Sweden's Greens push circular economy and nuclear phase-out for 2026
Sweden's opposition Green Party has unveiled a 2026 election platform proposing an overhaul of the country's economic metrics, increased state borrowing for green infrastructure, and a phase-out of nuclear power.
Sweden's Green Party has set out its stall for the 2026 election under the slogan "Sverige vinner på grön politik," pitching a radical shift in how the economy is measured and powered. The party's spokespeople, Amanda Lind and Daniel Helldén, are pushing an overarching goal of making Sweden the world’s first fossil-free welfare state. Currently holding 18 seats in the Riksdag after winning 5.08 percent of the vote in 2022, the party is aiming to return to government after four years in opposition.
A central pillar of the platform is moving away from a "throwaway economy" towards a circular model where resources are reused and recycled. To facilitate this, the Greens want to abandon traditional GDP as the primary measure of welfare, replacing it with metrics that track emissions, health, and resource distribution.
For businesses and investors, the tax proposals represent a significant structural shift. The party advocates for progressive capital and income taxes to reduce wealth inequality. The platform specifically targets wealth concentration driven by AI and robotics, proposing tax reforms to prevent private actors from hoarding the gains of automated labour. It also demands that work income and social security income be taxed equally.
To fund the transition, the party views public finances as a tool for massive green infrastructure investments, specifically in railways and the electricity grid. These long-term projects would be financed through state borrowing rather than immediate tax hikes.
In the energy sector, the platform presents a strict anti-fossil and anti-nuclear stance that would reshape the market. The Greens want to ban new investments in fossil fuel extraction, halt permits for peat mining, and ban uranium mining. They oppose new nuclear power and support an eventual phase-out of existing plants as renewable capacity expands.
Despite advocating for heavy state intervention, the party acknowledges the need for private capital. It calls for stable, long-term regulatory frameworks to give businesses the confidence to execute major green investments. Furthermore, revenues from environmental taxes on high emissions would be redirected to households struggling with rising fossil fuel prices.
