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Just over a year ago, Greta Thunberg addressed the UN General Assembly in New York.
The message was that the politicians of the world had stolen his childhood with their empty words and that they should act as if the house was on fire.
– She really put into words how acute the crisis is. It’s almost mythological that it takes a child to tell the truth, says Isabella Lövin.
Did you feel known?
– No, I got into politics because nobody took the weather seriously enough. I wanted to be the one to change something inside.
So it wasn’t directed at you?
– I have never been involved in a policy that tries to hide climate change, quite the opposite. In the Green Party we fight for a society in which we use natural resources in a sustainable way, have a circular economy and live in solidarity with future generations.
Get inside the Prime Minister’s corner office in the Government Quarter. A cool autumn sun is shining outside the windows, the temperature is just over zero degrees.
As soon as a new female environmental spokesperson is appointed, Isabella Lövin will resign as Minister of the Environment and Climate, having been responsible for the Government’s climate policy since 2016.
She is leaving politics at a stage where climate work is progressing. For the third year in a row, Sweden is ranked highest in the world for its commitments to global warming, according to the Climate Change Performance Index.
Isabella Lövin, spokesperson for the Green Party and Minister of Climate and Deputy Prime Minister
Photo: Barzan Dello
This year’s climate budget is described as record-setting and includes demands that fuel suppliers increase the share of biofuels in gasoline and diesel, meaning Sweden is well on track to achieve the goal of reducing emissions from the fuel sector. transportation by 70 percent by 2030.
According to Statistics Sweden, emissions in Sweden fell by 8.1 percent in the first quarter, that is, before the pandemic, and last year they fell just over 3 percent.
– It’s a relief, at the same time that we have a lot of work ahead of us. We have now laid the foundations for this change, which will reduce emissions slowly but surely.
She perceives that The development is, among other things, the result of Sweden adopting climate targets and a climate law with requirements for an action plan from each government.
– We have made great strides forward. When the Green Party came to power in 2014, there was nothing ahead. We were greeted by an empty table. We have now implemented a complete system.
The 57-year-old prime minister did not become a politician until he was 40. He began his career as a journalist at Expressen, among others, and made his breakthrough with the book Tyst hav, on overfishing in the Baltic Sea, awarded by the Great Journalist Award.
She describes herself as a realistic visionary, who believes that the world can be significantly better, but that one must start from the conditions it has. She believes that her experience as a reporter has shaped her political style.
– I am very stubborn, persistent and thorough, and may be a holdover from my time as a journalist. I like to accept a bigger job.
She is critical to today’s climate of debate, which she considers superficial.
– There is a lot of click journalism, political “oneliners” and profiles on social networks. It worries me and I think that in the long run it may fuel the contempt of politicians. You only listen to politicians who talk and see each other a lot, but don’t do much afterwards.
But at the same time he perceives that it is a defect that does not take up more space.
– As a politician, it is a weakness that it does not push me to say what I think all the time, but rather to focus on work.
Photo: Johan Schiff
Since the 2018 elections, the deputy has fought to the limit of four percent. In the latest DN / Ipsos poll, the party received 5 percent.
– You are judged differently when you are in government. It was easy to like us when we weren’t. And expectations were through the roof when we entered government.
Have you met the expectations?
– Yes. Maybe not all, of course, but based on the fact that we are a four percent party. A common perception on the right is that we have too much influence.
Could you have gotten higher opinion figures if you had more room in the debate?
– It is up to others to decide. I am not in politics to do opinion polls, but to change things. So it’s clear that we want as strong support as possible to make a bigger difference. But we must also build trust with the electorate, and that is not the case with “oneliners.”
What has been more fun during your time in politics?
– Cause important changes. Everything from fisheries reform in the European Parliament to pushing for climate legislation and tightening EU emission rights.
And the most difficult?
– That there is not enough time. It’s an extremely high workload, and at times, you’re at the limit of what you can physically handle.
Although Isabella Lövin describes herself as something of a pragmatist, she is deeply convinced of his vision of society.
Her greatest inspiration is her father, the late artist Björn Lövin, whose conceptual works often question social divisions and the consumer society.
– His art was about the fact that we need to ask ourselves questions about what society we want. It gave me the look and the confidence to think independently and dare to work for a change.
What worries you the most?
– Climate change and threats to biodiversity, of course. But what worries me most is the populism and the factual resistance that is growing in the world.
Do you think the world can prevent a climate crisis?
– We cannot allow ourselves to think that we cannot do it. But I’m not sure. There is a 50 percent statistical probability that we will not be able to reach the 1.5 degree limit, even if the world is acting hard. But there is no excuse for not doing something.
– That China wants to be carbon neutral by 2060 is very gratifying. He is late, but it is much better than not having goals, as before.
New mouthpiece 2016.
Photo: Magnus Hallgren
Climate activists like Greta Thunberg and Andreas Malm believe the environmental movement needs to get more radical. what do you think about it?
– We need to be many forces to drive change. The role of the Green Party is to be the parliamentary and political force that ensures that we can change through democratic means.
Could the Green Party have gotten more radical?
– Radical in the sense of civil disobedience is not the role of a political party. At least not for the Green Party.
What do you think of civil disobedience for the environment?
– It may be legitimate for people to do it. But I, as a minister, shouldn’t ask for that.
Why are you quitting now?
– Because I’ve been in politics for twelve years and it’s tremendously intense. I think I’ve done my part in politics.
