Symbolic wins as stepping stones toward material gains: Lessons from Sweden’s fossil fuel production ban

How and why do some countries without ongoing fossil fuel exploration and extraction decide to unilaterally ban such activities? As part of a global momentum toward focusing on the supply-side of fossil fuels, Sweden implemented a fossil fuel production ban in 2022 despite being a non-producing state. Utilising a fossil fuel systems power analysis framework and drawing on data from 17 elite interviews with key stakeholders, I analyse the political dynamics of Sweden’s ban. I focus on the how and why , showing that the ban succeeded due to the efforts of a key pro-climate driver expending significant political capital, the lack of organised pro-fossil fuel incumbent resistance, and a pre-established path to prohibition from a prior uranium mining ban. Although disagreeing on the merits of each, the proponents and opponents agreed on the three key terrains of debate: the ban’s direct symbolic value, indirect material consequences, and global implications. I argue that the Swedish ban constitutes a stepping stone toward more ambitious climate and energy policy and combines both symbolic, material, and international dimensions. To be successful, proponents of fossil fuel production bans in other countries should therefore develop strategies to bolster the strength and counter the opposition along all three of these dimensions.