“Climate in acute need of feminist policies”: Swedish politician

Green party spokesperson Åsa Romson in 2011. (Green Party Sweden)
Green party spokesperson Åsa Romson in 2011. (Green Party Sweden)
In her speech in Almedalen, the Green party spokesperson Åsa Romson stressed the close links between Green Party policies and feminism.

Romson noted that only two out of the eight party leaders speaking in Almedalen this year are women (herself and the Centre Party leader Annie Lööf.

“Six men and two women, that is the way it looks in Swedish politics,” said Romson. “If we have a norm that there are white, heterosexual men who are in power then you’ll get a system which suits them.”

Romson said that while most people in Sweden have improved their health, some groups are moving in the opposite direction, such as the disabled, people in the HBTQ-community, and young girls. It is about time that we start valuing young people and girls as highly as adult men, she said, adding “some call it extremism, I call it democracy.”

Turning to the environment, Romson said that the climate is in “acute need” of feminist politics. “Men emit more carbon dioxide than women. Men eat more meat, they drive cars more they fly more.”

She also noted that “it is no coincidence” that the Green party was founded by the women’s movement together with the environmental movement and the peace movement.

Referring to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who described himself as a “war horse”, and his colleagues Finance Minister Anders Borg and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, Romson said: “I have said it before, the climate is currently calling out for political war horses, but these three men look more like a group of reluctant donkeys.”

Related stories from around the North:

Canada:  The effects of climate change on human health in the North, Radio Canada International

Finland: Finnish companies come together for new climate change initiative, Yle News

Sweden: Triumphant Greens may be headache for Social Democrats, Radio Sweden

Russia:  Feature Interview – What tree rings tell us about climate in the Arctic, Eye on the Arctic

United States:  Alaska village stares down climate change and refuses to budge, Alaska Dispatch

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