Johan Gärdebo: ”Changing Climate Histories: Institutionalising Swedish Climate Knowledge 1950–2000”

Abstract:

How is one to understand the role of meteorological institutions in the emergence of modern-day concepts of and concerns for climate? With the project "Changing Climate Histories", I seek to historicise how the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) studied climate change during the second part of the 1900s and what role the institution played in reinterpreting and politicising the concept of ‘climate’. I investigate how the national institution of SMHI provided resources for conducting Swedish transnational activities. Correspondingly, I trace how the rationales articulated for SMHI changed as it became increasingly international in its conduct and collaborations. The project explores how this climate institution shifted from belonging to a nation-state towards becoming an international institution involved in reinterpreting national politics, most recently with the ratification of Sweden’s climate law.