Response to interpellation 2022/23:284 on funding of necessary liming
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the financing of necessary liming of Swedish lakes and watercourses to counteract acidification. L argues that liming is an effective measure and that the government has not reduced available funds, but that increased costs for lime and transport are due to the economic situation and the war in Europe 1 2 3 4. L emphasizes that work is being done based on existing funds and that a national strategy under development shall ensure efficiency 2 4. S claims that current appropriations are insufficient and risk leading to acidification, which causes planned interventions to be scaled back 5 6. S argues that the government should secure necessary funding in the spring budget to maintain previous environmental gains 6 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! Joakim Järrebring has asked me if I intend to take any initiatives to secure the funding required to carry out the necessary liming of Swedish lakes and watercourses.
Liming of lakes and watercourses to counteract the effects of acidification has been carried out for over 40 years in Sweden and is one of the most extensive environmental protection measures implemented in the country. Well-functioning liming ensures that acidification-sensitive species can survive and reproduce. The work against acidification is an important part of the work to achieve the environmental goal Living lakes and watercourses.
The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has the national responsibility for the liming activities and grants funds to the county administrative boards for liming measures, effect monitoring, planning, and control. To ensure that the liming provides high efficiency and occurs in the correct extent, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management is working on developing a national strategy for liming which is expected to be completed during 2023.
It is an important issue for the government that the liming measures continue. The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management allocates 172 million kronor per year from the grant for marine and water environment measures to the county administrative boards for liming measures. As a result of increasing energy prices, the prices for lime and lime spreading have increased significantly. During the 2022 budget year, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management therefore allocated an additional 25 million kronor to the county administrative boards.
Joakim Järrebring (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
My interpellation concerns the fact that the current funding for liming is insufficient. This is something that has been reported in the media, and the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland is warning that the current funding level risks leading to acidification of our lakes.
My question to the Minister was whether she intends to take any initiatives. I am doing this now in budget times to secure the necessary funding for the liming.
The response from the Minister, Madam Speaker, contains an account of how the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has increased the appropriations to the County Administrative Boards by 25 million from the 2022 budget year, but I want to point out that my interpellation is submitted based on the situation here and now.
It is now that we see the effects of the appropriation levels for 2023, and I do not know why the Minister, in his answer, does not provide a statement on my question, whether the Minister intends to take any measures to secure the necessary liming. This question should be able to be answered with a simple no or yes.
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! The problem with the effects of acidification is exacerbated by the situation we have right now in Sweden and in Europe, with an economic situation complicated by the war that Russia is waging in Europe. It is driving up fuel prices, and it is primarily this that is driving the costs for the lime spreading.
The price of lime has also increased, by approximately 15 percent, and continues to increase, but it is primarily the rising fuel prices that make the transport of lime more expensive and account for the largest cost increase for the lime spreading. It is this situation we have.
For 2023, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has allocated a total of 172 million from the marine and water environment action grant to the county administrative boards for liming. Every year, around 100,000 tonnes of lime are spread in Sweden in 2,700 lakes and 9,000 kilometres of watercourses.
Just Västra Götaland is one of the two counties where the most lime is spread. This is because the forest land's resistance is strongly diminished there as a result of a historically large deposition of acidifying substances, one could say. It is this that has caused the situation in the counties where the most work with liming is needed. At the same time, we have an economic situation that makes it difficult for all parties to maintain the pace of the work with liming. The price of lime is going up, and the prices for the transport of the lime are going up.
We see that liming is a measure that is of great benefit for Sweden. And the government has not reduced any of the funds that are available to the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management to ensure that the county administrative boards have a financial possibility to carry out this work, but the costs have increased as a result of the economic situation we have. But the work where, for this year, 2023, a total of 172 million kronor are allocated for just liming is ongoing, and it is a work that is very important to continue. We see, in fact, that liming is an effective measure.
We also look forward to receiving a national strategy for liming which will hopefully ensure that we have great efficiency and that the work is carried out on the right scale. When we have this national strategy, we will hopefully also be able to see how the work is being carried out and if there is a need to take additional measures for this to occur in an efficient manner.
But as the situation is now, it is 172 million kronor that the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has to distribute to the county administrative boards for liming. And we see a situation where costs are being driven up, which this government will simply have to take into account in various ways in the work going forward.
But the funds available to distribute are 172 million kronor from the action grant. These are important funds for the county administrative boards in the work they perform with liming.
Joakim Järrebring (S)
Madam Speaker! Even though I took up the Västra Götalandsregionen, which I myself come from, as an example, 9 of the 13 regions that responded to TV4 News' survey stated that they need to reduce the planned liming efforts for cost reasons. This applies to Gävleborg, Kronoberg, Jönköping, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västernorrland, Västmanland, Västra Götaland, which we have touched upon, and Östergötland.
Madam Speaker! We hear in this debate, which I believe the Minister repeats in all his debates and interviews, that the government has not lowered Sweden's environmental ambitions. But one says one thing - in this case that it is an important issue for the government that the liming measures continue - but at the same time does not secure the funding required for the liming to be able to continue at the same level required to maintain the improvements we have achieved over the last 40 years.
I believe many would call this type of rhetoric hypocrisy. I will settle for calling it contradictory. In this case with the lime, one could say that the connection between words and actions is very clear. A minister who stands for maintained environmental ambitions would also ensure that the necessary funding is secured. A minister who says one thing but does something else would not secure the necessary funding, perhaps with reference to the current economic situation and inflation.
But I would still like the Minister to answer my question. We are facing a spring budget amendment. It is an excellent opportunity to provide funds that were not seen or not known to be needed when the autumn budget was adopted. Does the Minister intend to take any initiatives to secure the funding required to secure the necessary liming?
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! I thank Member Järrebring, who is surely well aware that I cannot yet stand here and announce to what we are adding funds in our spring budget amendment. The Member may curiously await this budget to see where the funds are increased.
But this reasoning that it could be claimed to be hypocrisy or something else - I do not remember the member's choice of words - because additional funds are not allocated to meet all environmental goals, the previous government would have had an incredibly low ambition regarding our environmental goals because it has not achieved all the environmental goals that we have in Sweden. There are many environmental goals that Sweden is far from reaching.
Possibly it is the case that the member can also stand behind the fact that it is not a matter of hypocrisy on the part of the previous government, but only a matter of that money is not always the solution to all these problems. Then perhaps previous governments of a red color would have succeeded in solving this with the logic of just raising the tax and giving more money to solve all the problems that exist.
Achieving the environmental goals that Sweden has set is a complex task that has been ongoing for a long time and will continue to be ongoing for a long time, and where we need to carefully review which measures are effective, which provide real returns, and how we can develop the work that Sweden does to reach all the goals we have set.
This government has, despite a very tough economic situation, with war in our vicinity, high inflation and a recession that truly affects our opportunities to provide funds, ensured that the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management continues to receive funding. For this year, 2023, 172 million kronor are provided in this specific matter. I consider this to be an important announcement in environmental work, namely that we shall continue to lime the seas and watercourses that require this in order to contribute to a good ecological status.
This government has not lowered the environmental ambitions and does not want to slow down the pace of work to reach our environmental goals. This government and the previous one are simply different governments working in different ways to achieve our environmental goals. And this government will need to be extra creative given the economic situation in which we are acting. But, Madam Speaker, it does not happen by us reducing the money that the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management distributes to the county administrative boards for liming, but it happens by this work continuing and that the funds which we allocate specifically for this purpose continue to come. We hope that the county administrative boards can best utilize these funds given the difficult economic situation that we are all acting in. It is indeed important that we continue liming, so that we can achieve good ecological status in our seas and waters. I hope it is clear to Member Järrebring that this government will continue to spend money on this despite the economic situation in which we find ourselves.
Joakim Järrebring (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister and I are in complete agreement. Of course, it is not all about more money to solve all environmental goals. But just when we talk about liming, it is precisely about the lack of sufficient funds to maintain the liming at the level required to maintain the good nature gains that we have achieved over the last 40 years.
A lack of funding leads to a lower degree of liming. What is being warned against, primarily from Västra Götalandsregionen, is that much of the gains that have been achieved will be lost. We will lose great natural values that we have spent a lot of money to achieve. It is not particularly resource-efficient to first invest money and achieve good environmental gains, only to then lose ground in the environmental area due to insufficient funding. We need, so to speak, to again allocate both money and years to return to the level we had in 2022 if we have a situation where there are not enough funds for the liming.
Even though the Minister and I agree that not all environmental goals are achieved simply through increased funding, in this regard there is such a clear connection between the lack of funds and the too low funding to achieve the necessary liming and to maintain the environmental gains we have achieved.
I hope that the Minister can at least agree with me on those conclusions - and perhaps give some hope about what will come in the upcoming budget.
Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)
Madam Speaker! I thank Member Järrebring for a very good interpellation. It highlights an aspect of the difficult situation we are in, namely that we have high inflation which is driving up prices and a war in our vicinity which is driving up fuel prices and making the transport of lime more expensive. This creates a cost increase and a development that will be tough to manage for our entire country, in all areas - including the environmental area. So it is.
It is important that the government continues this work and that the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management continues to allocate adequate funds so that the county administrative boards can carry out the calculations. We hope that the 172 million that are allocated by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management during this year can be of good use in that work.
In addition to liming, there are other measures that also help against acidification, and there is a great opportunity for Sweden to develop the work on that front as well. For example, it concerns how we conduct our forestry, given that the acidification impact from, for example, air pollution is decreasing while the impact from forestry is increasing. For example, the demand for biofuels has increased the frequency of whole-tree extraction and other things, which simply affects the acidification situation.
There are, therefore, many measures to be taken here. We share the member's view that liming is a very effective work that should continue, but we will simply have to work within the economic means we have at our disposal given the situation we are in.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.