This paper analyzes Swedish steel company’s SSAB commitment to the green transition focusing on how and why aspects. The how part of this problem relates to topical conjunctures, which emerge independently of a company. The why part of this problem relates to institutional commitments carried on within a company and how a company potentially can differ vis-à-vis other companies. Formally the research question for this dissertation is: "To what extent did policy windows, policy entrepreneurs, proactive development pair and networks, and resources contribute to SSAB’s commitment to green transition for steel production in the 2020s?". Due to the explorative nature of my research question, the case study method is used where secondary data is gathered from Swedish newspapers (Dagens Nyheter, Dagens Industri and Svenska Dagbladet), SSAB press releases, annual reports, and other relevant publications. The study uses a deductive approach, where the theory provides a framework through which gathered findings are analyzed. The main theories and concepts used in this study are Kingdon’s “Policy Windows” or Agenda-Setting Theory and Policy Entrepreneurs, Fridlund’s concept of Development Pair and Networks, and Penrose’s Resource Theory.

This conflict study in Theology investigates reconciliation possibilities in indigenous lands in northern Sweden to be discussed through the Sámi Trail of Tears Walking Trail – a real-life innovation project. The historical material is based on the depiction of forcefully dislocated Sámis and the now polarized situation where local indigenous groups risk new conflicts partly with each other, partly with extractive industries, motorized tourism, and the majority’s society. Six public media sources were used for a brief thematization to detect discourse ethics used in communicative action. Further, two conferences were visited through participatory observation, revealing the importance of inclusion and visualized sovereignty. Five relevant sites were observed by asking how a walking trail could add value to reconciliation processes, and twenty interviews, or reasonings, were done mainly in Sápmi and Torne River valley, with one additional in Northern Finland to compare the situation of Forest Sámis in both countries. While site observations revealed ongoing slow violence in environments, they also showed how individuals become activated by their existing or absent relationships to a place. The interviews depicted cultural and existential views on place-bodies, reindeer keeping, natural elements, and material and immaterial values connected to them. The research also focused on the indigenous value-based Verdi system, recognized, and remembered by interviewees belonging indigenous communities. Further, the investigation asked about the role of leadership in truth- and reconciliation processes. The material was collected through qualitative indigenous research methods, and completed with perspectives of inclusion, wilderness spirituality, slow violence, and slow tourism. The material was analytically discussed through Jürgen Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action. The findings points toward importance of continuing truth commissioning, a potential role of the Church in future negotiations, and also criticism against the failings of national leadership participation in truth-telling and reconciliation processes. Lastly, a briefly discussed model of Habitus-Based Reconciliation suggests focusing on long-term existential aspects of shared places and negating natural resources needed for communities and local cultures.

This study concerns the dynamics of Chinese strategic minerals policy and its effects on Zambian copper mining between 2016-2020. The essay employs a complementary—theories congruence analysis using Resource Security Theory, Debt Trap Diplomacy, and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis in order to analyse China’s actions and ascertain their effects on Zambia. The study found that China has a large presence within Zambian copper mining through the use of state-owned enterprises, aiding China in its goal of supplying domestic copper demand, and thus addressing resource security. These state-owned enterprises act within the Belt and Road Initiative framework. China is not using Debt Trap Diplomacy in Zambia, but may be able to in the future. China’s presence is negative for the Zambian environment. The moving of mining from China to Zambia has a positive impact on the Chinese environment.Chinese state-owned enterprises are far less stringent in abiding by environmental laws in Zambia than in China. The study shows that Resource Security Theory and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis hold strong explanatory value for the case of China in Zambian copper mining. Debt Trap Diplomacy proved a weaker theory, as natural resources have not been exchanged for debt write-off.

As the green transition gains importance, the demand for green technologies and rare earth elements (REE)has surged. The Nordic countries are overall well-supplied with minerals and metals, however, they have a ratherunique dilemma. Knowing that the majority of Swedish mines are situated on Sápmi, a relevant question is raised:How do we extract mineral resources to benefit the green transition, whilst respecting the land of Europe's onlyIndigenous group, the Sami people? Moreover, as the CSDDD framework emerges, yet another question is raised:How might CSDDD promote Sami influence in future mining-related decision-making? To explore this matter, I haveconstructed a most likely scenario and used the recent REE findings in Kiruna as a case study. The framework seemsto promote Sami influence in numerous ways as it creates a new legal ground to demand participation and seek justice,expands the definition of Sami interests, allows for consultations with nearby Sami villages, includes the Samiperspective on negative impacts, and could result in Sami people being consulted in terms of Indigenous rights-holders.However, if the framework and the Swedish mining permitting system are not synchronized properly, it might resultin cases where mining companies receive permits that conflict the will of the Sami people. Furthermore, theframework’s mentions of stakeholder engagement and Indigenous participation leave room for interpretation. At worst,the level of Sami influence in future mining-related decision-making could lie in the hands of the member states, andhence, the mining companies.

This thesis examines the intersection between lithium extraction and contemporary art through a visual semiotic analysis of three contemporary artworks: Unknown Fields’ We Power Our Future With the Breast Milk of Volcanoes, Marcela Magno’s Land [2] Litio, and Julian Charrière’s Future Fossil Spaces. It explores how lithium extraction is visualised in the selected artworks, what connotations can be extracted from them, the geopolitical dimension expressed in them, and how they relate to the myth of ‘green’ transition. This text takes a starting point in the notion of critical visualisations of extractivism in contemporary art as an urgent political, artistic, and ecological issue. Extractivism is a crucial concept in this thesis, and it is further explored through the intersection of art and extractivism in dialogue with previous research by, for example, Eray Çaylı, Macarena Gómez-Barris, and T.J. Demos. The artworld’s interest in lithium has grown in the last years, with cultural projects and exhibitions on lithium taking place in Sweden and the Netherlands, yet there are no academic texts that explore the intersection of lithium extraction and contemporary art. The aim of this thesis is to thoroughly examine this intersection through three contemporary artworks, to expand academic literature regarding this topic, but also to make the results available to curators, cultural workers, and artists who are currently developing cultural projects around lithium and its extraction. The results of the visual semiotic analysis demonstrated that all three of the artworks critically engaged with lithium extraction by visibilising either present or future green sacrifice zones. They all countered the myth of ‘green’ transition with different strategies: by showing the two-furthermost-apart links in the lithium supply chain, by recuperating Indigenous creation myths of the extracted landscapes, and by exploring the supposed intangibility of our ever-expanding digital world.

The Sami in Sweden have lived on and managed their lands since time immemorial. The strong connection to the environment and nature has given them centuries of knowledge that is still applicable to this day. With the help of their ancestral knowledge the Sami have preserved their Indigenous land. With constant work towards sustainability and extractive projects of natural resources for renewable energy that takes place in Sápmi, the question is raised of who is included in the transition towards sustainable development and who the transition is for. The purpose of this study is to investigate and get a deeper understanding of Sami perspectives on sustainability and the connection to their rights. Applied methodology for this qualitative study is semi-structured interviews with nine Sami, followed by a thematic analysis of the collected empirical data. This was done to understand and analyse perceptions of sustainable development and how it relates to Sami inclusion and Sami rights, using frameworks of colonial governmentality and green colonialism. The findings suggest that a differentiation can be made concerning how the Sami perceive actions for sustainable development and the concept of sustainable development. Further, the Sami view their inclusion in policy-making and implementation in regards to questions of sustainable development in Sweden as being somewhat low or not applied at all. In relation to environmental sustainability this study shows that the implementation of Sami rights varies depending on the context, but that it is generally experienced as insufficient, and that rights are often applied to the economic units of the samebys, and not all Sami, creating a division within the Sami community. The results also show a perception of lack of political will and a neglectance to include and implement Sami rights, as state interests are prioritised. The societal and institutional conditions for the Sami to claim their rights and require inclusion within sustainable development prove that the theories of colonial governmentality and green colonialism are applicable to the current situation in Sápmi.

This study is about increasing engagement in understanding complex energy related information. The purpose of the study is to provide insights on how to create a  concept for increasing engagement in understanding complex energy related information, primarily for young adults, and to provide concept how storytelling  and other techniques be used to engage users in complex energy related information and how design principles be applied with the aim of conveying complex energy related information  in an understandable way. The goal is to increase the understanding on how to engage young adults and to enable a design concept with the collaboration partner Energy Evolution Center. The methods used in the thesis are AEIOU method, user workshop, questionnaire, user observation, storyboard, prototyping, focus groups, cognitive walkthrough and design principles. The design process builds upon a human centered design approach. The design concept was tested, iterated and produced with close collaboration with the target audience and experts within the field. The results show signs that the target group's engagement could be increased through interactive activities that are similar to games and contain experiments, if placed within an educational context and be able to participate during school hours. Thus, the target group raised the issue of engaging voluntarily in activities with subjects in which they have no existing interest in. However, the target group expressed a greater commitment by participating in the activities that the design concept suggested, and to creating engagement to topics such as energy by participating in educational contexts. The conclusion is that the design concept allows room for failure, playfulness, exploration and teamwork, that is conceptualized through interaction of multiple senses. This study would also benefit from larger research and create space for more research especially in the societal aspects of inclusion, such as gender for example. / Denna studie handlar om att öka engagemanget i att förstå komplex energirelaterad information. Syftet med studien är att ge insikter om hur man skapar ett koncept för att öka engagemanget i att förstå komplex energirelaterad information, främst för unga vuxna, och att ge ett koncept för hur berättande och andra tekniker används för att engagera användare i komplex energirelaterad information, samt hur designprinciper tillämpas i syfte att förmedla komplex energirelaterad information på ett begripligt sätt. Målet är att öka förståelsen för hur man engagerar unga vuxna i energi relaterade ämnen och att möjliggöra ett designkoncept med samarbetspartnern Energy Evolution Center för detta ändamål. Metoderna som används i uppsatsen är AEIOU-metod, workshops, frågeformulär, användarobservation, prototypande, fokusgrupper, cognitive walkthrough, storyboard och designprinciper. Designprocessen bygger på ett mänskligt centrerat designtänkande. Designkonceptet testades, itererades och producerades i nära samarbete med målgruppen och experter inom området. Resultatet visar tecken på att målgruppens engagemang skulle kunna ökas genom interaktiva aktiviteter som är likt spel och innehåller experiment om det är placerat inom skolsammanhang och att delta under skoltid. Målgruppen tog upp problem med att engagera sig frivilligt i aktiviteter med ämnen som de inte har något befintligt intresse för. Men målgruppen uttryckte ett större engagemang genom att delta och skapa engagemang för ämnen som energi genom att delta i utbildningssammanhang. Designkoncept som prototypes fram bygger på ett energi-äventyr som interagerar, utforskar och interagerar med samarbetspartnern Energy Evolution Centers energidata och goda exempel. Slutsatsen är att designkonceptet ger möjligheter och utrymme för misslyckande, lekfullhet, utforskande och samarbete, som konceptualiseras genom interaktion mellan flera av människans sinnen. Denna studie skulle behöva större forskning och skapa utrymme för mer forskning om särskilt de samhälleliga aspekterna av inkludering, som till exempel genus.