Open letter to Sweden's newly elected Riksdag members: Demand powerful climate action now

To Sweden's 349 newly elected members of parliament:

Congratulations! Now you have the chance to show us, who have chosen you, that you know what is really important. It is you who bear the responsibility for our future. We want you to work hard and fast now to stop the emissions that are about to destroy our world.

After a summer with historic heat records, around 35,000 deaths from the heat in Europe, record high sea temperatures, a landslide that drowned villages and thousands of people in Nepal and where the UN environmental program Unep states that the world has failed to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree target, no one can turn a blind eye to what is happening.

The summer's extreme heat and drought have not only claimed human lives. The heat and the fires have caused serious damage to, among other things, food production.

Therefore, this autumn we can count on rising food prices. In total, this summer's heat is expected to cost the EU around 180 billion euros.

We want you to make decisions that slow down the trend towards more downpours, extreme heat, severe drought and strong storms.

• Phase out fossil fuels.

• Protect the remaining natural forest and biodiversity.

• Subsidize electric cars in sparsely populated areas.

• Move government support from the air to the train.

• Expand the railway network.

• Support those who cycle and use public transport

• Favor local production.

• Support businesses that fix, repair and rent out.

The list of necessary measures is longer than can be contained in this letter. So: take all necessary measures to prevent the average temperature on Earth from rising further.

Our goal is a society where nature and the lives of our children are protected and where our common resources are used to build a sustainable and fair world.

Ten years after the Paris Agreement entered into force, we look forward to a new effective government and parliament, where climate policy follows science, Sweden's climate act and the will of the people.

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