(cont.) Urban planning, housing supply and construction, and consumer policy (cont. CU1)

Katarina Luhr (MP)

Madam Speaker! Urban planning, housing supply, construction, and consumer policy – there is no shortage of important areas. We thought they would be debated in a short time today, but it has dragged on a bit.

Especially in times when the needs for measures in all these areas are enormous, it affects most and the majority. But as we have heard today, it is in the government's budget, just like last year, fairly empty of new proposals, despite all the fine words here today. Could it be that the government does not think at all that community planning, housing supply, construction, and consumer policy are important? It almost seems so.

What in the government's budget that can be discussed in this debate can simply be about the lack of proposals, removed initiatives, and the government's lack of initiative. It becomes all the more tedious, but it is truly no less concerning.

I want to start with construction and housing policy. Last year, in my first budget debate, I and several others spoke about how various construction actors then flagged the risks that the pace of construction would come to a complete halt, which of course risked affecting the construction sector and not least everyone looking for permanent housing. This year we see the effects.

Boverket says in a new forecast for this year that even more needs to be built, 67,300 homes per year until 2030. At the same time, Boverket's forecast for 2024 says that construction of barely 20,000 homes will begin during next year. I do not claim that it is only due to the government. But it is alarming that the government is not even trying to do anything to mitigate the effects. Yes, of course, one removes the shore protection. But I do not intend to claim that even the government has intended to try to squeeze in 67,000 homes per year in coastal locations.

The abolition of the shore protection is not included in the budget, but I still had to bring it up because it is largely the only measure that the government highlights even today. Otherwise, the measures concern phasing out the investment support, abolishing the support for good and sustainable living environments in Västerbotten and Norrbotten, and phasing out the support to the part of civil society that is to promote consumers' interests. It is not a fun read.

Above all, the Tidö parties' budget contains nothing that can support or benefit any of the socially beneficial areas that fall under the Committee on Civil Affairs: housing construction, urban planning, energy efficiency, climate adaptation, green cities, support for more sustainable and secure consumption, or any type of support to the municipalities that are now leading the social development through a rapid green industrial transition. It is actually quite surprising, and even more surprising now that more than a year of the mandate period has passed. Much of what we want to invest in needs to be done now, not later.

I would have liked to read about the Tidö parties' own solutions for getting housing construction started and reducing the future housing debt, for how more young people shall get their first home, for how structurally or socially homeless people shall get greater opportunities for a home, for how people shall avoid eviction and for how the elderly shall live in the future. I would have liked to read about solutions for how those laid off within the construction sector shall be retained in the country until construction picks up again, how we tackle the construction sector's climate impact, how we solve the material shortage, how we support the green industrial transition, how we increase the pace for energy efficiency and climate adaptation and how we build the good living environments where people feel good living. But all of that is missing in the government's budget.

Madam Speaker! I may sound a bit whiny, but many areas here are extremely important and really should not be left to their fate. I will therefore highlight some of the things that Miljöpartiet would like to implement if we were given the chance.

In the Green Party's shadow budget, we make a number of investments that we consider to be of long-term importance but which can at the same time be used to mitigate the effects within the housing sector and for the citizens in the wake of the difficult economic situation.

First and foremost: All people need a home. Homelessness in Sweden must decrease. We need to lower the threshold so that more people can request a home. When someone does not have the prerequisites, society needs to be there. We need to take a greater national responsibility. Miljöpartiet therefore wants to investigate the possibilities for a national housing foundation that manages a housing stock across the entire country for those who today lack a secure home.

We want to introduce a starter loan for first-time buyers and investigate the possibilities for a green housing account. We want to conduct a review of the housing allowance and of the deferral rules upon sale of a home, in order to enable greater mobility in the housing market. We want to support various housing solutions and sustainable renovations. For example, new homes can be created in properties that today are not used for residential purposes.

We also want to investigate how the state can support the transfer, renovation, and upgrading of abandoned houses that have stood empty or abandoned for a longer period in places where it may currently be difficult to finance a major upgrade.

In our shadow budget, we also reintroduce investment support for housing. We believe it is the worst possible time to abolish the investment support, when construction is decreasing radically and when we know that an investment support leads to more housing.

In several municipalities in Sweden, especially in the northern part of the country, a massive expansion of entire communities is currently underway in the wake of large-scale industrial investments. In Skellefteå alone, the population is expected to increase by 20,000 people by 2030. In the affected Norrland municipalities, this is a development that has never been experienced before and which places extremely large demands on the municipalities. These municipalities are forced today to bear the risks themselves when massive industrial investments require not only new housing but also new schools, preschools, sports halls, and grocery stores.

Miljöpartiet therefore proposes a new appropriation of 3 billion kronor per year, named Investment Support for Green Community Building. The support is intended to be used for both new housing as well as other socially useful buildings and important infrastructure in expansive regions linked to major industrial investments. We propose that Boverket shall develop criteria for this support.

Electricity prices still vary from day to day. We see a great need to support citizens in their work to lower their electricity costs and to reduce electricity consumption nationally to free up energy for other purposes. Miljöpartiet wants 60 percent of the cost for energy efficiency to be paid by the state. We therefore allocate 3.2 billion for energy efficiency in residential buildings. These are funds that will become extra valuable when Sweden is to achieve the EU's new requirements on energy performance and so that we can lower both electricity consumption and electricity costs for many.

This is long-term and economically wise policy that provides broad social benefit and benefits both the individual, the power systems, and society in the long run.

Madam Speaker! Right now, we are both in a recession with a tough economic situation and in the middle of a climate crisis. That at just that time, phase out all support to the part of civil society that is to provide support and help to consumers is yet another measure that one is surprised by. That the money is decreasing in a tough economic situation is the responsible minister's explanation, but it does not explain why the support is phased out to zero over a three-year period.

We believe that it is in tough times that consumers have the greatest need for support and help and consider that the money needs to remain. We also want the Consumer Agency to strengthen its work regarding digital markets, where we can, for example, see that children, young people and those in debt are most vulnerable to aggressive marketing.

Madam Speaker! I mentioned earlier that we are currently experiencing several crises simultaneously. The effects of the climate crisis are becoming more and more evident every year. This was shown, not least, during the summer with drought, landslides, sinkholes, and floods. The most recent summer once again became the hottest ever recorded. We cannot turn a blind eye to this.

Urban planning, housing supply and construction, and consumer policy

Measures to reduce climate emissions and protect us from climate change need to be taken now, not later. The construction sector accounts for one-fifth of Sweden's climate emissions, which must be minimized. In order to significantly reduce the climate impact and the use of natural resources from the construction sector specifically, we want the requirements on limit values for climate impact during new construction and renovation to enter into force as soon as possible. The work on increased circular construction also needs to be taken further.

We are also awaiting the revised national climate adaptation strategy from the government and hope that the government has listened to all the needs that exist.

To counteract the negative effects of climate change, we have a great deal of work ahead of us. It is clear that the municipalities in particular need support in the work of climate adaptation. There are many different measures that need to be taken. These are, for example, reinforced green infrastructure, sustainable stormwater management, raising of ground and buildings, and protection against flooding.

Miljöpartiet proposes a new appropriation to Boverket of 523 million kronor for climate adaptation of the built environment. It shall give municipalities, municipal housing companies, interest groups, and private actors the opportunity to apply for support to climate-adapt already built environments against cloudbursts and heatwaves in order to protect both human lives and important infrastructure in the long run.

In order to further create a long-term ecologically and socially sustainable society, it is important that nature and other green areas in cities and urban areas increase and are also developed in order to create a living environment where people want to live.

Miljöpartiet wants to reintroduce the support for green and safe societies to promote urban greenery, biodiversity and ecosystem services through the grant Green and safe societies at 300 million kronor.

With those words, I wish to support the Green Party's special statement on expenditure area 18.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 13 December.)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)