Despite the destructive and limited nature of fossil fuels, most human-made systems are dependent on the use of oil, gas and coal. Especially agriculture relies on diesel machinery, fertilizer, transport, and cooling systems that are commonly powered by non-renewable energy sources. This independent project in design specifically focuses on the dependency on fossil fuels within agriculture. With the investigation “Vägen mot fossiloberoende jordbruk” (Utredningen om fossiloberoende jordbruk, 2021), or “Pathway to fossil independent agriculture”, Sweden is aspiring to make farming fossil-free by 2030. Consequently, a lot of responsibility to invest in new technologies and alternative energies lies on farmers. In collaboration with Länsstyrelsen Kronoberg, the author explores how farmers can be supported to transition towards renewable energies, focusing on the Swedish region Kronoberg. Through participatory design and design research, notions of fossil fuel (in)dependency are being explored in collaborative ways. Here, the farmers become the ‘experts of their experience’ (Sanders & Stappers, 2012). This independent design project examines ways to transition towards fossil fuel independent agriculture in Sweden, existing challenges and potential solutions. To communicate the complex network of energy and agriculture in Kronoberg to Länsstyrelsen, the author designed an Actor-Network-Model, which highlights the necessity of systems thinking and collaboration.

The aim of this paper is to investigate how strategies and plans for the transition to a fossil-free transport sector take environmental justice into account in these plans at a regional level. This is based on a theoretical framework of environmental justice and a legal geographical perspective. The empirical material that forms the basis of the study has been produced through qualitative content analysis of regional and municipal plans and strategies as well as semi-structured interviews with actors in the transition. In order to achieve the purpose, the strategies that emerged in the documents were examined, as well as how actors reasoned about these strategies with the help of environmental justice perspectives. The study has focused on an area where a knowledge gap has been identified in the literature. The result shows that there is no clear perspective of environmental justice in the plans and strategies in the Jönköping region and that the regional strategies needs to take more account of the just perspectives in the transition. This is achieved through different forms of justice: distributive, procedural, recognition and restorative. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur strategier och planer för omställningen till en fossilfri fordonssektor tar hänsyn till miljörättvisa i dessa planer på en regional nivå. Detta utifrån ett teoretiskt ramverk baserat på miljörättvisa och ett juridisk geografiskt perspektiv. Det empiriska material som ligger till grund för studien har tagits fram genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys av regionala och kommunala planer och strategier samt semistrukturerade intervjuer med aktörer i omställningen. För att uppnå syftet undersöktes vilka strategier som framträdde i dokumenten, samt hur aktörer resonerade kring dessa strategier med hjälp av perspektiv av miljörättvisa. Studien har fokuserat på ett område där en kunskapslucka har kunnat konstaterats i tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar att det saknas ett tydligt perspektiv av miljörättvisa i planerna och strategierna i Jönköpings län och att det behövs tas större hänsyn till rättviseperspektiven i dessa. Detta uppnås genom olika former av rättvisa: fördelande, deltagande, erkännande och reperativ.