The Centre Party and the Green Party have reported the government to the Riksdag's Constitutional Committee (KU) because they believe that it is violating the Climate Act by pursuing a policy that misses the climate targets.
When Kristersson was questioned in the KU on Friday, he pointed out that the Council on Legislation, when the Climate Act was passed in 2018, stated that the law's requirements leave a great deal of room for assessments. And that it was already easy to imagine that there could be divided opinions on whether the government has fulfilled its obligations.
This is, after all, politics, says Kristersson.
Important to Follow
He assured that the government respects the Climate Act and stated that it is "self-evident" that it is just as important to follow this law as other laws.
Now the law applies and we are doing everything we can to fulfill the law with the policy we think is best, says Kristersson.
The Climate Act requires governments to pursue a policy that is based on the climate targets. The long-term goal is net zero emissions by 2045, but there are also intermediate targets.
Among other things, the government's climate policy council assesses that the intermediate targets will not be met with the current policy.
Kristersson stated that the government is placing slightly more emphasis on the long-term goal.
He does not think it is surprising that the climate policy council and other bodies make partially different assessments than the government. But assures that he sees the climate policy council as a serious expert body.
Was There Ministerial Rule?
The KU is also examining, following a report from the Green Party, whether the Prime Minister has engaged in ministerial rule and attempted to influence the Migration Agency's handling of individual citizenship cases.
In a debate article, Kristersson, among others, wrote that it is important to ensure that individuals who pose a security risk do not obtain citizenship.
"To the extent possible, measures should therefore be taken to prevent further Swedish citizenships from being issued, until the new legislation comes into force,” it stated in the article.
Kristersson stated that he finds it extremely difficult to see how "ordinary political statements" would lead to officials changing their decisions and violating the law.
I have not encountered that at all. Then our political debate would not function in Sweden, he said.
Kristersson stated that the purpose was to ensure that the security aspect in the current regulations is actually taken into account in citizenship cases.
The purpose was not to slow down the processing, he says.
