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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development paths leading to the transition to cleaner bleaching technologies in the pulp industry. It devotes particular attention to the key features of the Swedish transition, but also compares this to the Finnish experiences. The empirical investigation builds on an analytical framework highlighting the conditions under which pollution regulations can provide efficient incentives for deep emission reductions at industrial plants. Existing and new archive material, including not least comprehensive license trial acts for Swedish pulp mills over an extended time period, are studied. Based on this historical analysis our findings contradict previous literature, the latter emphasizing that pressures from consumers and the public were the most significant driving forces behind the adoption of–and innovation in–alternative bleaching technologies during the late 1980s. Instead, this paper asserts, the green pulp transition was characterized by regulation-induced technological change and was made possible by long history of industry-wide cooperation in environmental R&D. Furthermore, while previous research has emphasized the leading role of the Nordic countries in green pulp innovation, we identify a number of profound differences between Finland and Sweden. These emerge from various national contexts in terms of, for instance, industry structures and strategies, political cultures, and regulatory styles. Finally, at a more general level the paper provides a few policy implications for supporting the ongoing transition towards a forest-based bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s energy crises, and increasingly in recent years, ground source heat pumps have attracted large interest as an instrument for energy conservation. Rapid growth of the industry has raised questions about the environmental benefits and costs of heat pumps. Governments have designed policies to both promote and regulate the industry. This study concentrates on the development of the ground source heat pump industry in Finland, and on national policies and regulations concerning the industry. The focus is on practitioners' responses to heat pump legislation, a topic so far overlooked by researchers, but also the users’ perspective is considered. The study is based on interviews and questionnaire responses from heat pump professionals, heat pump statistics, and literature. Six sectors of legislation and environmental policy are considered: the regulation of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases in refrigerants, qualification requirements imposed on the ground source heat pump industry, the permission procedure for ground loop heat exchangers, legislation on groundwater protection, requirements and incentives for heat pump efficiency and labelling, and public funding and subsidies for the industry. The results show that policies have an important role in the development of the industry, and that quality aspects deserve more attention in policies regarding e.g. GSHP training and planning permissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]