Week 42: Strong reactions after the decision to close the Ministry of the Environment

Last week, Sweden's new ministers were appointed and with this the closure of the Ministry of the Environment was also presented, something that created strong reactions around the country. The decision is criticized by Sweden's former climate and environment minister, who believes that the consequences could be catastrophic for environmental work.

There are strong reactions from several quarters about the closure of the Ministry of the Environment. The World Wide Fund for Nature is one of those who have been critical of the closure. DN's editorial staff describes the closure of the environment ministry as a degradation of both climate and the post of environment minister, as well as the status of climate and environmental policy. In the same article describes how the WWF questions whether the newly appointed government stands behind the climate goals and the climate policy framework.

Peter Wennblad means the opposite and writes in Svenska Dagbladet that the new reorganization is a better solution. Wennblad believes that nutrition, energy, climate and environmental issues are so interconnected that they should be under a joint ministry.

Per Kågeson writes in Svenska Dagbladet that Ulf Kristersson's election promise on the climate is hardly fulfilled by the Tidö agreement. Kågeson believes that the Tidö agreement does not go far in the matter of "getting the climate in order", but rather deals with nuclear power and lacks answers to how the phase-out of fossil energy should take place. In an editorial in Aftonbladet writes Peter Gustavsson how we often speak of the Amazon rainforest as "the lungs of the earth". In this way, Gustafsson believes that the issue of deforestation of the rainforest is an equally important issue for both the Brazilian presidential election and the Swedish one, and that Sweden's environmental policy needs to be reviewed when it comes to the increased rate of deforestation.

While the closure of the Ministry of Environment has been discussed, the debate regarding the protests in Iran has continued. Emma Sundkvist writes in Sydsvenskan that regardless of the outcome of the protests, a feminist awareness has been created - "An awareness that will be difficult for the regime to stifle". Although Ardavan Khoshnood writes in Svenska Dagbladet that the EU's new sanctions against the regime in Iran have been welcomed. It is also highlighted in the debate article that individual countries, including Sweden, must continue to do more, such as restricting the Iranian embassy to support the Iranian people.