Response to interpellation 2025/26:515 on increased pace in climate work
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 L argues that Sweden is far ahead in climate work and that the government has shifted the policy through investments in nuclear power, electrification, and simplified permit processes 1. 2 L argues that the government has no fossil nostalgia 2 and that they are handling an enormous inflation inherited by S by ensuring that households can commute and drive children to practice 2. 2 L emphasizes that electrification through expanded charging infrastructure and increased fossil-free electricity production is the way forward, and that S says no to this 2. 3 L rejects S's proposal on Sverigebränsle as a side issue 3. 4 S wants to increase the pace through state investments, social justice, and an active industrial policy 4. 4 S argues that the government has let the climate work stall and that emissions have increased 4. 3 2 S is responsible for today's unemployment due to previous asylum policy 3 2.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Arbetsmarknadsminister och vikarierande klimat- och miljöministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! Jytte Guteland has asked me why the steering committee's proposal is presented late in the mandate period and what I and the government are doing to increase the pace of the climate work. Let me begin by thanking you for the questions.
It is urgent to reduce climate emissions in the world. But it is important to remember that Sweden is far ahead and has, from an international perspective, very low emissions. Since 1990, Sweden has reduced territorial emissions by a third while our GDP has almost doubled. In 2024, Sweden had among the EU's lowest emissions per capita, according to Eurostat.
The Government works to ensure that Sweden reaches its ESR commitment and reaches net-zero emissions by 2045 at the latest. During the mandate period, we have made several initiatives to accelerate the work and create conditions for long-term emission reductions. The Government has shifted the energy and climate policy. We have invested in new nuclear power and electrification of the vehicle fleet. To make it easier for companies to transition, we have worked hard to simplify and streamline permit processes for environmental assessment.
The Government is also pushing for an ambitious climate policy within the EU. The EU's climate policy is central to our climate work and for the development in the entire union. The Government is a strong force to keep the ambition up in the whole of the EU, which is the basis for ambitious climate work at home.
The government appointed the steering committee investigation as part of the work to produce further proposals that reduce emissions in a cost-effective and acceptable manner. I note that the investigation confirms the government's line that electrification is the main track for the transport sector's long-term transition. We will now carefully review the investigation's proposals.
Jytte Guteland (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank Acting Minister for Climate and Environment Johan Britz for the answer.
Sweden has, with previous governments, been a pioneer in climate work, thanks to clear policies, ambitious goals, and governments that have wanted to prioritize the work. But the current government has seen to it that the climate work has stalled.
But in this debate, I want to focus on constructive proposals and also speak about what we Social Democrats want. We believe it is important that Sweden increases the pace of climate work, and we present a policy based on state investments, social justice, an active industrial policy, and proposals that result in Sweden getting more jobs and fewer unemployed. Our policy does not aim to place the economic responsibility solely on households; on the contrary. Our policy aims to create more jobs and opportunities for all those who are unemployed in Sweden today to be able to take those jobs. We want to create the opportunity to share the costs that the transition entails and ensure that all the economic benefits the transition brings fall to society and the Swedish people.
We Social Democrats have proposals to make electric cars cheaper and accessible to more people. We have proposals regarding Sweden fuel, which means that we get a clearer and better policy also for the older cars. We have proposals for public transport and freight transport. We have support for the industry's transition.
We are betting on a broad energy agreement. That is what we wanted to see, but we were given a cold shoulder. We are betting on climate preparedness. We would also like to see climate adaptation when it comes to the national climate policy framework. We are betting on an increased environmental budget.
We have reforms to increase the pace of the climate work. We are eager to do it. But this government seems tired. And perhaps it is so that one becomes tired when there are two large areas that the collective government and the Prime Minister do not prioritize. Minister Britz has, in fact, had to take over two areas that have rightly received extremely large criticism: a slumbering climate policy and an unemployment that increases every day. We have 100,000 more unemployed with Minister Britz.
After almost four years with the current government, emissions have increased as a direct consequence of the government's policy, and Sweden has lost its leading position in the EU. Several agencies warn that Sweden will not reach the climate goals by 2030, which our spokesperson Åsa Westlund just pointed out in her interpellation debate.
Swedish companies are concerned about how poorly the Swedish climate work is going. It hampers Swedish business opportunities. It hampers jobs for Swedish companies. The steering committee investigation, which had to work for approximately two and a half years, could have come up with proposals that the government could have started working on. But the investigation was tasked with presenting something incredibly late in the mandate period. It was also delayed. Now it seems as if the government is not even interested in the investigation's work. They don't even seem to want to touch it with a claw.
My question is: How does the acting Minister for Environment and Climate intend to increase the pace of climate work when there is zero reform agenda and an incredible fatigue is signaled from the overworked Minister for Employment and Climate?
Arbetsmarknadsminister och vikarierande klimat- och miljöministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! Now I am at least energized. This was fun. Let us begin with some basic facts. Unemployment is lower today than it was four years ago. There are fewer registered at Arbetsförmedlingen now than four years ago, when the Social Democrats last decided. So this is the situation despite a prolonged recession, despite Trump's tariffs and despite war in the Middle East. The recovery is coming, and we support that recovery. This government has decided to break the recession, and it is working.
Furthermore: For the first time in 20 years, equilibrium unemployment, or structural unemployment, is judged to be decreasing in this country. It is decreasing because we have an effective policy to ensure that people do not get stuck in benefit dependency.
LO went out today and said that unemployment is falling regarding all of LO's unemployment funds. Take that in! It is going better. The curves have turned. It is going too slowly, and unemployment is too high. But the curves have turned.
Then it concerns the climate. One is no pioneer if no one follows. One is no role model if one stands alone with solutions that other countries or citizens in other countries can take over – because the climate issue is global.
That is why we say no to side tracks. Sverigebränslet, which you propose, is a side track. You will devote time, energy, and money to something that does not solve the climate challenge in the long run. The climate challenge is solved through electrification. That is the only thing that will solve the climate challenge and this, along with competitiveness, will make us independent of the countries in the Middle East in the long run. Why then continue with dead ends and side tracks?
Jytte Guteland (S)
Madam Speaker! This clearly gave a more energetic impression, but I am not sure that the Minister's statement about the fantastic job policy will be met with cheers from the Swedish people. The youth unemployment that we are seeing right now means that many who are now waving their student caps on the student decks will go straight into unemployment.
Whether one is happy as a minister actually doesn't matter. What matters is what one delivers. Here we have 100,000 more unemployed. An incredibly large number of young people are facing adulthood as unemployed because this government lacks an economic policy and a labor market policy that makes Sweden prepared for the future. A large part of the preparation that Sweden would need is about leading the way in climate work when it comes to green technology and the innovations that lead to Swedish companies succeeding.
If the acting Minister for Climate and Environment does not believe us Social Democrats when it comes to the fact that it is the government that stands alone with its climate policy, perhaps it is more interesting for the minister to listen to the concern expressed by heavy industrial companies, such as SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall. These are large projects that are not receiving the support needed in order to be able to lead the climate transition at the pace that is important for us to meet the climate goals.
Several companies within the automotive industry have also expressed that they are concerned about the wavering signals the government gives regarding the climate. It is about goals – one day you are for a transport goal, and the next day you are not. But it is also about how one speaks about the climate. One day it seems to be important that Sweden is a leader, and the next day one is critical of a climate policy and makes fun of, for example, opposition parties that want to increase the pace.
There is no clear leadership that Swedish companies wanting to invest and believe in the future can hang their investments on. In that case, it is clear that one hesitates, and it is clear that it goes slower.
Even the financial sector, with major banks such as SEB, Nordea and Swedbank, has expressed that an uncertain policy makes it more difficult for them to assess risks when it comes to long-term lending to green projects.
The Minister for Climate and Environment may try to attack parts of my post, make counter-arguments, and act eager. But the facts remain. These companies are concerned about the lack of leadership regarding the climate. The minister must provide answers there. What will the government do to increase the pace of the climate work? The companies deserve answers. The Swedish people deserve answers. And all those who are concerned that we now have more extreme weather and are not meeting the Paris Agreement also deserve answers. What is the Swedish government doing to increase the pace?
Arbetsmarknadsminister och vikarierande klimat- och miljöministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! First I was tired. Now I am happy and possibly also eager. I do not know if it is going in the right or wrong direction, but it seems in any case that the member appreciates my presence here in the chamber today.
Why do we have a high unemployment rate in Sweden? Well, half of those who are unemployed are foreign-born. Of those who are long-term unemployed, six out of ten were born outside of Europe.
This government has a policy to push down unemployment, master the economy, ensure that there are educations that lead to jobs and ensure that it always pays better to work than to live on benefits. And one shall continue to have a strict asylum migration. That is the recipe. Day by day we fight to get down the unemployment. Furthermore, we stimulate the economy to break the recession that we are in.
I can state that the Social Democrats are doing less than the government to break the recession and stimulate the economy. In both labor market policy, or unemployment combat policy, and climate policy, the Social Democrats engage in smokescreens and red herrings.
Which young people are we really supposed to be worried about? It is those young people who neither study nor work. They are the ones we should be worried about. They are often boys who have dropped out of upper secondary school. Did we have a higher proportion in this group in the first quarter of this year than we had in the first quarter of 2022? No, we had a lower proportion. Even that curve is moving in the right direction. Am I satisfied? Is it enough? No, but the curve has turned.
We know what needs to be done to solve the climate issue. It is to electrify. Why do the Social Democrats then say no, for example, to nuclear power, which is completely central for us to be able to electrify in Sweden and continue to be an international role model?
Jytte Guteland (S)
Madam Speaker! It is possible that there is a weariness, a desperation, and a joy in a liberal minister who feels pressured. It is usually like that at the end: that one can exhibit joy in desperation. I think that is natural. It is probably not easy to be liberal right now. But you have also sat down with, for example, the Sverigedemokraterna, and it works very poorly for the politics that you say you represent.
I may find it exciting to discuss with a minister who displays different emotional expressions every time – it can become exciting. But it does not mean that it is serious that a person who is responsible for the unemployment situation we have blames the individuals when there are so many young people who have to face unemployment after the graduation celebrations.
I do not know what reality the Minister for Employment is in, but when I have been out knocking on doors, I have met many young people who are worried. I believe this could be an explanation for why the Liberals do not receive such good support in public opinion. One tip is therefore not to be arrogant regarding that unemployment.
Now I return to climate policy. Climate policy and Swedish companies are connected. It is about the fact that clarity in the climate issue is good for Swedish investments and Swedish jobs. We know that large industrial actors and strong vehicle manufacturers long for clarity and a reform of the climate area. These companies know, in fact, that it is good to stand at the forefront of development and be the one who comes with the new technology and introduces it to the market. There is no way back. Fossil nostalgia is to betray not only the planet but also Swedish jobs.
Arbetsmarknadsminister och vikarierande klimat- och miljöministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! It is fun to hear different types of hobby-psychological judgments. I do not know what it means to "exhibit joy in desperation." It is a new expression for me, but I appreciate the creativity from Jytte Guteland.
I do not blame the individual. I blame the Social Democrats. It is you who have ensured that we have too many individuals in Sweden who do not have the education required for the Swedish labor market. It is you who for a long time have conducted an asylum policy that has not been long-term sustainable, which is the reason why the total unemployment now looks the way it does.
It is we, this government, who are successively breaking the recession and pressing down unemployment. I think one should be concerned about youth unemployment, but one should be most concerned about those young people who do not complete upper secondary school. They risk a long-term exclusion, long-term passivity, and long-term dependency on benefits. It is dangerous for the individual, and it is dangerous for Sweden.
There is no fossil nostalgia in the government. We are handling a situation with enormous inflation that we inherited from the Social Democrats, and we do so by ensuring that households can manage to drive their children to practice and commute back and forth to work.
We have clearly pointed out that it is electrification that matters through an expanded charging infrastructure and not least by increasing fossil-free electricity production. But the Social Democrats say no to that.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.