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Stockholm Climate Protest
Some 10,000 people rallied in Stockholm on Sunday to demand stronger action on climate change weeks before Sweden’s general election.
“Some 10,000 people marched in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, on Sunday”
Greta Thunberg joined the rally, as organisers accused the government of weakening emissions policies and urged politicians to act faster to meet Sweden’s climate targets.
The protest came as experts in Sweden warned the government’s climate policy jeopardises emissions-cutting goals to reduce CO₂ emissions from transport by 70 percent by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
Euronews said the issue was top among Swedish voters’ concerns ahead of a 13 September general election, with the ruling right-wing bloc trailing in opinion polls.
DIE WELT reported that around 10,000 people in the capital Stockholm on Sunday brought the climate issue back onto the political agenda three weeks before the parliamentary election.
Voices and Quotes
Thunberg told AFP that “absolutely no party” is proposing a policy that even remotely goes in the direction of what science considers necessary.
In the same AFP framing, Thunberg added, “If we keep going like this, we will experience a collapse – we are already witnesses to it.”
Another protester, 21-year-old student Kliff Lindberg, said he was “relieved” to see such a strong turnout and that “That gives me a lot of strength.”
Euronews reported that organisers said the government had cut petrol taxes and reduced requirements for petrol suppliers to add low-carbon alternatives to their mix since taking power in 2022.
Euronews also quoted Beatrice Rindevall, head of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, saying, “It is time to put in place a climate policy that reduces emissions right now,” according to a statement.
Election Stakes
Euronews said Sweden’s centre-left opposition holds a 10-percentage-point lead over the ruling right-wing coalition in a Verian opinion poll published on Thursday by the public broadcaster SVT.
“37% of respondents to the poll stated that the election's top priority was climate change”
Euronews reported that 37% of respondents in the poll stated that the election’s top priority was climate change, while the government argued fossil-fuel phase-out must be gradual to preserve competitiveness.
DIE WELT said the vote for the right-wing government could be a defeat and noted that it had been repeatedly reprimanded by a commission that monitors the implementation of the climate targets.
Euronews described how the government rejected a commission’s recommendations on ways to meet the 2030 target, including phasing out fossil fuels by hiking taxes on petrol and diesel.
With the election set for 13 September, the rally’s organisers urged politicians to act faster to meet Sweden’s climate targets as the climate issue remained central to the campaign.