Stockholm+50: five things to know
I could easily list 50 things you need to know about Stockholm +50, but let’s keep it simple and boil it down to 5 essential things you need to know.
What is Stockholm +50?
This is the simplest answer – Stockholm +50 is an international meeting on the environment organized by the United Nations General Assembly that will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 2 to 3, 2022. You see, it is nice and simple!
To dive a little deeper below the surface, the theme of Stockholm+50 is “a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity”. This high-level meeting will follow months of consultations and discussions with individuals, communities, organizations and governments around the world.
So wait – what does Stockholm +50 even mean?
In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm was held, and it was basically the first conference that managed to address environmental issues at the right level. Fifty years later, the UN is back in Stockholm to commemorate this milestone. Also quite simple!
In 1972, some 122 countries took part and the participants adopted a series of environmental principles, including the Stockholm Declaration and Plan of Action for the Human Environment. The United Nations Environment Program was created as a result of the conference.
Today, 50 years after that meeting in Stockholm, it is time to reflect: have we done all we could have done?
Why is Stockholm +50 important?
There was a lot of media attention surrounding COP26 last year where world leaders came together to continue the work to maintain the actions promised by the 2015 Paris Agreement. will have COP27 in Egypt, where the organizers will aim to make the conference “a sea change in the international climate effort in coordination with all parties, for the benefit of Africa and the whole world”
While there may be less attention on Stockholm +50, that doesn’t mean the event won’t be important for global climate action and other environmental issues like biodiversity.
On a personal level, it is amazing to think that the first world conference on the environment took place 50 years ago. When you think about it from a scientific point of view, not very long ago. As early as 1896, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrenhius described Earth’s energy budget, knowing that if we burned enough fossil fuels, we would impact Earth’s temperature. He was one of the first to begin the scientific discovery of global warming. However, progress on these ideas was slow, and it was not until the 1970s that policymakers began to address some of the man-made environmental problems.
While many steps have been taken over the past 50 years, for specific environmental risks such as the Montreal Protocol, the fight against the depletion of the ozone hole. Much remains to be done, especially in terms of climate action. About 50 years ago, CO2 levels in the atmosphere were around 323 parts per million (ppm). Currently, we are at 417 ppm. Human activities have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, amplifying the Earth’s natural greenhouse effect. We have already warmed the Earth’s average temperature by 1.1°C and our goal is to limit it to 1.5°C.
Earlier this year, the UN released the latest IPCC report, which reaffirmed the urgent need for global action on climate change NOW. Emissions are higher than ever, but the rate of increase is slowing down a bit – the world has one last chance to achieve the 1.5°C ambition. We are facing a tri-planetary catastrophe. Climate change, waste and the loss of nature and biodiversity threaten the livelihoods and lives of billions of people.
It is clear that we need transformational change to address the climate and planetary crisis – a transformation that will rely on technology, innovation and real collaboration between the public and private sectors.
What will happen at Stockholm +50?
The event in early June will see representatives from around the world gather in Stockholm to discuss how to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for all. The world has made great strides in protecting and conserving our environment since 1972, but at this crucial moment for climate action, Stockholm +50 could usher in much-needed new momentum for environmental awareness and action for the next half-year. century, just like five decades ago.
Stockholm+50 is designed to be a springboard for accelerating groundbreaking international agreements and reimagining how we can achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Although the primary focus of the event is high-level dialogue, we believe this dialogue is the foundation for inspiring concrete change and action by companies, countries and individuals.
As the 1972 Stockholm Conference demonstrated, environmental and climate challenges will be harder to solve if the world continues to operate in silos. The only way to save our planet and ourselves from climate catastrophe is to look back while looking forward together.
Stockholm+50 will be collaborative and multi-stakeholder in nature, open to accredited participants who will be invited to share experiences and initiatives to protect the planet and contribute to sustainable and inclusive development, including a sustainable recovery from the COVID -19 pandemic.
The meeting will include an opening segment, four plenary sessions and three leadership dialogues, and a closing segment. Ericsson is part of the Leadership Dialogues, which focus on:
- Reflecting on the urgent need for action to achieve a healthy planet and prosperity for all
- Achieving a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic
- Accelerating the implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the framework of the Decade of Action
What is Ericsson doing at Stockholm +50?
So why is Stockholm +50 important for Ericsson? For the same reason, climate action, nature restoration and the fight against global pollution are important to all of us.
It is clear that we need transformational changes to meet these challenges. The transformation we need will be based on technology, innovation and real collaboration between the public and private sectors.
For more than a century, Ericsson technologies have transformed every sector of society. Through ecosystems of research, science and industry, we know that digitalization and 5G can help tackle climate change and other environmental issues.
In particular, the ICT sector has the unique potential to enable other industrial sectors to move towards a low-carbon economy – a move essential to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13, which focuses on tackling against climate change and its impacts. We also know that without digitization we will fail to create the circular economy we need to address other challenges such as waste and pollution. ICT solutions such as sensors, AI and machine learning can for example support nature conservation efforts, such as improving the survival rates of mangrove seedlings by giving the right environmental parameters, spotting animal species in habitats and perhaps even detecting illegal loggers.
At Stockholm +50, we will work with our partners to ensure other businesses and policy makers join us in working for wider adoption of solutions that drive exponential reductions in carbon emissions globally.
One of the ways we plan to do this is by hosting the sixth Exponential Climate Action SummitGuided by We do not have the time – the world’s largest social network for climate action and the Exponential Roadmap initiative. Our 5th summit, this Earth Day, drew over 8.5 million viewers on Twitter, and we hope we have as many active listeners this time around as we feature important conversations with innovators, disruptors and transformers. We know the solutions exist, we just need to scale them now by taking action.
Ericsson is taking its 2040 Net Zero ambition seriously – with a first step to achieve net zero emissions from our own operations – as well as a 50% reduction in emissions across our portfolio and supply chain – by 2030.
Summary box:
What is Stockholm +50?
Stockholm +50 is an international meeting on the environment organized by the United Nations General Assembly to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 2 to 3, 2022
What does Stockholm +50 mean?
The first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm in 1972. Fifty years later, we are back in Stockholm.
Why is the event important?
Although many steps have been taken over the past 50 years, there is still much to do. The latest IPCC report reaffirmed the urgent need for global action on climate change now. Emissions are higher than ever, but the rate of increase is slowing – the world has one last chance to achieve the 1.5°C ambition.
What will happen at Stockholm +50?
Representatives from around the world are meeting in Stockholm to discuss how to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for all. The only way to save our planet and ourselves from climate catastrophe is to look back while looking forward together.
What does Ericsson do?
Ericsson will work with our partners to ensure that other companies and decision makers join us in the work of wider adoption of solutions that enable an exponential reduction in carbon emissions on a global scale. One of the activations will be hosting the sixth Exponential Climate Action Summit, led by We Don’t Have Time – the world’s largest social network for climate action and the Exponential Roadmap initiative.
Learn more
Learn more about Ericsson’s work on sustainability and corporate responsibility.
Learn more about how digitalization with 5G is further accelerating climate action
Read our blog post, The Great Reset: the power of collaboration.
This is how sustainability creates value for companies and society.