Published: Less than 40 min ago
The Green Party reports Ulf Kristersson to KU.
The reason is his claim in his government declaration where he said that Sweden was almost completely fossil-free during the 80s.
– I think the Swedish people expect a prime minister who speaks the truth, says Märta Stenevi, one of the party’s spokespersons.
On Monday, Ulf Kristersson was voted in as Prime Minister by the Riksdag. The next day he stood in the chamber’s rostrum and presented his government declaration.
When he addressed the direction of Swedish energy and climate policy for the next four years, he looked back to the 70s and 80s.
“Sweden faced the oil crisis in the 1970s with a completely new energy policy, broke the link between growth and increasing emissions and became one of the world’s first, almost completely fossil-free industrial nations.”
Submitted on Thursday
The statement has already been questioned and harshly criticized by both environmental organizations and experts. Criticism also comes from the opposition. Now the Green Party reports the Prime Minister to the Constitution Committee for review.
– This is one of the most important speeches that a prime minister gives. Then it must follow the requirements for correctness set by the form of government, says Märta Stenevi to Aftonbladet.
Something her party believes it hardly does. In its KU notification, the party refers to figures showing that emissions of greenhouse gases amounted to around 57 million tonnes annually during the 1980s. Although emissions decreased between 1970 and 1984 and went back to the level in the years 1963 and 1964, it can hardly be considered fossil-free, they say.
The annual emissions today are 48 million tonnes, writes DN with reference to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s latest compilation.
Mikael Karlsson, docent in environmental science at Uppsala University, has called Kristersson’s claim a “frightening carelessness with the facts” in an interview with DN.
– It creates an image that no major changes are needed. If politics is to solve these big crises he talked about, and he says at the same time that we have almost done away with fossil fuels, then there is no need for much environmental policy.
“Nothing that happened to go wrong”
Märta Stenevi believes that the statement is particularly serious because it was made in the government declaration.
– It is a carefully prepared speech, not an interview in passing where the Prime Minister happened to be careless or say the wrong thing. The fact that incorrect information about Sweden’s climate policy is being spread on an occasion like this is very serious.
She accuses Kristersson of using the statement to justify a policy which, according to her, leads to greatly increased emissions.
– In an age of fake news, trumpification and alternative facts, it is even more important that a prime minister is careful with expressions and sticks to the truth and not sweeping statements.
The Green Party’s KU notification was submitted during the afternoon. Aftonbladet has asked the Moderates for a comment.