Latest news with #RominaPourmokhtari
Local Sweden
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Can anyone beat the favourite to lead Sweden's Liberal Party?
The deadline to nominate the leader of Sweden's Liberal Party has passed with Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari far out in front. But as the choices made by the party's three top districts remain secret, there's still a chance of a surprise. Advertisement The Liberal Party will vote for its new leader on June 24th, bang in the middle of the Almedalen political festival, the most important annual event of Swedish political life. The chosen candidate will be announced by the party's selection committee about a week ahead of the vote, giving them a chance to give interviews and sell themselves to party members. When nominations closed on Monday night, Pourmokhtari's candidacy had won the public backing of the Liberal Party's youth wing LUF, the party's student organisation, and seven party districts – Västerbotten, Kronoberg, Jämtland, Skaraborg, Södermanland, and Dalarna. Her main rival, Schools Minister Lotta Edholm, had received the backing of just one district, Västmanland. Cecilia Malmström, the former European Commissioner for Trade, who is no longer even a party member let alone standing for leader, was nominated by Karlskrona. The three biggest districts, Stockholm, Skåne and Western Sweden, have said, however, that they will not reveal their preferred candidate until the day of the vote. As they hold nearly 60 percent of the votes, that means the race could be far from over. Örebro district is also holding back. Lars Persson Skandevall, chair of the selection committee, told the TT newswire that several candidates have been nominated who have not featured much, if at all, in the media speculation. So who are the candidates and do any of them have a chance of ousting Pourmokhtari? Romina Pourmokhtari. Photo: Lars Schröder/TT Romina Pourmokhtari. When she was made climate minister back in 2022, Pourmokhtari was Sweden's youngest ever minister. But if she wins the race to lead the liberals, she'll be far from the youngest-ever party leader, even at age 29. The Christian Democrats' Ebba Busch, Centre Party's Annie Lööf and Green Party's Gustav Fridolin, were all 28 when they took over their respective parties. Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the Sweden Democrats, was only 26. The party districts backing Pourmokhtari say she is a skillful debater who will help the party attract new, younger members. But she also has a fair amount of baggage. Sweden has reported rising emissions under her tenure as climate minister and she has had to defend a set of policies that has been heavily criticised by the OECD and by the government's own climate policy watchdog. Advertisement She also flipped from one of the most vociferous opponents of cooperating with the far-right Sweden Democrats as chair of the party's youth group to serving as a minister in a government supported by them. Pourmokhtari grew up in Sundbyberg, a Stockholm suburb, as the child of political refugees from Iran. The family moved to a more central part of Stockholm in time for Pourmokhtari to go upper secondary school. She studied at Uppsala University and won a place in the Stureakademin, the programme through which Sweden's right-wing think tank Timbro identifies and develops future leaders. As part of the programme, she travelled to Washington DC, where she met Republican politicians and lobbyists and visited think tanks. Lotta Edholm. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT Lotta Edholm If she wins the race, 60-year-old Edholm will be the second Liberal leader in her family. Her ex-husband and father of her son, Lars Leijonborg, led the party (then called Folkpartiet) between 1997 and 2007 and was nicknamed Leijonkungen, or "the Lion King", by the Swedish newspapers after the party got 13.3 percent of the vote in 2002. They divorced in 2004. Edholm spent more than 20 years in Stockholm city politics, appointed as the city councillor in charge of schools between 2006 and 2014, and then again between 2018 and 2020. She arguably has an easier record in government than Pourmokhtari, with her drive as schools minister to reduce the use of screens generally positively received by the public. Fredrik Malm. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT Fredrik Malm Malm acquitted himself fairly well when he was called in to replace outgoing party leader Johan Pehrson in a party leader debate at the end of April, and some saw it as a sign that he was a possible successor. He has been a key figure in the party since he was appointed its foreign policy spokesperson in 2010. Like Edholm, he was formerly part of a Liberal Party power couple. He has two sons with his ex-wife Gulan Avci, who serves as the party's defence spokesperson. Advertisement Malm is very much a foreign policy specialist who has twice served as the party's foreign policy spokesperson and has historically strongly supported Ukraine's efforts to defend itself against Russia. He has long campaigned for the rights of Kurds and other Turkish minorities, as well as criticising Islamic extremism and fighting anti-Semitism. His great-grandfather Einar Kruse was the treasurer for the Swedish Communist Party. Mats Persson. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT Mats Persson Persson, currently Sweden's employment and integration minister, is the most right-wing candidate, a strong proponent of cooperation with the Sweden Democrats. Persson was so opposed to working with the Social Democrats that he stood down as the party's economics spokesperson when it signed up the so-called January Agreement that allowed the Social Democrats to form a government in 2019. He was deputy chair of the Liberal Party's youth wing between 2004 and 2006. He did his PhD at Lund University on sick leave and early retirement among immigrants in Sweden. Of the current ministers, Persson is least likely to win the leadership, however, as he is not seen as having made much impact either in his two years as education minister or in his current role. Cecilia Malmström. Photo: Fredrik Persson/TT Cecilia Malmström Malmström, who was nominated to be leader by the party district in Karlskrona, has long been the dream leader for the more socially conscious wing of the party. She has, however, repeatedly refused the role, starting in 2007, when Leijonborg stood down, and in 2023 announced that she had decided not to renew her membership of the party due to her opposition to the decision to be part of a government dependent on the Sweden Democrats. "We do not see it as a barrier that she is no longer a Liberal Party member, but more a possibility," the Karlskrona district wrote. "We share her values and therefore want to invite her to return to the party and lead it into the future with strength, intelligence and renewed self-confidence." Cecilia Rönn. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT Cecilia Rönn Cecilia Rönn, the Liberal Party's economic spokesperson, was the first to throw her hat into the race when Johan Pehrson announced that he was standing down at the end of April. "I am available for whatever assignments that the party wishes," she told Dagens Nyheter. "But I am completely convinced that there are many talented people around the country who can take on that role." Karin Karlsbro. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT Karin Karlsbro Karin Karlsbro, the party's only MEP, is one of the leading critics within the party of the decision to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats. She wrote an article on possible futures for the Liberal Party, which some have interpreted as an expression of interest in a leadership role. Advertisement She has been ranked as Sweden's most active MEP by the Europaportalen website, among other things serving as the European Parliament's chief negotiator on financial support to Ukraine. But her profile remains low at home in Sweden, although she got more coverage during last year's EU election. She chaired the party's youth group between 1995 and 1997 and was chief of staff to Sweden's minister for integration, Nyamko Sabuni, during the first Alliance government between 2006 and 2010. Jan Jönsson. Photo: Carolina Byrmo/TT Jan Jönsson Jönsson, who leads the party in Stockholm, would be a wild card choice. Jönsson has been perhaps the most outspoken critic of its accommodation with the Sweden Democrats and also openly questioned the new "vision" for the party passed at its congress in March. Advertisement A geeky former teacher with a taste for extravagant floral shirts, Jönsson has made his mark with attention-grabbing campaigns centred on his own person, such as dressing up in drag and reading to children, or describing himself in posters – tongue firmly in cheek – as "the gangs' worst enemy". There are as yet no signs, however, that he is willing to trade his well-established position in Stockholm for the leadership. Simona Mohamsson. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT Simona Mohamsson Simona Mohamsson, who is only a year older than Poumokhtari, has been rising very fast within the party and is seen as a possible candidate. As recently as December, she was a municipal politician in Hisingen, Gothenburg. She was appointed party secretary in April, and now may be willing to take a shot at the leadership. Advertisement So do any of them have a chance? It depends on whether the three biggest districts, Stockholm, Skåne and Western Sweden, trust Pourmokhtari not to join or back a government that includes ministers from the Sweden Democrats. As Karlskrona's decision to nominate Malmström indicates, there are still pockets of the party heavily opposed to cooperation with the far right. There is a slim chance that enough of them will unite around a figure like Karlsbro or Jönsson to mount a challenge. But it looks pretty unlikely. Politics in Sweden is The Local's weekly analysis, guide or look ahead to what's coming up in Swedish politics. Update your newsletter settings to receive it directly to your inbox.
Local Sweden
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Climate activists continue fight to sue the Swedish state in court
Two months after the Supreme Court dismissed their case, climate activists including Greta Thunberg are planning to refile a lawsuit against the state of Sweden for alleged climate inaction. Advertisement Sweden's Supreme Court said in February the complaint filed against the state – brought by an individual, with 300 other people joining it as a class action lawsuit under the name Aurora – was inadmissible, noting the "very high requirements for individuals to have the right to bring such a claim" against a state. But it said that "an association that meets certain requirements may have the right to bring a climate lawsuit". Aurora has therefore asked the Nacka district court where it first filed the lawsuit to reconsider it by switching the plaintiff to an association. "If the court concludes that this is not possible, Aurora will sue the state again," it said in a statement. "One way or another, Aurora is continuing to bring the issue of the Swedish state's legal obligations in the climate crisis to Swedish courts." The first of its kind in the Scandinavian country, Aurora's lawsuit demanded that Sweden take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to within the limits of what is "technically and economically feasible". Both the Swedish Climate Policy Council and the Environmental Protection Agency have for the past year warned that the Swedish right-wing government's policies will lead to an increase in emissions, and said the country was not on track to meet its climate goals and EU commitments. Advertisement Swedish Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari has said she is "not particularly worried" by the reports. "If rich, high-emitting, resourceful powers like the Swedish state act immediately to fundamentally change our economic systems, we have a chance to get out of these planetary crises and build a sustainable and just world. We cannot let the state squander that chance," Aurora spokeswoman Ida Edling said. In a landmark April 2024 decision, Europe's top rights court, the European Court of Human Rights, ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to tackle climate change, the first country ever to be condemned by an international tribunal for not taking sufficient action to curb global warming. In December 2019, the Dutch supreme court ordered the government to slash greenhouse gases by at least 25 percent by 2020 in another landmark case brought by an environmental group.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nation issues sweeping ban that will have big impact on shipping industry: 'An important step'
Our planet's oceans are set to get a little bit cleaner thanks to a new ban tidying up the shipping industry in Sweden. As Offshore Energy reported in February, the Swedish government has banned discharges from scrubbers into ocean waters. Scrubbers are a piece of ship-cleaning equipment meant to "clean the ship's exhaust gases so that what is released into the air contains relatively low levels of sulfur." However, they can then wash that pollution right into the water. Effective July 1, 2025, "discharges from open-loop scrubbers will be prohibited in Swedish territorial waters." These more common scrubbers can send water filled with exhaust gas pollutants into the ocean. Effective January 1, 2029, even closed-loop scrubbers will be banned in Sweden as they can also release toxic pollutants through drain water. Per Offshore Energy, most shipowners in Sweden don't even need to use scrubbers because of lower-sulfur fuel options. This new ban should curb the release of hazardous scrubber water from all ships in and passing through the area. "Emissions from ship scrubbers are — even in very low concentrations — harmful to our marine environment," said Romina Pourmokhtari, Sweden's Minister for Climate and Environment. "The use of scrubbers also increases total fuel consumption by around 2-3 percent, which also increases carbon dioxide emissions. When the government now bans emissions from scrubbers, we are taking an important step both for a better marine environment and for the climate." The ban in Sweden is part of a larger global effort to ban emissions from scrubbers and protect open seas worldwide. Finland's government has already decided to prohibit scrubber water from being discharged in the ocean, and Denmark is working toward banning the practice soon as well. Yet, since oceans have no borders, pollution from scrubbers in one region has the potential to spread all over. Ultimately, a global scrubber discharge ban is needed to address the broader issue and replace heavy fuel oil with more sustainable alternatives. In addition to banning scrubber pollution, there are many other ways to make ships more sustainable. Should the government be allowed to control how restaurants run their business? Never Only in some cases Only for chain restaurants Yes in all cases Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. For example, innovative companies are creating high-tech sails to optimize routes based on wind and reduce ship pollution. Meanwhile, sustainable ships powered by hydrogen fuel systems can lessen the industry's reliance on dirty energy for a greener maritime future. "Excellent news, and further proof that the pollution from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS), which turn air pollution into water pollution, simply isn't acceptable anywhere, but especially in sensitive areas such as the Arctic!" Jim Gamble, senior director of the Arctic Program at Pacific Environment, commented on Sweden's ban via LinkedIn. "A big win for those who are drawing crucial attention to the problem of scrubbers! And now we need more action in the U.S.," another LinkedIn user replied in the comments. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Local Sweden
13-03-2025
- Business
- Local Sweden
OECD warns that Sweden risks missing carbon neutrality goals
Long considered a champion in environmental protection and the fight against climate change, the Scandinavian country has set a goal of net zero emissions by 2045, five years ahead of the European Union's target. But Sweden might not be able meet either of those goals, according to a review conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a 38-member group of mostly developed nations. "Over the last decade, the country has cut its greenhouse gas emissions faster than the EU average," the report said. "However, recent policy shifts, particularly in the transport sector, have put into question Sweden's ability to meet EU and domestic climate targets." One of the main reasons is cuts on petrol taxes, a key election campaign promise enacted in the September 2023 budget by Sweden's right-wing government, backed by the far right. The OECD drew up a list of recommendations for Sweden in the fields of energy, transport, biodiversity, water and agriculture. "Supplementary measures such as verified emission reductions abroad, increased carbon sinks and bioenergy carbon capture and storage, can account for up to 15 percent of the total emission reductions needed by 2045," it said. "However, their contribution in meeting climate targets remains uncertain." The report also noted that while the Swedish economy is more energy intensive than the OECD European average, it is among the least carbon intensive, thanks to its production of nuclear power, hydropower, bioenergy and, increasingly, wind power. Sweden's electricity consumption is expected to double to 300 Terawatt hours (TWh) by 2045, according to the government. In a statement to AFP, Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari said the report "does not account for policy progress made in 2024 and 2025, including new climate measures that put Sweden on track" to meet the EU targets for 2030. "While Sweden is indeed on course to achieve several climate objectives, challenges remain," Pourmokhtari said, highlighting the forestry sector. In January, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) criticised Sweden for not adequately protecting primary and old-growth forests from logging.
