Olofsson's Energy Tale: An Awkward Misunderstanding

Dagens Nyheter's columnist Peter Wolodarski writes about Industry Minister and Deputy Swedish Prime Minister Maud Olofsson's Saturday visit to Washington, to deliver a speech at an international energy conference, on invitation of USA's Foreign Minister Condoleeza Rice. Olofsson's talk is about " A Land's Successful Story - Political Decision for the Promotion of Renewable Energy".

The information that has been made public does not say whether the United States will import the Center Party's energy policy because if they do, it would be good to get some facts straight, writes Wolodarski.

Sweden belongs to a group of countries in the world that emits the least amount of carbon dioxide and this is due to a unique energy mix composed of water, wind and nuclear power plus some other minor sources of heat. Sweden's climate account shows contribution from water and nuclear power. Without these energy sources, Maud Olofsson would have no story to tell Washington, the DN columnist writes.

"It is ironic that Maud Olofsson should teach the world about " the Swedish success story" when decades ago, her Center Party advocated the dismantling of the nuclear power stations. And if that should have happened, Sweden would have depended upon fossil fuel, like Poland, Denmark and Germany. Carbon dioxide emission would have been much higher than it is today".

It is environmentally-huge, economically and morally indefensible that leading Swedish politicians still talk about the dismantling of the nuclear power plants, as did Social Democratic Party leader Mona Sahlim in a recent TV interview. Sahlin appears not to care about the consequences for climate or for the Swedish base industries, which cannot service without cheap source of fuel.

The day Maud Olofsson and Mona Sahlin would seriously implement their energy policy, would be the day they could go to Washington and discuss it. Until then, such trips constitute an embarrassing misunderstanding, says Wolodarski.
( Translation made by Sheilah Ocampo Kälfors from Wolodarski's column, DN March 1, 2008)