‘More government responsibility is needed’

The National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation is to be updated. The Government will submit a written communication to Parliament in the spring. How will the committee deal with this?

As usual, the parties can submit follow-up motions to the Government’s proposal, and I expect the opposition parties to do so. In parallel, the Government’s climate action plan is also being discussed. Thirty motions are being dealt with in conjunction with the preparation of the committee’s report. It will be a comprehensive report, one of the largest this year. I expect the National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation to also be comprehensive.

Property owners say that municipalities, water and sewerage operators and others are not doing enough to meet the challenges posed by a changing climate. Has society done enough to prepare and is responsibility properly balanced?

There is a clear risk that society is not doing enough. I understand that it is necessary to highlight the question of responsibility as the risks increase. The Green Party and I believe that greater government responsibility is needed, not least for identifying risk areas. Small municipalities find it difficult to make the necessary investments. The same probably applies to property owners. The collaboration between public authorities that has been established to work on climate change adaptation needs to continue, and the updated National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation can reinforce this work. Things are moving too slowly. We need to do more now!

Finally, the environmental and climate debate is raging, and the tone of the media and social media is sometimes harsh and unreasonable. What is it like chairing the meetings of the Committee on Environment and Agriculture?

The committee members are very committed, and there is a good atmosphere. However, we belong to different parties and naturally prioritise different issues and have different solutions to societal problems. But where there are differences of opinion, we take them up in the Chamber. We know that citizens, civil society, researchers and business expect us to successfully tackle the climate challenge, and I hope we can find common ground on the major issues.

The Green Party’s Emma Nohrén, Chair of the Committee on Environment and Agriculture, was interviewed by Magnus Johansson Hessling, Director of Partnerships and Partner at New Republic. ‘Three Quick Questions…’ is a series of interviews conducted by New Republic.