ABSTRACT
Sweden’s small size, a northern climate and expansive post-war industrial development put it in a sensitive position when oil prices rose in 1973. Sweden had developed the third highest per capita consumption of energy in the world. Sweden took oil dependency seriously for a number of reasons, ranging from a desire to maintain neutrality to deep-seated misgivings about non-renewable fuels with environmental concerns. Goteborg is the second largest city in Sweden. Many of its problems are similar to those facing other large northern cities with heavy industry and shipping. With the brief portrait of the major actors on Goteborg’s energy scene and their primary achievements, the chapter consider how innovation occurred and what problems hindered new approaches. Events can be separated into new categories: those dealing with the introduction of new conservation practices, and those dealing with planning and implementing new sources of heat supply.
