One thing that strikes me every time I leave Sweden is how much we love to shame each other here.

Back in 2020, SVT ran a big article warning that more and more Swedes were installing air conditioning — something they portrayed as harmful to the climate due to increased electricity use and global CO₂ emissions. They even noted that air conditioning accounts for about 3% of the world’s total emissions. SVT article from 2020

After spending two weeks in Sicily, where restaurants and hotels happily run AC in outdoor areas without any apparent guilt, the Swedish approach feels almost comical.

We are world champions at shaming our own already climate-conscious citizens. If Sweden were to disappear from the map tomorrow, our total emissions would barely be noticeable in the global statistics.

Sometimes it feels like we’re not fighting climate change — we’re mostly fighting each other.