Stockholm’s fountains have been dyed blood red by Extinction Rebellion. Outside the government’s national climate meeting, about ten activists have broken the police cordons.
– Almost only companies are invited to this “climate meeting”, says Christofer Kebbon, who participates in the Fridays for futures protest.
Today, the government is holding a national climate meeting with representatives from organisations, business and research. The aim is for various actors to be able to make contributions to the climate policy trade plan that will be presented to the Riksdag later this year.
Organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency are allowed to make their voices heard – Greenpeace and Fridays for Future, on the other hand, are not.
– The doors are closed to us, and it’s new in Swedish history, says Erika Bjureby, head of Sweden at Greenpeace and continues:
– They have shut down the Ministry of the Environment, halved the environmental budget, emissions are increasing and now they call the business world the new environmental movement.
“Two Heroes”
Among others participating in the national climate meeting are financier Harald Mix, who has invested in green steel production and most recently heat pumps, John Hassler, professor, Institute for International Economics and Anna Stellinger, head of international and EU affairs at Swedish Enterprise.
– In the story of climate change, there are two heroes who rarely get the recognition they deserve. One is the EU. The second is business, says Ulf Kristersson (M) in his opening speech at the conference.
According to Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L), the meeting is aimed at talking to those who emit and to emphasize the role of business in what is known as the green transition.
– The government has only invited people who already agree with what they are doing, it does not contribute to any discussion, nothing new will come out of this, says Christofer Kebbon in the climate movement Fridays for future.