The United Nations member states adopted and signed the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, establishing a framework for global discussion on sustainable development. The inclusion of 'Economic Growth' in these goals begs the question of what constitutes sustainable economic growth in the eyes of the UN. This insight, in conjunction with the ongoing debate about the growth paradigm, growthism, and the limits to growth, is, to put it mildly, fascinating and worth examining. Numerous studies conducted on this issue reveal that conventional economic growth is unsustainable and that alternative strategies must be used to bring about a paradigm shift. The purpose of this research is to determine whether traits of a competing discourse known as 'Degrowth' may be detected in the United Nations' discourse of sustainable economic growth. Whilst sustainable development has been a prominent topic for decades, Degrowth can be perceived as a more recent, less mainstream, and even radical discourse. The discourse emphasizes the limits to growth and advocates for democratically-led shrinking in production and consumption with the goal of achieving equality, justice and ecological sustainability. In order to accomplish the research project’s objective, the discourse and key characteristics of Degrowth are explored.  The study was conducted as a qualitative case study (design) using document analysis as the method. The analysis was guided by the theoretical lens combining Dryzek’s discourse analysis approach and Cosme et al.’s framework. By examining solely documents produced by the UN itself, this analysis concluded that while there are some parallels between the UN’s discourse of sustainable economic growth and Degrowth, there is a distinct difference between the two. The SDGs represent the traditional understanding of sustainable development, a discourse in which it is believed that economic growth can and will be decoupled from ecological degradation and that growth, in fact, is the key to poverty eradication, whereas Degrowth represents a school of thought in which the capitalistic system is viewed as the culprit to a majority of issues at hand and that decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation has been declared as debunked.

Environmental pollution by pharmaceuticals is an issue of concern that is currently attracting attention around the world. Although environmental effects of pharmaceutical contaminants are not yet well documented, studies have shown that these substances may have the potential to disrupt the biotic component of an ecosystem. Particularly worrisome contaminants are the neuroactive pharmaceuticals which have the potentiality to induce behavioral modifications in non-target species. In the present study, I examined the effects of a benzodiazepine anxiolytic pharmaceutical (oxazepam) on the behavior of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) juveniles (fry). The hypothesis of this study was that oxazepam reduces the anxiety-like behavior of the Atlantic salmon juveniles. To test the hypothesis and assess the impact of oxazepam exposure on Atlantic salmons fry behavior, two different concentrations of this drug; a low-level (1.9 ug L-1) and a high-level concentration (1000 ug L-1) were used. Exposures lasted for 48 hours and afterwards, the fish were recorded to evaluate their behavioral responses. The results of this study reveal that oxazepam in a high concentration (1000 ug L-1 ) alters specific behavioral endpoints related to the fitness (feeding/predator avoidance) of Atlantic salmons fry. Individuals exposed to the high oxazepam concentration exhibited significant lower average speed and acceleration as well as they traveled a shorter mean distance compared to the unexposed (control) individuals. These findings confirm the hypothesis and show that psychotropic pharmaceutical contaminants modify animal behaviors, which can ultimately lead to ecological consequences. However, the concentration that generated behavioral effects in this study was three magnitudes higher than concentrations measured in the environment and thus, should not be viewed representative for oxazepam contaminated ecosystems.

Lead (Pb), occurs both naturally and as a pollutant in Arctic landscape systems. The ongoing climate change, especially pronounced in the Arctic, changes the premises for Pb transport and mobility. Thus, to predict future development of both natural and pollution Pb, an increased understanding of their storages and flows in an Arctic system is of interest. Here, a Pb mass-balance budget for an entire catchment in West Greenland was calculated. The budget shows that most Pb is stored in terrestrial soils (94%), while 6% of total catchment Pb is in lake sediments. Other Pb-pools are small in comparison (<1% combined). The entire catchment system has a negative balance, with annual inputs of 44 g Pb from precipitation and 67 g Pb from eolian deposition, while 150 g Pb is removed from the system (through sedimentation). Limited lake water outflow (o.15 g Pb yr-1) suggests that the catchment in its entirety acts as a Pb-sink. The terrestrial system, however (wet deposition input of 34 g Pb and hydrological export of 68 g Pb annually), is considered to be a Pb-source to the aquatic system. The magnitude of hydrological and eolian transport is similar, however the former is more important for pollution Pb transport where the latter is more important for natural Pb. The fate of pollutant Pb is determined by future climate change. Wetter conditions could lead to a prolonged export of Pb further down-stream. If drier conditions prevail, eolian transport will be more important and pollution Pb could stay in soils.

Traditional grey infrastructure in New Orleans, Louisiana has become increasingly less efficient and adaptable to changing flood risks in the face of climate change and increasing development of flood-prone areas. City planners and decision-makers are beginning to use integrated flood risk management as a tool to increase community flood resiliency, however inequalities between communities’ representation still exist. The extent and methods of community participation within the decision-making of flood risk management requires more research. Thus, this study aims to examine methods of community participation within three city plans and to investigate if they are procedurally just for socially vulnerable populations. Based on existing research regarding city planning, this study will attempt to answer the following question: how are socially vulnerable populations being incorporated into the flood risk management decision-making of New Orleans’ city plans? Social vulnerability, in this context, is defined as the attributes of individuals or communities that create challenges in preparation for, protection from, and restoration from flood events.  In-depth content analyses of three New Orleans city plans involving flood risk mitigation were accomplished using coding an grouping related to the study’s research aim. This method was combined with conducting semi-structured interviews of key individuals involved in the analyzed city plans. This study shows the implications of incorporating socially vulnerable populations into community participation within flood risk planning in New Orleans. While it seems that there is an increased use and awareness of community participation methods within flood risk management planning in New Orleans, procedurally just methods and socially vulnerable populations’ engagement are lacking and left unassessed. Further research is needed to establish greater legitimacy of the importance for city government to prevent further marginalization of communities that are unequally engaging with flood risk planning.

To mitigate climate change, the transition to a low-carbon economy is imperative. Even though this transition poses unprecedented economic and social risks, academic research regarding the impacts of such risks on the financial sector is limited. This thesis develops an integrated analytical framework to quantify the transition risks of equity portfolios. The aim is to improve the scientific understanding of transition risk modelling and to enable a forward-looking risk analysis in investment management. Transition risks are analyzed with a scenario-based approach. Three transition scenarios that stretch until 2025 and 2030 are constructed. For each scenario, three risk variables are designed: a global carbon tax, a change in the share of renewables in electricity generation, and a change in fossil fuel production. A transition-adjusted dis-counted cash flow (TA-DCF) model is developed to estimate the financial impacts of those risks. Furthermore, a method to model company-specific transition capacity is applied. The findings of the study suggest limited total transition impacts on the portfolio level until 2030. The analysis of a diversified global equity index discovers losses of -2.95% of the total market value in the most ambitious transi-tion scenario. Transition risks become more apparent on the sector and individual company level. The thesis finds that three sectors, Energy, Utilities and Materials, are highly exposed to transition risks. In addition, the TA-DCF model enables the identification of companies that are expected to lose of most of their value due to transition risks as well as companies that leverage the emerging opportunities. The developed framework can be applied in portfolio management and portfolio construction to incorporate tran-sition risks into decision-making processes in financial risk management. Several use cases, i.e. the development of a low transition risk benchmark, are discussed.

This study analyzes and discusses sustainability reporting at Arlacompany which is one of the largest organic dairy producer in the world. Geographically its operations span across Europe, North America, North and West Africa and Asia. This study evaluates the company’s communication of its shared value creation and how it contributes towards the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. In order to do so, it analyzes two of the company’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility reports (2016 and 2019). A theoretical framework, combining Corporate Social Responsibility, Creating Shared Value, Triple Bottom Line and Legitimacy Theory is synthesized and applied to the subject matter. This research is a holistic single-case study, employing continuous literature review and a qualitative content analysis. The results of the research are presented discussing the merits and shortcomings of the company’s sustainability communication practices. It finds that Arla’ssustainability communication is heavily based on societal and environmental topics. Its main strategies of shared value creation operationalize the expansion and strengthening of markets and product quality assurance. The study also concludes that Arlaavoids the communication of sensitive issues such as animal welfare or greenhouse gas emissions emerging from farms. Finally, the study advocates for the benefits of failure reporting, both in terms of compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability practices, arguing that this might lead to greater legitimacy and possible support from other stakeholders.

This thesis focuses on the attitude between nature and the residents of Östra Göinge municipality. The purpose of this research and thesis is to provide a clearer picture of the resident’s outdoor life and relationship to nature within the municipality. In addition, this research considered possible development opportunities in the outdoor life category within the community while also addressing the question of accessibility to green areas. This research used an online survey, distributed on Facebook, to groups linked to Östra Göinge. The results from the survey show that even though the residents of the community are satisfied with the access to green areas in the municipality, they still see development opportunities which will help promote outdoor life in Östra Göinge. / Syftet med undersökningen är att få en tydligare bild över hur Östra Göinge kommuns invånares friluftsliv och deras attityd till naturen inom kommunen. För att genomföra undersökningen och besvara de tre frågeställningarna, gjordes en enkät som delades ut på Facebook i grupper länkade till personer bosatta i kommunen. Enkäten lades även ut på kommunens intranät. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att de svarande på enkäten är nöjda med tillgången till grönområden, men också att de ser många utvecklingsmöjligheter i kommunen som skulle stärka friluftlivet.

The rise of global challenges, such as climate change, is pushing global governance to evolve. In result thereof, the traditionally state-centric diplomatic sphere is experiencing an increasing number of non-state actors entering the arena. Geoffrey Wiseman (1999) describes this phenomenon as the shift from traditionally bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to polylateral diplomacy. This study looks at how non-state actors can be fitted in frontline diplomacy in relation to sustainable development. By means of a qualitative, inductive case study of the Dutch embassy in the Philippines, it looks at how state actors perceive this non-state actor inclusion by means of data triangulation: a document analysis, semi-structured interviews and participant-observation. In particular, it zooms in on a specific example of multi-stakeholder partnership, which Sustainable Development Goals 17.16 and 17.17 hail as a tool for sustainability: the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan. Through the theoretical lenses of collaborative governance and the function-sensitive approach, this thesis concludes that the functions non-state actors can fulfil in the diplomatic activities of global governance vary depending on the three contingencies of time, trust and interdependence.

Conspicuous consumption is a form of economic behaviour in which social pressure influences consumption decisions. Considering the current understanding of the detrimental ecological impact of excessive consumption practices, this paper overviews the potential to lessen wasteful consumption trends by utilising conspicuous consumption. This paper overviews research into this phenomenon, commencing with Thorstein Veblen’s work at the end of the nineteenth century. Combining this with research from sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper suggests potential indicators of sustainable consumption tendencies, including personality traits and group dynamics. The empirical aspect of this study successfully replicates the findings of a recent investigation into conspicuous consumption; that is, that consumption increases when conducted in public and income is linked to status. This study has been updated to include various aspects of sustainability behaviour and knowledge and has found trends associated with students of sustainability in Uppsala, Sweden. Furthermore, this paper suggests that the encouragement of conspicuous forms of sustainability could inspire sustainable consumption trends, or potentially lead to a reduction of overall consumption. Finally, this paper makes recommendations for policy makers in order to encourage social sustainability practices, building upon nascent movements such as 'Flygskam' ('Flight Shame') and successful anti-smoking strategies.

Scientists warn that the current rate of climate change will raise average global temperature by 4°C compared to 1990, although warming of +2°C will already have dire effects throughout the world. Therefore, the UN acknowledges SDG 13 (Climate Action) as one of the most important goals for the coming decade in order to fight climate change. Another focus of the UN is SDG 5 (Gender Equality), which is also an overarching goal but still lagging behind. Working on one of the goals can have a positive effect on other goals. Therefore a synergy can be created when investigating how climate change affects gender equality and how gender equality affects climate action.  The link between gender equality and climate action was already established by the UN at the Beijing Platform of Action in 1995. However, there has been little research into how government representatives understand how the goals are interconnected. These representatives are important in the drafting of new policy and keeping the UN accountable for incorporating gender into its policies. Hence, this thesis investigates how the relationship between gender equality and climate action is viewed by government representatives, as well as in national climate documents. A content analysis was performed on National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate change Gender Action Plans (ccGAPs). The results illustrate that the location and expertise of the interviewees impacted their opinions greatly. The interviewees based at permanent missions at the UN headquarter in New York were of the opinion that their government thought the link existed but acknowledged more should be done to convince other countries as the link was not taken for a fact. The interviewees working with the UNFCCC negotiations, however, said all member states agreed on the importance of including gender equality in climate action. Another finding is that only one-third of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) contained gender perspectives. Of these, one-third mentioned women as victims of climate change and two-thirds saw women as actors of change in climate action.  Establishing a firm agreement on the link between gender equality and climate action within UN bodies is important to expanding the impact of climate policies on both gender quality and climate action.