- We rely on the newly established law (2023:560), the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act. It aims to prevent harmful foreign direct investments in activities worthy of protection, says Pontus Bergendahl, press spokesperson for Restore Wetlands.
- We’ve been in contact with Neova and appreciate them respecting the protected area and not entering the zone, says Jonathan Gall, Återställ Våtmarker
For three weeks, Restore Wetlands has been out on Grimsås bog building dams in ditches on the peat mine to keep the bog from draining. The climate movement has largely been allowed to work undisturbed. Police have been issuing reports of illegal encroachment and arbitrary action on a daily basis, but only five have been arrested, detained and then released, only to return to the peat mine. Over 45 activists have been reported for crimes, most of them multiple times. On Friday morning, the area was fenced off with a hundred boundary markers, Swedish flags and prohibition signs.
- People must take matters into their own hands. We cannot stand by and watch as fossil giants sabotage our common future. We have been out all night converting Neova's peat mine into a protected area. When Neova leaves, we will turn the peat mine into a nature reserve again, says Helen Wahlgren, press spokesperson for Restore Wetlands.
The state-owned Finnish company Neova is currently responsible for 72% of all peat mining in Sweden. All peat that is mined, regardless of whether it is burned, used in soil or as bedding in stables, breaks down into the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Restore Wetlands demands a total ban on peat mining.
- Unfortunately, authorities such as the Swedish Armed Forces, the Swedish Security Service and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) are failing us by not acting on the climate collapse, which is the biggest security threat we face. They are allowing the Finnish state to continue digging up our peatlands and releasing greenhouse gases with catastrophic consequences for every Swede, says Pontus Bergendahl.
The Finnish state has received 465 million euros from the EU to phase out parts of its own peat mining. At the same time, the Finnish government, through the state-owned company Neova, has been breaking up Swedish peatlands for years to mine fossil peat, an industry in Sweden that emits more carbon than all domestic aviation. Peatlands only cover 3% of the Earth's land surface, but store about twice as much carbon as all the world's forests. These vital peatlands are at risk of passing a tipping point, where instead of being effective carbon sinks, they could start releasing huge amounts of carbon.
- It's not about, "If the crisis or war comes", the crisis is already here. The climate catastrophe is taking lives and destroying entire communities. If you are worried about the threats we face, it’s much more effective to buy a shovel and dam up ditches rather than getting a crank radio, says Helen Wahlgren.
Over the past year, the small community of Grimsås in Tranemo has been in the national spotlight. Through Restore Wetlands peaceful actions, it has become known as the epicenter of the fight against peat mining in Sweden. The peat mining on Grimsås bog also threatens the local community. In addition to the risks that come with peat mining, such as flooding, wildfires and destroyed streams and lakes, employment in Grimsås is also threatened. Nexans, one of the world's leading producers of cables and cable solutions, is the biggest employer in Grimsås. Their production is highly dust-sensitive and a peat mine could force the entire factory to relocate.
- We will regularly monitor and stop machinery from foreign companies that threaten the bog and our future. We will use all peaceful democratic means at hand, whether it’s locks, glue, shovels or structures, to ensure that no machinery reaches the bog, says Pontus Bergendahl.