Municipal veto against uranium mining

The plan rejects expanded nuclear power as a way out of fossil dependency, which removes the primary reason for Swedish uranium mining. It furthermore demands that mining be conducted with a long-term holistic perspective that considers local natural values, and that local communities shall benefit and have influence when natural resources are extracted. Retaining the municipal veto against uranium mining follows from this.

• no to expanded nuclear powerdecisive»planerna på att bygga ut kärnkraften som en väg ut ur fossilberoendet.« (party programme ↗)“plans to expand nuclear power as a way out of fossil dependency.”
• mining with regard to natural values»Den behöver drivas med ett långsiktigt helhetsperspektiv som ser till såväl de globala behoven som lokala naturvärden och« (party programme ↗)“It needs to be conducted with a long-term holistic perspective that considers both global needs and local natural values and”
• local influence over natural resources»Vindkraften ska gynna både kommun och boende i närområdet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Wind power shall benefit both municipality and residents in the surrounding area.”
• against over-exploitation of natural resources»Ett ständigt överutnyttjande av naturens resurser leder till kraftig utarmning av den biologiska mångfalden och växthusgasutsläpp.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Constant over-exploitation of nature's resources leads to severe depletion of biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions.”

The plan defends municipal self-government and requires a toxin-free environment and protection of valuable nature, which argues that local communities retain the veto right against uranium mining with its environmental risks. The plan does indeed want to see extraction of natural resources, but only sustainable extraction and with the local community strengthened. Uranium mining is not at all addressed in the documents, so the conclusion rests on neighbouring principles.

• municipal self-governmentdecisive»Kommunalt och regionalt självstyre med beskattningsrätt.« (party programme ↗)“Municipal and regional self-government with tax authority.”
• toxin-free environment»Giftfri miljö med ren luft och rent vatten i hela Sverige.« (party programme ↗)“Toxin-free environment with clean air and clean water throughout Sweden.”
• protection of nature and water»Värn av biologisk mångfald och Sveriges värdefulla natur och vattenmiljöer.« (party programme ↗)“Protection of biological diversity and Sweden's valuable nature and water environments.”
• strengthened local community at establishments»System för att stärka lokalsamhället vid stora industrietableringar.« (party programme ↗)“Systems to strengthen the local community in major industrial establishments.”

The plan establishes that uranium mining shall be prohibited in Sweden, which means that a preserved municipal veto is clearly within the plan's line. Furthermore, the plan demands always local grounding in extraction of natural resources and that decisions be made as close as possible to those affected. Extraction of uranium is explicitly described as environmentally destructive and waste-creating.

• prohibited uranium miningdecisive»inga nya tillstånd för torvbrytning ska ges och uranbrytning ska vara« (party programme ↗)“no new permits for peat extraction shall be issued and uranium mining shall be”
• local grounding in extraction»Det ska alltid finnas lokal förankring vid utvinning av naturresurser.« (party programme ↗)“There shall always be local grounding in extraction of natural resources.”
• uranium mining's environmental risks»miljöförstörande brytning av uran, som är en ändlig resurs som skapar farligt avfall« (party programme ↗)“environmentally destructive uranium mining, which is a finite resource that creates dangerous waste”
• decisions close to people»Därför bör beslut tas så nära människor som möjligt« (party programme ↗)“Therefore decisions should be made as close as possible to people”

The plan's energy vision is one hundred percent renewable and a society without nuclear power, and the green transition shall have local anchorage with decisions close to those affected. A preserved municipal veto gives precisely the local community power over whether a uranium mine opens. That the plan wants to extract more minerals and metals tips in the other direction, but uranium for nuclear power is not what the plan points out.

• society without nuclear powerdecisive»Sverige har både möjlighet och skyldighet att inom mindre än en generation bli ett samhälle med hundra procent förnybar energi, helt fritt från fossil energi, där Centerpartiets vision är ett samhälle utan kärnkraft.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has both the opportunity and the duty to within less than a generation become a society with one hundred percent renewable energy, completely free from fossil energy, where the Center Party's vision is a society without nuclear power.”
• local anchorage in the transition»Den gröna omställningen kräver lokal förankring.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The green transition requires local anchorage.”
• local self-determination»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralize more. People shall get to decide more themselves, and political decisions shall be made close to those affected.”
• non-toxic environment as a right»Tillgång till rent vatten, ren luft och giftfri miljö är en fundamental rätt för alla människor och en förutsättning för frihet i en vidare bemärkelse.« (party programme ↗)“Access to clean water, clean air and a non-toxic environment is a fundamental right for all people and a prerequisite for freedom in a wider sense.”

The plan establishes explicitly that the municipal veto against wind power shall remain, which shows that local communities' right to stop energy-related development is protected. It also requires a renaissance for nature conservation and that the precautionary principle shall guide where environmental risks exist. Uranium mining is not mentioned, but the nearest-lying principle speaks for the veto being retained.

• municipal veto is preserveddecisive»Det kommunala vetot mot vindkraft ska bestå.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The municipal veto against wind power shall remain.”
• strengthened nature conservation»Naturvården måste få en renässans.« (party programme ↗)“Nature conservation must get a renaissance.”
• the precautionary principle in environmental risk»Kemikalielagstiftningen ska utgå från försiktighetsprincipen.« (party programme ↗)“Chemical legislation shall be based on the precautionary principle.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that construction of new power plants always takes place with high acceptance in the affected municipality and is based on municipal democracy with strong self-government. The same approach recurs in the election manifesto, where expansion of wind power should take place with respect for local democracy, and in the demand that wildlife policy be designed in consultation with the affected rural population. Allowing the affected local communities to continue to influence whether a uranium mine opens, that is, to retain municipal veto, follows from these commitments.

• local acceptance for energy facilitiesdecisive»nya kraftverk ska alltid ske transparent och med hög acceptans i den berörda kommunen.« (party programme ↗)“new power plants should always take place transparently and with high acceptance in the affected municipality.”
• strong municipal self-government»Kommunal demokrati förutsätter kommunal självstyrelse.« (party programme ↗)“Municipal democracy presupposes municipal self-government.”
• respect for local democracy»Bygg ut vindkraften men med respekt för den lokala demokratin och anpassa storleken efter lokala villkor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Expand wind power but with respect for local democracy and adjust the scale according to local conditions.”
• consultation with affected local communities»En långsiktigt hållbar rovdjurspolitik måste utformas i samråd med den berörda landsbygdsbefolkningen.« (party programme ↗)“A long-term sustainable wildlife policy must be designed in consultation with the affected rural population.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that Sweden's rich mineral resources shall be able to be extracted responsibly and long-term sustainably and wants to shorten agencies' handling times. A preserved municipal veto against uranium mining is an obstacle that pulls in the opposite direction. The plan's nuclear power commitment strengthens interest in domestic uranium supply, even though the plan does not mention the veto explicitly.

• domestic mineral extractiondecisive»Våra rika mineraltillgångar ska kunna utvinnas ansvarsfullt och långsiktigt hållbart.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our rich mineral resources shall be able to be extracted responsibly and long-term sustainably.”
• continued sustainable extraction»Våra rika mineraltillgångar ska även fortsättningsvis kunna utvinnas på ett« (party programme ↗)“Our rich mineral resources shall continue to be able to be extracted in a”
• expanded nuclear power»Ta bort förbudet mot att ha fler än tio kärnkraftsreaktorer i drift« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove the ban on having more than ten nuclear reactors in operation”
• shorter licensing processes»Korta myndigheternas handläggningstider genom en bortre tidsgräns« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Shorten agencies' handling times through an outer time limit”

The counter-proposal wishes the municipal veto against uranium mining to remain. The election manifesto's core commitment in the mining area points in the opposite direction: permit processes for mining should be streamlined and it should become easier and faster to open mines, while new nuclear power shall be built. The plan does protect municipal self-determination, but the municipal veto is explicitly pointed out only for wind power.

• faster permits for minesdecisive»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and increase predictability in permit processes for mining, electricity grid expansion and industry”
• facilitate mine openings»Det behöver också bli enklare och gå snabbare att öppna gruvor för de mineraler som behövs för exempelvis tillverkning av batterier.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It also needs to become easier and faster to open mines for the minerals needed for, for example, battery manufacturing.”
• expanded nuclear power»Skapa förutsättningar för ny kärnkraft i Sverige och en färdplan för byggandet av SMR-reaktorer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create conditions for new nuclear power in Sweden and a roadmap for building SMR reactors”
• municipal self-determination»Vi betraktar det kommunala självbestämmandet som en central del av demokratin,« (party programme ↗)“We consider municipal self-determination as a central part of democracy,”