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Goran Persson has become a lobbyist for yesterday’s solutions

2026-01-27

Goran Persson has become a lobbyist for yesterday’s solutions

Göran Persson, lobbyist linked to the PR agency Lumo Advice, writes in Aftonbladet 20/1 that the forest debate must be based on facts. However, he himself ignores scientific facts and chooses instead to list the forest industry’s half-truths, talking points and notorious number tricks: detached percentages, without sources, that lack context and give a misleading picture of the state of the forest. All to maintain the illusion that Swedish forestry would be sustainable. For example, to claim that protected productive forest land has increased to 14.5 percent is creative accounting. The real figure is 6 percent.

Three of Sweden’s leading researchers who have studied the effects of forestry on climate and biodiversity, write in a reply that the claims made by Persson have “weak or non-existent support from science”.

It is remarkable that the former prime minister questions the legitimacy of the courts, a worrying tendency we otherwise associate with completely different forms of government. In Arjeplog, the court considered that the felling risked violating the Species Protection Ordinance and stopped it – as it should work in a society governed by the rule of law. The forest owner did not make a mistake, but the forest company SCA, as the operator of the felling, is responsible for ensuring that the law is followed.

Nestlé recently made the decision to stop buying virgin fiber from SCA due to the company’s many controversies, after they themselves visited endangered forests and listened to experts, researchers and Sami communities. They did their homework and then made a fully informed decision. The market has begun to understand the inconvenient truth that the Swedish Forest Industries Federation and Persson are trying to deny.

Sweden does not go further than the EU demands. On the contrary, the Swedish forest industry has set up a system to weaken European climate and environmental legislation. At the same time, the Government proposes a sharp reduction in the protection of endangered species at the request of industry.

Yes, of course the timber supply is increasing. Where the forest industry is advancing, we are losing forests, to the benefit of many planted trees: large areas with enormous inherent carbon debts and depleted biodiversity, and thus lack the climate resilience that both the planet and the market demand.

The Swedish government itself states that the best thing for the climate is to protect more natural forest. The fact that the industry still wants to exploit Sweden’s last natural forests is at the heart of the conflict with the environmental movement. But we are not against forestry – we simply want to see sustainable, resilient and fair forestry in line with our environmental and climate goals. This requires qualitative protection of 30% of the forest land and an upscaling of ecosystem-based forestry.

Despite excessively high felling volumes, the Swedish forest sector is at the bottom of the EU in terms of employment, with fewer than 30,000 employees in forestry. A transition to sustainable forestry would increase employment.

Goran Persson is not an independent voice – he speaks for the forest industry

Goran Persson signs his debate article as “former prime minister and forester”. After his time as prime minister, Persson became chairman of Sveaskog, and later co-owner of the scandal-ridden company Green Gold. Persson also works as a senior advisor for the PR agency Lumo Advice, which markets Persson’s services as a lobbyist with a unique “understanding of the conditions of the business community”.

Persson therefore does not debate the forest issue like any other social commentator. He does so as a paid lobbyist with deep and long-lasting ties to the forest industry. These roles are not disclosed to readers. This also makes it cloudy whose interests Persson is actually defending. This becomes especially relevant as a background when Persson now presents himself as a defender of “facts” in the forest debate.

Finally, we would like to quote a former wise man. In his final speech as Prime Minister, Persson said: “The solutions of the future have no lobbyists. It is yesterday’s solutions that have the lobbyists. The solutions of the future – they are carried by convinced people who have ideals and values. Values that are based on the fact that we should hand over something to those who come after r”.

Karolina Carlsson, campaign manager, Greenpeace Sweden

Alva Danielsson, biology student and activist, Skogsupproret

Daniel Rutschman, International Campaign Manager, Protect the Forest

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