Society's crisis preparedness

Alexandra Anstrell (M)

Madam Speaker! Today we are in the chamber to speak about the committee report on Society's Crisis Preparedness. I wish to vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision, that is to say, the rejection of all motions.

The world is more uncertain and restless than it has been in a long time, and unpredictability is increasing. We simply need to be a bit more mindful of ourselves and our surroundings. Overall and far-reaching reforms were needed to strengthen our crisis preparedness.

Society's crisis preparedness can be described as the ability to prevent, resist, and manage crisis situations. Since the current government, with the first Minister for Civil Defence since Gösta Bohman's time, has truly focused on this, there is now a lot going on, but more was clearly needed. We all need to take our responsibility.

I am very pleased that the government today, together with the Sweden Democrats, has announced that there will be an additional 385 million kronor in an extra investment in the budget for this year.

It is about the following:

60 million to strengthened cybersecurity.

High capacity within the authorities within civil defense.

30 million kronor to increase the capacity of SOS Alarm.

20 million to further strengthen the preparedness within the drinking water supply. Water is a prerequisite for ensuring a good food supply for all of us in Sweden.

30 million to the state research institute Research Institutes of Sweden to invest in measurement technology activities.

50 million to strengthen stock management and increase capacity in healthcare.

25 million for investments in prioritized measures for Sweden's transport infrastructure.

130 million for, among other things, more national reinforcement resources. This could, for example, involve firefighting, backup power, as well as remediation and detection of hazardous substances.

Strengthened protection of the civilian population. An additional 10 million will be allocated for the upgrading of Sweden's shelters. Here, the war in Ukraine has shown that civil infrastructure and the civilian population can become targets. Therefore, this is naturally another very good and welcome proposal.

These investments feel really good.

The introduction of the civil service, which was made this year, is also important for our crisis preparedness. An activation of the civil service means that we in Sweden will have a better opportunity to plan and strengthen the staffing of specific operations. In that way, it is ensured that the right person is in the right place in the total defense.

MSB is responsible for investigating individuals' possibilities to be enrolled for civil duty within rescue services. Those individuals who can be enrolled for civil duty shall undergo a refresher training, and after that, Plikt and prövningsverket will assign them to military positions. Hopefully, around 300 people will be able to be trained during 2024. That is, of course, also very good.

Madam Speaker! Sweden must be well-equipped to meet future crises, whether they involve pandemics, disruptions in supply chains, or climate-related events such as forest fires and floods, or in the worst case, war. If we prepare for war, we can handle a crisis.

We all have a responsibility here. Prepare yourself so that you can manage for at least seven days without support from society. Ensure that you have water, food, a heat source, a wind-up radio, any medications, and other things that you think you might need.

It is, therefore, time for action, just as the Defence Preparedness Board says in its report Kraftsamling which was released in December. One does not need to be afraid, but one needs to be prepared. And if one is not prepared, well, then one is simply unprepared. I move for approval of the committee's proposal in the report.

(Applause)

In this speech, Gustaf Göthberg (M) agreed.

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

Helén Pettersson (S)

Madam Speaker! I want to begin by saying that I naturally support all the Social Democratic reservations, but I choose here to vote in favor of reservation number 4.

As already stated, we are discussing this afternoon the Committee on Defence's report number 7, which is a motion report dealing with motions from the general motion period.

Society's crisis preparedness is a very broad subject that encompasses a great deal. It is difficult to include everything in a speech. Fundamentally, it is about how strong our society is. How prepared we are to handle crises is a good measure of how strong we are as a country. Here we have some work to do.

We have been affected by a number of situations in recent years where crisis preparedness has been tested to varying degrees. There have been forest fires and floods, and not so long ago there was a traffic standstill on the E22.

In those cases, we can see and learn from the mistakes. We can highlight the good examples where they exist. But it is obvious that we have a lot to develop, not least when it comes to issues of responsibility and authority.

Madam Speaker! The climate transitions place new demands on the entire society. The work with preventive and preparatory measures must be intensified. This involves, among other things, a review of sewage systems, the drinking water supply, the food supply, the risk of forest fires, and measures against flooding.

The preparedness for natural disasters must be strengthened, and the national climate adaptation strategy must be updated and also include climate adaptation in the total defense's crisis preparedness.

Sweden's crisis preparedness should be divided into a preventive perspective and a management perspective. If one has those starting points, the goals for crisis preparedness are partly to reduce the risk of accidents and crises, and partly to safeguard people's lives and health and fundamental values such as democracy, the rule of law, and human civil and political rights. This is achieved by maintaining society-critical activities and limiting or preferably preventing damage to property and the environment when accidents occur and crisis situations arise.

The work with crisis preparedness should also contribute to reducing suffering and the consequences of serious accidents abroad. Here we need to strengthen, among other things, the Nordic cooperation in order to be able to ensure good and effective cooperation in crisis situations. A stronger and more organized cooperation with our Nordic neighboring countries is an important part in the development of the preparedness in our border areas.

The ability to continue carrying out society-critical activities even during disruptions has already been mentioned here in the speaker's chair. It must be a central part of the crisis preparedness. That work must be characterized by an all-risk perspective where vulnerabilities in important functions are identified, mapped, and addressed. In that way, we strengthen our fundamental resilience in society, which is also a basic prerequisite for a civil defense.

Civil defense, which is now to be strengthened, shall also contribute to society's ability to handle peacetime crisis situations. The planning for civil defense shall be based on the work with crisis preparedness. Society's crisis preparedness and civil defense shall therefore be mutually reinforcing.

Madam Speaker! A fundamental part of a functioning crisis preparedness and a strong civil defense is a strong civil society. We see this, not least in Ukraine. A well-organized population contributes to the highest degree to strengthening societal functions during crisis and war. A well-educated population is ultimately what sustains democracy and resilience against disinformation. Strong popular movements strengthen our defense capability in crisis and war. It is there that the social bonds between people are created, which are so crucial for a resilient society.

Several of the study associations in Sweden have made major efforts to increase home preparedness. Now, the activity is subject to great pressure and powerful cuts in state grants. To cut back on the folk education grants in the time we live in now appears ill-considered, not to say counterproductive. Future support for the development of Swedish civil society is of the utmost importance.

Madam Speaker! The role of the business sector in preparedness work is also crucial. A prepared business sector makes our preparedness stronger.

A survey that Combitech conducted a few years ago showed that there are major deficiencies today but also a great desire for improvement. The survey showed that only 10 percent of Sweden's companies have the preparedness to handle a strain on society, while at the same time 70 percent want to learn more about what their role is during strains and what they can contribute. 77 percent of the companies state that they experience an ambiguity from the government and authorities regarding what applies. These are very worrying figures and a very large task to undertake.

We Social Democrats therefore propose that the government appoints a new agency for the development and monitoring of the business sector's preparedness in order to take a strong long-term societal grip on the business sector's preparedness planning, role, and responsibility.

If we mean business with having a resilient society, everyone must help each other. People, municipalities, county administrative boards, regions, authorities, the business community, civil society, the Riksdag and the government – we must all coordinate and pull in the same direction. We need to help those who need help to build their own resilience.

Madam Speaker! The municipalities have very different situations and conditions in our country. But the crisis preparedness must function nonetheless, because when a crisis occurs, it happens in one of the municipalities. Then the conditions must be provided, with both resources and knowledge, and it must be the state's responsibility to point out the direction and provide the conditions to meet the needs that exist in order to create a strong total defense in the long term.

(Applause)

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

Mikael Oscarsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! We are now considering the Committee on Defence's report 7, which concerns something as important as society's crisis preparedness. It is also linked to civil defence. As has already been pointed out here, these are connected, because if we have the preparedness to withstand war, we also have significantly greater prospects of managing crises.

When it comes to civil defense, I want to highlight that we have much to learn from Finland. This is also something that is addressed in the Defense Committee's report on civil defense, which arrived before Christmas.

Finland was one of very few countries that did not scale back either its military or civil defense after the end of the Cold War. In Finland, they sometimes say, when they want to be friendly towards us in Sweden, that they learned civil defense from Sweden. But Finland did not, therefore, dismantle civil defense. Here we have much to bring home and learn about how they organize themselves there. This also applies to things such as being able to store food, fuel, and medicines. Finland has a better resilience.

It is largely about this, Madam Speaker. We must have a better ability to cope in crises. I believe this is partly due to the fact that Sweden has been spared from war for a long time. It is terrible when a country becomes war-damaged, but it can also become peace-damaged. Some of this we have in our country; we have thought that war and serious security policy crises are something that is far away and have therefore reduced the readiness, together with our neighboring countries.

Now we are in a situation where we understand that the heightened security policy situation that prevails will apply in the foreseeable future. As we spoke about in the previous debate, it is important that we highlight the military challenges, pay for them and strengthen the defense in the way that is needed. But, Madam Speaker, the civil defense is also important. These are two sides of the same coin.

I want to raise a specific issue, which concerns forest fire fighting. Here we have painful experiences. I belong to those who have had the privilege of sitting in the Riksdag for many years. I was here in 2014 and 2018, when we had the large fires. It turned out, Madam Speaker, that the preparedness was not there. It became particularly clear in 2014. It was painful to see that Sweden, which together with Finland is the country with the most forest in Europe, was down on its knees very quickly. Thank goodness we received help from Europe. Firefighters came from a bit everywhere. We received help from Norway with helicopters, because it turned out that we had far too poor preparedness when it comes to these.

Since then, there has been an improvement, which we point out here. Procurements of helicopters are being made by MSB, and that is important.

I still want to remind of something I have pointed out on many occasions: There is an authority with government helicopters that goes by the name Sjöfartsverket.

The Swedish Maritime Administration exists, as the Chamber surely knows, to this very hour in five places in our country. The distribution across the country is good, and the Swedish Maritime Administration has good helicopters that have cost the taxpayers a huge amount. They are type-approved to have a hook underneath them, so they could help out if the worst happens. There have been occasions, for example in Visby on Gotland, when a forest fire broke out. Then this helicopter stood there but could do nothing.

So we cannot have it that way. We have come a bit of the way, and that is good. But, Madam Speaker, there are still deficiencies. We must take this seriously so that we can use the state's resources in the way they deserve. In that way, we are better prepared both for forest fires and at other times.

This will be part of the Defence Committee's report, which will be released in two weeks. There, we will also establish, hopefully in agreement, the investments needed for civil defense and also the investments that are connected to what we are talking about today, namely society's crisis preparedness.

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

Björn Söder (SD)

Madam Speaker! Not since the Second World War has the security policy situation in Sweden been as serious as it is now. At the same time, previous governments in this country bear a great and heavy responsibility for the fact that our country today is so poorly equipped to be able to meet the threats that are now a reality. I have said it before, but it bears repeating: One reasoned roughly as if "We are taking down all smoke detectors and alarm systems and canceling the home insurance because it hasn't burned down or there haven't been any burglaries in the house since we built it." I do not believe that anyone would reason like that if it were about their own house. But obviously, it went well when it concerned our common house, Sweden, during the latter part of the 90s, during the 00s, and even into the 10s.

The same mistakes were made in 1925 after the First World War when people believed in eternal peace, which 14 years later would be replaced by a new violent world war. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it was again believed that the world would become calm, and total defense was merely a cost. Not even when the Russian despot began to show his true face in 2008 through the attack against Georgia did people wake up. A former Minister of Defence said as recently as 2014 that the security policy situation in the Baltic Sea region is more stable today than ten years ago and that the assessment that it is unlikely for an armed military attack against Sweden within the foreseeable future also continues to be the basis for the design of the defense.

While some of us had warned that the development could quickly come to change, it was only after the annexation of Crimea that the other parties in this chamber seemed to wake up from their slumber.

During all these years, the defense had been dismantled. While the military was maintained at some kind of minimum level, the civil defense was completely slaughtered. This is the reason why we find ourselves where we do right now, in 2024. A defense can be destroyed quickly but takes a very long time to build up. We know this from previous experience since that fateful decision in 1925.

Right now, however, an intensive development of civil defense is underway, and that is obviously good. But we are working against the clock, and unfortunately, much is moving too slowly.

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, on the government's assignment, has made a collective assessment of the feasibility and consequences of the proposed measures that the Defence Preparedness Committee submitted in its report Kraftsamling. It notes that the proposals presented by the Defence Preparedness Committee involve a significantly raised level of ambition for civil defense in relation to the current defense decision, but it also points out serious deficiencies in relation to the goals for civil defense where measures are missing in Kraftsamling.

MSB also writes that all actors during the upcoming defense decision period need to continue working together to find suitable ways to meet even these challenges. Further steps need to be taken promptly, and decisions that enable a high pace in the development forward need to be taken.

With that said, Madam Speaker, in this debate on society's preparedness, I want to focus on SOS Alarm.

SOS Alarm was established in 1956, and in 1973 the responsibility for alerting was transferred to the company SOS Alarm, with the state, Kommunförbundet, and Landstingsförbundet as owners. Until 1994, the company was financed with grants, before becoming a profit-oriented company in 1995. SOS Alarm today has, through the alerting agreement with the state, a specifically decided social mission to receive and answer emergency calls as well as other emergency communications to the emergency number 112, including assessing and handling the information that follows from the calls. Today, the company is owned half by the state and half by Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner.

In an audit report from the Swedish National Audit Office released on December 7 last year, scathing criticism is presented. SOS Alarm responds far too slowly to the emergency number, and there is a lack of and underdeveloped governance that has made the emergency center's operations inefficient. The Swedish National Audit Office has been able to state that SOS Alarm has not achieved the goals regarding response times in any year during the last ten years, as well as that response times systematically vary between different parts of the country and depending on when calls are made, even though in an emergency situation it is of absolutely crucial importance to receive a quick response.

The National Audit Office assesses in its review that this is partly due to the government's governance being weak and that the government has not sufficiently utilized the opportunities to follow up and govern SOS Alarm, neither as the contracting authority nor as a half-owner of the company. The National Audit Office further argues that since there is a lack of specific statutory regulation of the socially important alerting function, ambiguities arise regarding responsibility, roles, and obligations.

As early as 2018, an investigation submitted proposals for constitutional regulation to replace the contractual regulation. The Social Democratic-led government, however, chose neither to refer the investigation for consultation nor to proceed with the investigation's proposal in any other way.

In these times of crisis and insecurity, it is extra important that citizens feel confidence in the alerting function that SOS Alarm is tasked to manage. To maintain this confidence, it is of utmost importance that emergency calls are treated equally and by one and the same actor, regardless of where in the country the emergency situation occurred. It is also of great importance that response times are maintained over time and that sufficient resources are available in the event of crisis or war.

SOS Alarm's mission is complex, and to be able to handle crises, accidents and high loads, a robust organization is required. Furthermore, SOS Alarm fulfills an important role in civil defense and must in the future be designed for and train to be a part of the total defense, in both peace and war.

The Government responds to the National Audit Office's report in its letter, which recently appeared at our offices, that on several occasions the compensation to the company has been increased to strengthen the operations and that the target for average response time should be able to be reached during the current year. It remains to be seen whether that will be the case.

But I also believe that the operating model for SOS Alarm needs to be reviewed. That SOS Alarm is operated as a profit-oriented company can, we believe, be one of the explanations for the company's shortcomings when it comes to insufficient resources to meet the goal for response times. The socially important activity that SOS Alarm is set to manage is not necessarily best performed by a profit-oriented limited company. We believe that instead, the possibility of converting SOS Alarm to another operating model should be reviewed. It could involve moving from a profit-oriented company back to a previous corporate form or being reorganized into an agency.

The government also needs to produce legislative proposals, as the previous investigation suggested. Until this happens, the government must, just as the Swedish National Audit Office proposes, review the supervisory mandate that MSB has and set higher requirements for SOS Alarm. This is also something the government itself highlights in its letter, where it writes that the supervision and control of the company's operations can be improved through development within the framework of MSB's existing mandate and the government's follow-up.

We can probably all agree that we cannot afford to wait another ten years before SOS Alarm functions as it should.

With this said, Madam Speaker, I wish to, despite our reservations - the content of which we obviously stand behind - move for the approval of the committee's proposal for a decision in its entirety.

(Applause)

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

Anna Starbrink (L)

Madam Speaker! Our ability to meet crises needs to be improved. Civil defense must be strengthened. Concrete reform proposals need to be put in place, as well as decisions, and large resource additions need to be ensured. The Defense Preparation, a long series of investigations, and the government is in full swing with this.

The crisis preparedness in our country has been neglected for a long time as Sweden allowed itself to be lulled into the belief of eternal peace. It is a late but necessary awakening from the pious slumber that has characterized the view on crises and war for a long time. With war in our near area and great uncertainty about the development with a significantly worsened security situation, it is no longer possible to continue snoozing.

Civil defense, including our ability to manage crises in peacetime, is a central part of Sweden's total defense. Society's crisis preparedness is also something that affects and engages the inhabitants.

The total defense is composed, all the way to the outermost level, by the population in Sweden. Everyone has a role to fill. But the government, the Riksdag, state authorities, municipalities and regions must, of course, organize and create the conditions for a good ability to handle crises. It is a central part of the shared responsibility in the social contract with the inhabitants.

I also want to point out that the business community, voluntary organizations, labor market organizations, religious communities, cultural life, civic life and of course the individual people are important actors in terms of our ability to meet crises. We have seen evidence of this many times.

Many of the proposals in the motions that we are discussing today are well-intentioned and aim at things that have already been addressed in various ways or that are being discussed in the ongoing processes.

A long series of proposals has been presented in broad political agreement through the Defence Committee. I expect, of course, that several of those proposals will return to the Riksdag for a decision.

The Defence Preparation Board, in its report Kraftsamling, has analyzed the need to strengthen civil defense. The report begins with the words "It is time for action!". That is exactly what it is. A total defense based on the requirements that high readiness and war impose will also contribute to strengthening peacetime crisis preparedness.

Civil defense must therefore be made ready to meet the greatest pressures. This requires extensive work. In that, priorities are absolutely necessary.

Madam Speaker! As we have heard earlier in the debate, the government has today presented new initiatives for civil defense. These are complementary point interventions presented for the current year. It is about increasing the pace further in the work with, among other things, cybersecurity, SOS Alarm, healthcare, transport infrastructure, shelters, and state reinforcement resources. 385 million kronor are allocated in the supplementary budget for the current year. These are initiatives that are important, but they of course only meet a small part of the large needs that exist and that must be managed over time.

The Defence Preparation Board has, in the report Kraftsamling, which I mentioned earlier, made assessments of the needs that exist and how the civil defense can be developed based on, among other things, lessons from Ukraine.

There is a need to develop and shape leadership in civil defense and also in economic defense. The supply readiness and cybersecurity need to be strengthened. And the demands that digitalization entails need to be met. This also applies to the rescue services, the protection of the civil population and of course healthcare. But it also applies to cultural life, the preservation of cultural heritage and not least the role of schools and preschools as well as a long line of other areas.

This also leads, as everyone understands, to a need for large resource additions and a concrete and purposeful development work. I expect that the government in the upcoming budget work will take this into account both in the short and long term.

Madam Speaker! In conclusion, I would like to move for the approval of the committee's proposal in the report.

(Applause)

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

Hanna Gunnarsson (V)

Madam Speaker! I want to say hello to everyone who is listening from home.

Today, the Committee on Defence is debating motions in the area of society's crisis preparedness. It is a debate that recurs annually. Every year when we debate this, the debate feels very topical. We first had two years with a pandemic, and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have now had two years with war in Europe. Furthermore, we are living with an ongoing climate crisis, and we know that our society is subjected to cyberattacks every day. This puts our own defence and our crisis preparedness to the test and requires that we make investments to make our society more robust and secure.

Madam Speaker! The events of recent years and the experiences that many people have had with both the pandemic and the ongoing war have placed a great focus on issues of crisis preparedness and civil defense. A few years ago, it might have been a bit difficult for us to imagine what a crisis affecting the entire society entails or to imagine a war in the middle of Europe. The call to have a crisis kit at home probably felt a bit abstract for many. But now, our perspective on how vulnerable our society is and the importance of building it stronger is different.

We live, in fact, in a vulnerable society. Due to privatizations and cuts in large parts of our welfare, especially healthcare, we know that society today is both more difficult to govern during a major crisis and has holes and deficiencies even in a normal situation.

Then there are the natural disasters that are effects of climate change. They range from fires and droughts to floods. Just floods have, during the winter and the beginning of spring, affected my home town in Skåne. We have once again been reminded of the power that exists in water and the devastation that floods entail.

There has also recently been a large and devastating oil spill in Blekinge and an extensive landslide at the E6 in Bohuslän. These major natural disasters risk both people's lives and lead to environmental destruction and extensive damage to property.

After every crisis, we must build society stronger so that we can meet the next crisis. We know that they will come again. When a crisis is over, it is important that we learn from what happened and do not forget or put it behind us too quickly. We need to evaluate at all levels and make the improvements required to be able to meet future crises, even though we know that they will not look the same tomorrow as they did yesterday.

We also need to continue to strengthen society's resilience. We do not do that by continuing to make cuts in the public sector, letting operations survive on minimum levels of economic resources, or privatizing socially important activities. Such a development, which we see today, makes crisis preparedness worse.

Madam Speaker! Municipalities and regions have a fundamental and very large responsibility to plan how activities such as healthcare, elderly care, and preschools can continue to operate during major crises. It requires resources, preparations, cooperation, knowledge enhancement, and exercises. We also need to bring society-critical activities, especially within welfare, back into public hands.

We know that operations that are already on their knees when things are calm in society have difficulty scaling up if we end up in a major crisis. For the operation to function in the event of a crisis, it is required that the staff is not understaffed or exhausted from the beginning.

We need to have a fully funded healthcare and elderly care that has the resources needed and staff with both higher wages as well as better working conditions and time for further education. More people must want to take the jobs in the welfare sector and be able to work both in normal mode and during major crises. One should be able to feel pride, be able to go to work every day and have the strength to work all the way until retirement.

We have a shared responsibility to make our society strong and resilient. For Vänsterpartiet, it is clear that equal societies, where we plan, finance, and carry out things together, are stronger societies. During crises, we see that helpfulness and solidarity increase. There is a fundamental will and striving to help each other when difficult things happen.

Madam Speaker! At the same time as we stand here and debate, the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza are ongoing. We know that these two wars lead to people dying and societies being shattered. We all need to work for a more peaceful and safer world, both here at home as well as in Ukraine and in Gaza.

Invasions and occupations must cease. People must be given the power to decide over their own lives and the societies they live in by building democracy, equality, security, safety, and good welfare for all.

Madam Speaker! When one reads this report, one sees how many different issues crisis preparedness touches upon. It is everything from climate adaptation to fire safety and fireworks.

Vänsterpartiet has three motions to take up in this debate.

One of our motions concerns housing policy. We demand better supervision of fire safety in multi-family buildings. Simple things such as functioning smoke detectors, which are tested regularly, are a measure that saves lives.

Another of our motions concerns MSB again sending out the brochure *Om krisen eller kriget kommer* to everyone living in Sweden. The brochure was sent out for the first time in 2018. A lot has happened since then, and it needs to be sent out again. And now it is actually the case, Madam Speaker, that the government has tasked MSB with sending out the brochure. One could therefore say that our motion has been granted.

The reservation I want to highlight is number 1 regarding the organization of volunteers. We know from previous crises that volunteer efforts and volunteer work are very important for managing and mitigating the crises we experience. It can range from everything from shopping for food, as during the pandemic, to taking care of injured animals, as during the recent oil spill in Blekinge. In order for volunteers to be able to help in the best way, organization and training are required. This can be done within the framework of a volunteer resource group, FRG, in the municipality. Such groups can make very large contributions during crises, and we in Vänsterpartiet therefore believe that volunteer resource groups should exist in all municipalities and that this should be investigated.

Madam Speaker! I move for approval of reservation number 1.

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

Mikael Larsson (C)

Madam Speaker! We are now debating the society's crisis preparedness. What is a crisis? In recent years, we have seen a multitude of crises that have truly affected us, for example the pandemic, major natural disasters, and other things that have been straining for society as a whole.

Crisis preparedness must exist, and does exist, throughout the entire country and becomes increasingly relevant as things change in our society. Crisis preparedness is a part of our civil defense, which is currently under strong construction, as the Defense Preparedness Board proposed in its previous report Kraftsamling. When it comes to the construction of the civil defense, where we also, of course, want to try to include and strengthen society's crisis preparedness, we can draw great and important lessons from the fantastic work being done in Ukraine.

During my speech, I will talk about the climate transition, coast guard, and Rakel, the blue light network's system.

The climate transition places new demands on the entire society. Even if the global average temperature increase is limited to under 2 degrees, the climate changes will have a major impact because Sweden's temperature is expected to rise more than the global average. This in turn leads to more frequently recurring extreme weather such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and more snow. We have seen this this winter when the snow has truly caused problems and affected people in many parts of the country. It is about an increased risk of floods, forest fires, various landslides, and raised water levels.

For an effective and pragmatic crisis preparedness, climate change and its consequences for living conditions and increased vulnerabilities must be included in the analysis and execution within various agencies in their work. The response readiness during natural disasters must increase to secure, among other things, drinking water and protection against floods. The national climate adaptation strategy must be updated and also include the total defense and crisis preparedness. The work with preventive and preparatory measures must therefore be strengthened. This includes, among other things, a review of water and sewage systems, drinking water supply, the risk of forest fires, and measures against floods.

Madam Speaker! The Coast Guard is a part of the total defense and our crisis preparedness. The Centre Party considers the Coast Guard to be an important resource for the whole country.

The Coast Guard has many important tasks linked to, for example, border surveillance, environmental monitoring, combating oil spills, and maritime rescue services. But the authority has not always been able to maintain a satisfactory state of readiness and presence at sea, and patrols have at times actually had to be cancelled, which leads to poorer opportunities to carry out all the activities the authority has to perform. Today, for example, the environmental rescue readiness cannot be maintained in relation to the threat situation that exists and which we have also seen during the recent period. Reduced environmental readiness at sea also means diminished opportunities to perform the authority's other missions within crime fighting and control.

If the preparedness cannot be maintained, we could end up in a situation where the local presence is reduced, which in turn might mean a centralization of the Coast Guard. From a whole-country perspective with equal access to safety and security for everyone in our country, the Center Party proposes that measures be taken to ensure that the decentralized and local organization that the Coast Guard has today is maintained and strengthened.

Madam Speaker! The Centre Party considers that the Swedish rescue services need to be developed so that everyone living in Sweden, both in cities and in the countryside, shall have the same right to safety and security and access to an equivalent protection. For many years, it has been difficult to recruit part-time firefighters in the countryside. MSB, in cooperation with Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, should do more to highlight those municipalities that have succeeded in broadening their recruitment so that others can do the same. The Government needs to take greater responsibility to ensure that the municipalities have the necessary legal tools and that the support to the municipalities increases through more trained firefighters across the country.

Training of rescue service personnel is currently primarily carried out through MSB's various training programs. It is important for equality across the country that training within the rescue service is provided in a scope that corresponds to the municipalities' needs for both part-time and full-time personnel. Further reinforcements may continue to be required to meet the municipalities' needs for more trained individuals. The rescue service is once again one such part that we see has meant a lot in Ukraine and which will mean a lot moving forward. There, Sweden can truly learn something.

Drones have become an increasingly important tool for the rescue services before and during an operation to more quickly and smoothly gain an overview of a potential operation area and locate an accident site in an area without mobile coverage or perhaps gain control over a forest fire. Drones can also be equipped with defibrillators and potentially reach a person with cardiac arrest faster than a responding fire engine could have done. In the current situation, however, the possibility of using drones for the rescue services is surrounded by far too much bureaucracy and high costs.

Madam Speaker! The radio communication network for emergency services and society's crisis preparedness, Rakel, is outdated. Sweden therefore needs a new communication system that is very robust and secure and where the state has control. The system needs to be able to function independently of functions in other countries and be adapted to rapid technological development. The starting point shall be a solution between the state and one or more commercial mobile operators, taking into account the security policy situation in the world around us. The system must be able to handle mobile data communication and services for mobile data to the user circuit. The work on an updated Rakel system was initiated within the framework of the January agreement during the previous parliamentary term and must be driven through during this parliamentary term.

Madam Speaker! I want to summarize what I have spoken about regarding the Center Party's wish that the Swedish rescue services should be strengthened and developed so that people's access to safety is strengthened and becomes equal across the entire country, that the recruitment of part-time firefighters should be reviewed and that MSB should have a larger coordinating role in recruitment and training. We also want it to become easier and cheaper for rescue services to use drones in crisis situations and that blue light authorities across the country should have access to robust electronic communication. This work is ongoing and must be completed.

Strengthening crisis preparedness is not something that the authorities and the state can do alone. I would like to highlight the absolutely most important part, and that is civil society. It is we, all of us together, who build a strong crisis preparedness. Two things are immensely important for us to manage a crisis: assembly venues and study associations. It is about educating people on how to manage a crisis and how we can collectively participate in solving a crisis.

Madam Speaker! I vote in favor of reservation number 4.

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Emma Berginger (MP)

Madam Speaker! A global climate crisis is unfolding today which, in Sweden, results in rising average temperatures, increased precipitation, more prolonged heatwaves, and rising sea levels. We are in the midst of this climate crisis. Ice is melting, the sea is rising, harvests are failing, and forests are burning. It is becoming increasingly clear that we must act.

To create a sustainable future, society must work in parallel with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and continuous adaptation to the changed climate.

The work with civil protection and preparedness needs to be developed and strengthened. Weaknesses in Sweden's basic infrastructure, supply, and other important societal functions imply vulnerability to both attacks and other disruptions, such as natural disasters. The resilience in societal functions must increase, and efforts must be made to prevent crises. The civil defense needs to be strengthened, as crisis preparedness and civil defense are interconnected.

When the climate changes, Sweden is affected in several different ways. The risk of landslides and erosion increases as the rains become increasingly heavy. Fires, flooded cities, destroyed crops and contaminated drinking water are some of the consequences that many Swedes have experienced and will continue to experience.

During heatwaves, the risk of health effects on the population increases. Heatwave is a term used for a longer period with high day temperatures, and in recent years we have experienced several such. Climate change will entail more and even longer heatwaves, and sustained periods of heat during the summer can cause both health problems and increased mortality. The risk groups during a heatwave are the elderly, the chronically ill, persons with disabilities, small children and pregnant women, as well as persons who take certain medicines that affect the body's ability to adapt body temperature and fluid balance.

I therefore believe that our preparedness to handle the consequences of climate change must be strengthened. Long-term planning is one of the keys to a broad climate adaptation effort in Sweden. We therefore want the government to establish a broad parliamentary group that can, in the long term, lead the work on climate adaptation and create stability for Sweden's climate adaptation work.

In order for Sweden to be able to carry out effective work with climate adaptation, the responsibility between different actors must be clarified. The work must not be delayed due to unclear distribution of responsibility.

In addition, a mapping of public buildings that can provide cooling for the population during heatwaves needs to be carried out. We must also climate-adapt public buildings to protect them and their contents against climate-related risks.

In the Swedish National Audit Office's report State's efforts for climate adaptation of the built environment, it appears partly that the climate adaptation measures that the municipalities are to plan for are difficult to finance and partly that the short-sightedness in the state's financing hinders the planning of long-term efforts because the state's appropriations vary greatly over time. This also hinders an effective use of the funds.

Every other Swedish coastal municipality, 56 percent, has responded in a survey that they experience the state funding linked to climate adaptation measures as insufficient. It is not strange, as calculations show that the cost to prevent coastal erosion and flooding in the coastal municipalities alone is expected to exceed 100 billion kronor by the year 2100. To this are added costs for other measures to prevent damage from, for example, heavy rainfall and health risks during heatwaves in other parts of the country.

It is, however, important to remember that the costs for preventive measures likely fall far below the cost that would arise for damage management if these measures were omitted. Therefore, we should not only invest in climate adaptation, but we must also promptly and powerfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent worsening crises in the future.

Madam Speaker! I propose that, in addition to long-term stable national support for climate adaptation, a separate climate adaptation step be introduced, similar to the Klimatklivet initiative, which shall co-finance innovative investments with great climate adaptation benefits.

A national plan is also needed for targeted state funding for a number of large-scale projects at local and regional levels, where state funding support is absolutely necessary.

Madam Speaker! In addition to climate adaptation, I also want to mention the Coast Guard's very important role for environmental monitoring and for protecting the coasts. Over the past year, we have seen several incidents, such as sabotage on cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea. We have also in the recent past had a serious oil spill due to the grounded ship Marco Polo. The Coast Guard's environmental rescue and maritime rescue services are more important than ever.

Customs also has an important role in maintaining safety, countering terrorism and detecting dangers in a timely manner.

These two authorities, together with the police, are dependent on each other's competence and efforts. Therefore, it is important that both the Coast Guard and the Swedish Customs Service receive reinforcements in order to be able to cooperate more closely in order to respond to the broadened threat situation against Sweden.

Madam Speaker! To withstand crises and, ultimately, war, we now need a strong and robust society. Civil defense and crisis preparedness ultimately depend on us having a society and a welfare system that functions in peacetime. In that way, different activities and functions in society have better conditions to transition to a situation of crisis or war.

That is why Miljöpartiet views with great concern how the current government's cuts have affected healthcare, elderly care, and schools. A healthcare system that is falling apart in peacetime will not be able to meet the challenges that a war entails.

Transport is also something we know is crucial for a society to function, both in peacetime as well as in crisis or even war. But due to a lack of investment in the railway, one can be far from certain that the trains run in Sweden even on a calm and sunny day. How then can it function when the weather is worse and if the society is also in crisis?

Madam Speaker! The threat picture is broad and complex, and we need to take measures both within crisis preparedness and civil defense as well as within the military defense, as we have previously discussed here, in order to create a robust society that can withstand the threats we face.

I and Miljöpartiet stand behind all our reservations in this report, but for the sake of time, I move for approval of only reservation 5.

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Sara-Lena Bjälkö (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving to approve the committee's proposal in report FöU7 Society's crisis preparedness.

Society's crisis preparedness can be described as the ability to prevent, resist, and manage crisis situations. The Home Guard is an important part of society's crisis preparedness.

Madam Speaker! In a voluntary defense organization, you can receive training and knowledge to help authorities and municipalities when they need reinforcement during a crisis or war. We have received information that both the defense organizations and the government view the development taking place positively.

We Sweden Democrats want the voluntary organizations to have a close cooperation with and support from the Armed Forces in their activities. In that case, it is also, Madam Speaker, of great importance that the funds that the Armed Forces receive for voluntary activities are fully utilized.

The Home Guard should be supplemented by a reintroduction of the operational defense force to protect critical infrastructure. Both the Home Guard and the operational defense force shall be equipped with modern materiel, cooperate with both the Armed Forces and other total defense authorities, and be able to maintain a very high state of readiness.

During 2022, voluntary defense organizations have contributed to promoting the total defense through total defense education and recruitment as well as training of members in crisis preparedness and civil defense. It is also, Madam Speaker, pleasing that the voluntary defense organizations have contributed to increased public support and will to defend. Against the background of the increasing interest in engaging in voluntary defense organizations, the government decided to allocate extra funds to the voluntary defense organizations this year.

The so-called voluntary defense organizations are a group of associations with specific tasks during crises and high alert that are very important for our society. The organizations gather members across our entire country. Several municipalities also cooperate with various voluntary defense organizations within the so-called Voluntary Resource Group, FRG. The purpose is, Madam Speaker, that municipalities during serious incidents shall have access to extra personnel resources that have received special training for a serious societal disruption. Here, municipalities and regions must not forget to include the voluntary organizations.

Madam Speaker! We Sverigedemokrater and the committee welcome that the interest in engaging in voluntary defense organizations continues to be great, and we view positively that the government has allocated extra funds for these organizations' activities during this year. We Sverigedemokrater believe, as has clearly and distinctly emerged here, that the voluntary organizations fulfill an important and central role, and it is therefore important to encourage continued engagement. They also constitute both a recruitment base and a platform for personal competence development within a number of special areas that are of great importance for the total defense's competence supply.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 11.)

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