Does trade explain the Environmental Kuznets Curve in Sweden?

Sammanfattning: As climate change continues to escalate, the need for drastic changes is urgent. The world has agreed on a limit to global warming, and all countries are aware of the problem. The theory behind the Environmental Kuznets Curve is based on an inverted relationship between emissions and environmental impact and GDP growth. It could easily be interpreted as an easy way out of, which means that if a country focuses on growth the environmental problems will eventually solve themselves. This study has aimed to prove the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curves for a number of pollutants in Sweden. To further understand what has caused emissions to decrease at the same time as GDP has increased, trade-related variables were included in the second part of the analysis. For carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides and methane, inverted U-shaped curves could be found. The data on carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides and volatile organic compounds covered a shorter time period, but they have all followed a steep downward-sloping curve during the last two decades, which indicates that the data showed part of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The manufacturing share of total GDP proved to have a large effect on emissions, whilst trade classified as dirty only had a very small impact on emissions in the long run. Thus, no pollution haven effects could be confirmed.