual reports in the steel sector. The findings show that there have been increased efforts to steer toward climate-mitigating strategies by the companies in this sector. The discussion applies transition theory and finds that the Swedish steel sector is in transition to become greener, but more can be done. The specific extent the role the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and The Swedish Climate Act has played in this transition is not determined.