First, Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin (M) stated that there could be war in Sweden.
His statement was immediately supported by the commander-in-chief, the defense minister, the prime minister and experts who usually speak out on these issues.
A few days later, the EU’s climate service Copernicus announced that 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded.
Last year, all days were more than 1 degree warmer than in pre-industrial times. Sea ice extent in Antarctica was at a record low. The concentration of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane continued to increase and reached record levels. With more.
No further introduction in 2024: There could be war in Sweden, just as well that we prepare for this scenario. The climate disaster is creeping closer, we might as well prepare for this scenario.
Anyone who does not see the seriousness of these issues has, consciously or unconsciously, chosen to turn a blind eye.
Those who consume traditional media, talk to people and spend time on social media probably see the trends.
There is an open door here: For some reason, the ideological stance of many Swedes seems to govern how they react to the dangers.
Right-wing people often have a tendency to take the risk of war seriously while playing down the climate threat.
Left-wing people often have a tendency to take the climate threat seriously while playing down the risk of war.
“Those who like to talk about ‘listening to the experts’ don’t seem as interested when the expertise consists of the Swedish defense”
Of course there is nuances and complexity. It’s a gray scale and everywhere there are exceptions. You can’t log on to X, formerly Twitter, and think that the loudest debaters on the platform represent the entire right or left.
But the reactions to these two issues have come on a broad front and that is worrying.
The left that likes to talk about “listening to the experts” does not seem as interested when the expertise consists of the Swedish defense and military intelligence. Ironically, it is this left who has claimed that joining NATO increases the risk of war in Sweden.
Those on the right who want to tear down the beach protection, for their part, don’t seem to understand that climate change could flood their houses and private beaches. They usually call the left out of touch with reality, but when the climate crisis, which is the only thing climate scientists are sure of, is at the door, they prefer to close their eyes.
Both sides also accuse each other of “scaring the children”. On the one hand, the children feel bad if you talk about war, but the climate threat is okay. And vice versa.
For ordinary people, arguably a majority in this country, it must be confusing. They may have cut back on air travel, added a meat-free dinner a week and stopped clicking home clothes unnecessarily. At the same time, they have acquired crank radios, water cans, canned food, withdrawn cash and perused the brochure “If the crisis or the war is coming”.
As one should do, if one has a little common sense in the two issues that in both the long and short term can threaten our existence.
Read more articles by Patrik Lundberg:
“The prosperous middle class does not need Christmas presents”
“Here we only have one idea at a time”