Environment
I believe that the earth is in deep trouble, because too many people and firms can foist the environmental costs of their lives and actions onto others.
I also think that we already know what public policies would solve most environmental problems. Governments don't adopt such policies, however, because environmental protection is a low priority for the public, who do not trust in environmental solutions. A lot of people think saving the earth will cost a lot, when the truth is that it will save us (our health and economies) a lot. Too few people understand that governments can do a lot of good by raising the price of pollution to the polluter -- that is, by taxing pollution.
Much of my current research is aimed at unpacking this problem.
This work is currently supported by two grants. One, from the Swedish Research Council, is for a project called In Search of Decoupling. The other is from Formas, and is about finding popular solutions to climate change.
My work in this area was previously supported by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, with a grant about “Political trust and the environment: Understanding public attitudes towards environmental taxes and other policies”, and the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, with funding for a project on Climate ethics and future generations.