Latest news with #RominaPourmokhtari
Malay Mail
18-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Sweden struggles with textile waste surge, lets torn clothes be thrown away with regular trash
STOCKHOLM, July 19 — Sweden said Thursday that some used clothes can now be thrown away with regular trash, after an EU ban on textile disposal overwhelmed municipalities and flooded recycling centres. The decision, effective October 1, follows the European Union's decision this year requiring member countries to implement separate textile recycling, alongside existing processes for glass, paper and food waste. Textiles are then sorted to either be reused or recycled as padding, isolation or composite materials. But recycling centres in Sweden and other EU countries have struggled to keep up with the influx that ensued. 'Since the start of the year, the amount of textile waste collected has increased significantly, and with it the costs of sorting,' the Swedish government said in a statement. The new regulation defines which textiles are to be sorted and which can be directly thrown in the trash, such as torn socks, stained textiles and overly worn clothes, environment minister Romina Pourmokhtari told reporters. Humana Sverige, which collects and sells used clothing, told AFP Thursday that 'the influx of textiles we receive has dramatically increased'. Humana told AFP that it was closing 600 of its 1,300 collection points in order to limit the flow. 'It's impossible for us to handle everything,' the organisation explained. The issue is not limited to Sweden, Sverige said: 'Damaged clothes are sent to sorting centres in Europe, but the entire sector is overwhelmed due to this regulation.' — AFP
Local Sweden
18-07-2025
- General
- Local Sweden
Sweden loosens textile waste rules as recycling centres 'overwhelmed'
Sweden said on Thursday that some used clothes can now be thrown away with regular waste, after an EU ban on textile disposal overwhelmed municipalities and flooded recycling centres. Advertisement The decision, effective October 1st, follows the European Union's decision this year requiring member countries to implement separate textile recycling, alongside existing processes for glass, paper and food waste. Textiles are then sorted to either be reused or recycled as padding, isolation or composite materials. But recycling centres in Sweden and other EU countries have struggled to keep up with the influx that ensued. "Since the start of the year, the amount of textile waste collected has increased significantly, and with it the costs of sorting," the Swedish government said in a statement. The new regulation defines which textiles are to be sorted and which can be directly thrown in the trash, such as torn socks, stained textiles and overly worn clothes, environment minister Romina Pourmokhtari told reporters. Advertisement Humana Sverige, which collects and sells used clothing, told AFP Thursday that "the influx of textiles we receive has dramatically increased". Humana told AFP that it was closing 600 of its 1,300 collection points in order to limit the flow. "It's impossible for us to handle everything," the organisation explained. The issue is not limited to Sweden, Humana said: "Damaged clothes are sent to sorting centres in Europe, but the entire sector is overwhelmed due to this regulation."
News.com.au
23-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Clock ticking on Sweden's uranium ban as Europe bets on the power of the atom
Sweden's government has launched a formal inquiry into lifting the country's uranium mining ban It's proposed regulating uranium as a 'concession mineral,' aligning it with other extractable resources and setting the stage for legislation by January 2026 Lifting the uranium ban could position Sweden as a leading destination for global uranium exploration with Aura Energy and Basin Energy poised to benefit The clock is ticking on Sweden's uranium mining ban amid a nuclear revival underway across Europe in response to increasing pressure for low-carbon energy and stronger energy independence. In February, Sweden's Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari led an inquiry into lifting the 2018 uranium ban that has kept mining companies from exploring the country's rich, untapped reserves for the past seven years. It recommended uranium be regulated as a 'concession mineral' under the Minerals Act, allowing economic deposits to be exploited like other natural resources in the country and paving the way for legislation to enter into force by January 2026. It aligns with a broader trend across Europe, where nations like Belgium, Germany, France, Slovakia, and Spain are delaying or rolling back nuclear phase-outs in favour of pursuing new nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs). As it stands, more than a quarter of Europe's known uranium reserves are found in Sweden's bedrock. The country produces ~30% of electricity from six active nuclear reactors and plans to construct a further 10 over the next 20 years in efforts to decarbonise Sweden's electricity. Ending the uranium moratorium could position Sweden among the world's top destinations for uranium exploration, reducing its reliance on imports and boosting the country's mining sector by creating jobs and attracting investment. Uranium winners emerge Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) stands out as one of the few companies to gain from the regulatory shift. Its Häggån deposit, situated within Sweden's AlumShale uranium district, is one of the largest undeveloped uranium resources globally with an inferred resource of 800Mlbs of contained U3O8. It has partnered with Australian public company Neu Horizons Uranium to speed up project development and collaborate on initiatives such as government engagement, uranium extraction and processing and administrative activities to streamline operations. Aura will invest $100,000 for a minority stake in Neu Horizons, with the two companies set to organise a uranium-focused symposium in Stockholm this year to encourage dialogue with international investors and policy makers. Neu Horizons holds a portfolio of high-potential uranium projects in Sweden, including the Vilhelmina shale-hosted asset adjacent to Canadian-based District Metals' Tåsjö project. Its Ravenberget asset spans over 12,000ha and contains uranium mineralisation discovered by the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU) in the 1970s with rock chip samples grading up to 1.88% U308, while the Gillberget project targets uranium-rich boulder and outcrop occurrences identified in the early 1980s. Aura was invited to provide a supporting submission for the removal of the mining ban, which remains subject to parliamentary approval with no guarantee that it will be enacted. In an interview with Stockhead, AEE managing director Andrew Grove said the market is gradually waking up to the scale of uranium resources in Sweden and the potential value that exists for those companies which hold them. 'Haggan alone hosts over three hundred years of Sweden's current domestic consumption of uranium,' he said. 'By allowing the extraction of uranium, the country is aligning its minerals policy with its energy policy. 'It has the potential to become a new regional or global supplier given it hosts Europe's largest uranium resources – the scale of its resources is way beyond covering its domestic needs.' Changing rules put Basin Energy in better position Basin Energy (ASX:BSN) is another company expected to benefit. It recently expanded its landholding in northern Sweden to 219km2 by securing an additional licence for the Trollberget project, effectively doubling its exploration area in the Arvidsjaur-Arjeplog district. Situated in northern Sweden, the asset is located right in the middle of Basin's other two projects – Björkberget and Rävaberget. Its other project, Virka, has yielded up to 1.43% U308, 9.8% zinc, 9.15% lead and 0.34% copper in rock chip assays, about 8km from historical drilling results, highlighting the polymetallic potential of the area. By revisiting legacy geological data and applying advanced multielement analysis to core samples, the company hopes to gain new insights into potential overlapping mineralisation systems. So far, Basin has completed the logging of all holes identified from Virka, along with 28 priority drillholes out of 39 at Bjork. There are currently 137 samples from Bjork at ALS Laboratory from key intervals undergoing analysis. Core samples are being analysed with multi-element analysis to continue evaluating the potential for green energy metals at the company's North Sweden projects. Following the Swedish government's proposal to lift the uranium mining ban, the company sees greater upside potential in its assets. Aura eyes permit reapplication If the Swedish uranium mining ban is lifted, Grove said the next step for Aura Energy would be to reapply for an exploration permit for a mine, which includes uranium as well as vanadium and other metals. 'A full feasibility study will need to be undertaken and then it would need go through environmental permitting and mining approvals, followed by a period for construction,' he said.
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.
