- Nobody wants Neova in Grimsås – not the local population, the businesses, the local council, the county administrative board or anyone else. It has become a matter of pride in Grimsås. Neova is doing everything in its power to sabotage the entire bog, despite the fact that the local company Nexans, which owns a third of the land, has opposed peat extraction because it threatens the company’s operations. But Neova has no scruples. They couldn’t care less about ordinary people. Everything is to be destroyed. That’s their motto, says Helen Wahlgren, press spokesperson for Återställ Våtmarker.
In October 2025, three motions were tabled by the Green Party, the Left Party and the Social Democrats regarding the phasing out of peat extraction, the last of which refers to Grimsås bog on several occasions. Region Västra Götaland has also announced that it will phase out the use of peat. Peat has become a hot topic in Sweden. The peat issue is
now coming to a head as the government is required to submit Sweden’s national restoration plan to the European Commission before the election, by 1 September 2026 at the latest. The plan constitutes Sweden’s response to the EU’s Nature Restoration Regulation and aims to restore damaged ecosystems, which also includes decisions on peat extraction. This
summer’s actions will put a stop to peat extraction out on the bog. Restore Wetlands has announced that it will prevent Neova’s machinery from extracting peat. The movement argues that every scoop is an illegal scoop, as Neova has been refused permission to extract agricultural peat. Neova’s concession agreement for Grimsås Mosse applies to energy peat. In early 2026, the company applied to amend the agreement to cover agricultural peat, which the County Administrative Board rejected. The rejection has been appealed to the Land and Environment Court.
- Neova is not extracting any energy peat at Grimsås Mosse. The energy peat lies deep within the bog, and Neova will never be able to reach it during the term of the agreement for Grimsås Mosse. Grimsås is a ‘hotspot’ for the whole peat issue, because if they can cheat here, what sort of peat is Neova then extracting at all its other peat mines in Sweden? “There is an unprecedented level of underhand dealings and cheating going on,” says Lior Tell Stefansson, press spokesperson for Återställ Våtmarker.
As early as 2024, Återställ Våtmarker travelled to Grimsås Mosse and began working with the local community in Grimsås. At that time, activists stopped the machinery and built what is popularly known as Sweden’s most grassroots and defiant nature reserve. Last summer, Återställ Våtmarker placed thousands of plugs in the ditches that drain water from the bog – ditches that had been dug by the company Neova in preparation for peat extraction.
The actions at Grimsås bog will continue for at least two weeks, with around a hundred activists taking part. This year, participants include people from Germany and the organisation Ende Gelände, as well as from Elokapina in Finland, Norway, France, Poland, Belgium and England. There is no doubt that the issue of peat extraction is important to people.
“We have begun to realise that without nature, we cannot survive. And wetlands and peat bogs prevent and limit forest fires. That should be reason enough in a world that is currently being ravaged by fire and ash,” says Helen Wahlgren.