- Danielsson's statement is not only deeply unfortunate but also incorrect.
Sweden's forestry is not sustainable as it is conducted today with clear-cutting as the main method.
This clearly shows the responsible authorities' evaluations of our environmental goals, says Johanna Sandahl, who is chairman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
The forest industry wants to be classified as green
The Swedish government and the forest industry have lobbied hard in recent months for the European Commission to include ordinary forestry on the list of investments and activities that are green and sustainable, such as solar and wind energy.
The purpose is to direct investments towards areas that contribute to climate change.
In EU languages it is called taxonomy.
The forestry industry is worried that fewer people want to invest money in the forest if it is not classified as green.
It was in this context that the head of Sweden at the EU Commission, Christian Danielsson, spoke.
- I think they will look very carefully at the views that have come from Sweden, in that Sweden and Finland are so large and have such long experience of sustainable forestry.
It may be that you have not seen the whole picture when it comes to sustainable forestry in the Nordic region, said Christian Danielsson.
"Long way to go"
The forest industry believes that Swedish forestry is sustainable because new trees are planted after felling, and because Swedish forest grows at a faster rate than it is felled.
But the environmental movement rejects the definition that points to how ecosystems and endangered plant and animal species are particularly damaged by the massive fellings that are common in Sweden.
A large number of environmental and nature organizations criticize Swedish forestry methods.
- Sweden's forestry has a long way to go before it can be classified as sustainable.
Decisions about what is sustainable must be made on the best available knowledge about the state of biodiversity in the forest.
Otherwise, investments in the Swedish forest industry risk continuing to deplete our forest ecosystems, which we have a hard time believing that fund companies and investors really stand up for, says Johanna Sandahl of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
In the spring, at the earliest in April, the European Commission will decide on the green list, the taxonomy.
Member States have the opportunity to appeal the decision within four months of its adoption.
Javascript is disabled
Javascript must be turned on to play video
Read more about browser support
The browser is not supported
SVT does not support playback in your browser.
We therefore recommend that you switch to another browser.
Read more about browser support
Forestry is not a green investment.
This is the opinion of the European Commission in a new proposal.
Photo: SVT