Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) is pregnant and will therefore not attend the UN climate summit, COP30, which begins next week in Belém, Brazil.
It is now clear that she will not receive a replacement in the form of a minister.
Instead, the Swedish delegation will consist of, among others, Climate Ambassador Mattias Frumerie, Pourmokhtari's State Secretary Helena Dyrssen, and Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa's State Secretary Diana Janse.
“Logistically possible”
At a press conference, EU Minister Jessica Rosencrantz announced that she will, however, be traveling to Brazil this week to participate in a preliminary meeting with various world leaders.
She says that it was “logistically possible” for her to be there this particular week.
I think it is important to be present in this initial phase of the climate summit because that is when many leaders are present, that is when they gather to provide the framework for the meeting itself.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will also attend the high-level meeting this week. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, however, will not attend, unlike a number of other world leaders, including from France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
“Heavy voice”
According to Pourmokthari, despite the absence of ministers at the climate summit, Sweden is “a very powerful voice in the field.” She says that the participation of Swedish royalty has an important signaling value.
It is very important that Sweden's EU Minister is going and that we have fantastic representation from His Majesty the King and Queen.
The Social Democrats' environmental and climate policy spokesperson Åsa Westlund is critical of the fact that no Swedish ministers are participating.
"The government has increased Swedish emissions but at the same time demanded that other countries do more, yet the government's ministers now stay home when it really matters. This shows in black and white that Ulf Kristersson has completely abandoned the walkover in climate policy," she writes in a comment.
The UN climate summits, COP, are held in different locations each year. COP stands for "Conference of the Parties" and refers to the parties to the UN Climate Convention.
COP30 will be held this year in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21.
