On August 7th, Sweden's first rolling climate conference departs as the Greentopia train rolls from Stockholm Central Station towards Gothenburg. The initiative is backed by SJ AB and Greentopia.
This summer, for the fourth year running, researchers, organisers, artists and societal debaters will gather at Way Out West for the climate conference Greentopia. But this year, Greentopia kicks off already on the morning of 7 August – on the train from Stockholm Central, where an SJ X 2000 will be transformed into a rolling climate conference.
A rolling climate conference is much more than just a train journey: the train helps the festival and its visitors to reduce their climate footprint, but above all it becomes a meeting place and an extension of Greentopia.
– To reduce the climate impact from our industry, we see two crucial changes: Firstly, a mental shift, where we start seeing the journey as part of the experience rather than a necessary evil. Secondly, strengthened collaboration between public transport and event organisers, making the train an obvious alternative, says Louise Lindén, founder of LiveGreen and one of the initiators of Greentopia.
SJ and the train have an important role in helping other businesses reduce their carbon footprint. For the live music scene, the transport to get there is often the biggest source of emissions, which is why it's particularly fitting that the rolling climate conference is taking place on a train.
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time and we need to rethink our travel. Choosing the train to festivals like Way Out West is a way to ensure that we can continue to enjoy the experiences we love without jeopardising this opportunity for future generations. That's why it feels great and important that we are launching the Greentopia train, says Claes Lindholtz, Director of Communications and Sustainability at SJ.
Among the speakers on board the Greentopia train are researcher Fredrik Moberg, food entrepreneurs Rune and Fabian Kalf-Hansen, and Cecilia Enquist from the high-tech company Grale.
The Greentopia train departs from Stockholm Central on the morning of August 7th. Greentopia then starts at Way Out West at 14:00 on the same day.
According to the press release.
About Greentopia Greentopia is the climate meeting that has kicked off Way Out West every year since 2022. It is a collaboration between Stockholm Resilience Centre, LiveGreen, Way Out West, and Svensk Live, and is made possible by Göteborg & Co. This year, the programme will feature personalities such as Gunhild Stordalen, Jessie Sommarström, Mina Dennert, Martin Kann, and Maria Wolrath Söderberg.
