Riksdag to vote June 11 on coastal protections
The riksdag is set to vote on 11 June on a government proposal that would loosen environmental protection for several protected coastal areas in Sweden. If the proposal passes, areas now protected under the Environmental Code could be opened to nuclear power plants and related infrastructure.
The vote concerns some of Sweden’s most valuable coastal stretches, including northern Bohuslän, Öland’s coastal landscape, Höga kusten, and the archipelagos of Östergötland and Småland. The government argues that Sweden needs to sacrifice protection of the unobstructed coasts to secure energy supply, while the proposal’s critics say fossil-free energy can be expanded without using the country’s most valuable coastal environments.
Studsvik and Valdemarsvik
The change would also affect the government’s received application to build new nuclear power at Studsvik outside Nyköping. Another application already exists for four to six SMR reactors in Valdemarsvik municipality within the currently protected coastal areas, so a parliamentary yes could move those plans much closer to the point where they can advance.
The government has also dismissed sharp criticism from major referral bodies and has already pushed reduced shoreline protection, weaker species protection, and greater government authority over so-called national interests. It is removing the national interest designation for the “highly exploited coast” in relation to nuclear power, even though that designation covers coastal areas under heavy pressure from housing and development but still carrying values for nature conservation, cultural heritage, outdoor recreation and tourism.
Kaijser, McEnroe, Lexén
Arne Kaijser, Regan McEnroe, and Karin Lexén co-authored the critique of the proposal. Kaijser said: “Poängen med skyddet är just att vissa områden inte ska behöva försvara sig projekt för projekt, process för process, mandatperiod för mandatperiod.”
The paper of record here is not the vote itself but the scale of what it could unlock: once protection is weakened, projects such as the Valdemarsvik SMR plan could move fast through the system. For residents and local authorities along those protected stretches, the immediate question is whether the Riksdag chooses to preserve the current barrier or lower it for future energy projects.
