In a short time, a number of large industrial projects linked to climate change have been launched in Northern Sweden. These projects are expected to attract SEK 1,400 billion of investments by 2040 with hopes for a major boost for both climate transiton and regional economic growth. At the same time, there has also been a discussion whether the "green transition" is losing momentum amidst recent crisis at the battery manufacturer Northvolt as well as halted investments in methanol production in Örnsköldsvik and aviation fuel production in Sollefteå. In this webinar, acclaimed journalist and writer Arne Müller presents updates on his book Norrsken – drömmen om den gröna industrin (Northern Lights - The Dream of the Green Industry), focusing on following questions: Will the positive effects for social development really be as great as hoped for? Is it really possible to obtain the large quantities of electricity and metals required? And are these new industries really fossil-free?
Arne Müller is a freelance journalist and writer, living in Umeå. In 2013, he published his acclaimed book about the Swedish mining industry: Smutsiga miljarder – den svenska gruvboomens baksida (Dirty billions - the back side of the Swedish mining boom). In 2016, he received prestigious prize Guldspaden for investigative journalism in his book Norrlandparadoxen (The Norrland Paradox). Most recently, he has been working on investigating the green energy transition in Northern Sweden - including the book Norrsken – drömmen om den gröna industrin (Northern Lights - the dream of the green industry).