Assignment on Infographic Sweden The Best Eco-Friendly Energy Profile among EU Countries

               The world knows that pollution is not good for our planet, so they need to decrease pollution by adopting eco-friendly patterns so that things can be made better for future generations. EU has committed to the policy of decreasing emission of CO₂ and the goal till 2030 is to cut 40% in overall CO₂ emission. The EU countries have realized the impact of pollution and carbon emission, like how dangerous it can be by making adverse impact on humans and their lives. It can change the overall climate, which is making turns due to global warming, that’s why world is seeing more hurricanes, rains, and storms, which were not so common in the past. It is important to know that which EU country is doing the best in this regard amongst all nations with their eco-friendly Energy initiatives. However, it is vital to mention here that there are top three eco-friendly countries in the European Union including Sweden, Austria and Latvia (GreenMatch, 2019).

               Lets us look at some infographics to see how Sweden is leading the way with its energy profile:

Source: https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2018/07/top-eco-costly-countries-in-eu

            There are six parameters mentioned in the above graph, which are named as green metrics to analyze the energy policy of any country. These six parameters are taken as the most critical elements in environmental protection, and above graph shows that Sweden is performing great in all six parameters. They have high scores in all categories, which are showing their commitment towards energy policy with environmental regards. The waste generated by its people is sustainably recycled up to 99%, which is such a great thing to have for a country.

            It is important to mention here that it is not the only thing, where Sweden is leading the way, rather it has topped in many other categories as well. The EU developed Eco-innovation scoreboard in 2010 to keep measuring the innovation initiatives taken by EU countries. Ever since the scoreboard has been made, Sweden remained one of the top 5 best countries in this regard. In 2017, they were on top of the list among all EU countries. Here is a graph to show their progress: (European Comission, 2017)

  The above graph clearly shows that they are clearly above from other countries, only Germany and Finland are bit closer to them, other than these countries, they are way ahead in the list, which shows their commitment to the cause of sustainable energy use.

            This particular graph shows their overall performance with different measures for being an eco-innovation country. The average score of EU is 28, whereas they are way ahead of this average score in many categories. For example, it is evident that they are touching around the score of more than 150 in category of “Eco-innovations Inputs”, which is way ahead from other EU countries.

            The country has also been doing great in terms of mitigating its carbon footprint made through burning of fossil fuels. Sweden has made an ambitious target for them that they are planning to cut down their fossil fuel use for electricity generation up to 100% by 2040. That’s why they have worked on more innovations to keep things going in a right direction to achieve the target. Therefore, they have shifted their focus towards sustainable energy resources such as smart grids, storage of energy, wind energy, as well as solar energy. They are also working to bring clean and eco-friendly transport so that their pollution footprint is minimized as much as possible. These initiatives are certainly commendable in so many ways looking at their great contribution to developing a sustainable energy profile with a dedicated energy policy (CLIMATE COUNCIL, 2019).

            It is vital to mention that Sweden is not only amongst top nations in the EU, but they are also achieving the same on world stage as well. They are one of the top 10 countries in the world, which are considered the Greenest Countries on this planet Earth. A list of top ten countries is developed with the help of EPI (Environmental Performance Index). Looking at the scores, here is the list of top ten Greenest Countries: (Visually, 2012)

            It is amazing to learn that more than half of the energy produced from Sweden comes from renewable energy resources. They had achieved this 50% target in 2012, which was set to be achieved in 2020, and now they are thriving to achieve the 100% sustainable energy target by 2040, and so for they have done it with 54%. It means that they may again achieve their target way earlier than the set targets. Their numbers are on top of the list in European Union, and if they will be able to achieve 100% target in 2040, then they will be the first country to do so. The top renewable resources used by Sweden are bioenergy and hydropower energy (Swedish Institute, 2019).

            Here are some more graphs to show their great performance and efforts to come up with sustainable and renewable energy innovations:

Source: https://sweden.se/nature/energy-use-in-sweden/

            This graph shows the CO2 emission of different countries around the world, and among other countries, they are at the lowest number, showing their utmost commitment towards the low carbon footprint.

            Here are some more graphics to look at more stats for Sweden, being the best country amongst EU nations in terms of energy profile with sustainable and eco-friendly way:

Source: https://sweden.se/nature/energy-use-in-sweden/

Source: https://sweden.se/nature/energy-use-in-sweden/

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statisticsexplained/index.php/Renewable_energy_statistics

References of The Best Eco-Friendly Energy Profile among EU Countries

CLIMATE COUNCIL. (2019). 11 COUNTRIES LEADING THE CHARGE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/11-countries-leading-the-charge-on-renewable-energy/

European Comission. (2017). ECO-INNOVATION: SWEDEN. Retrieved Dcember 11, 2019, from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/sweden_en

GreenMatch. (2019). The Most Eco-Costly Countries in the EU. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2018/07/top-eco-costly-countries-in-eu

Swedish Institute. (2019). ENERGY USE IN SWEDEN. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://sweden.se/nature/energy-use-in-sweden/

Visually. (2012). Green. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://visual.ly/community/infographic/environment/green