Sweden, a country with high economic growth and low emissions? : A study about the relationship between economic growth and the CO2 emissions in the transport sector in Sweden

This thesis examines the relationship between economic growth and the CO2 emissions in the transport sector in Sweden by testing the environmental Kuznets curve. The environmental Kuznets curve implies that at a certain point, called the breaking point, development and higher incomes will increase societal conscientiousness about the climate change consequences, and eventually it will decrease the environmental degradation rather than increasing it. The main finding of this paper is that the breaking point of the environmental Kuznets curve is confirmed. That is, one can say that economic growth has decreased the CO2 emissions in the transport sector in Sweden. Although economic growth is a proxy for wider development in this thesis, the actual cause of the breaking point is discussed, such as technical progress or policy implications. Also, the importance of prioritizing economic growth when implementing emission decreasing policies is emphasized