About the initiative
The ‘Disobedient Referendum’ is an initiative by Restore Wetlands. We want to address the democratic deficit in our society, where ordinary people are excluded from decision-making processes.
Through this referendum, we want to show that we do not need to wait for politicians. We, ordinary people, can achieve what we want and need ourselves. Today, this includes a more inclusive democracy that is better equipped to tackle the climate challenges we face.
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Background
Restore Wetlands was founded in January 2022.
In April 2024, we declared victory for our campaign when the government made wetland restoration one of three priority objectives in its climate plan and allocated 3.7 billion kronor up to 2030 for wetland restoration.
An opinion poll conducted by Kantar Sifo showed as early as the winter of 2022 that a full 75% of the Swedish population believed it was important to restore wetlands as a result of Återställ Våtmarker’s campaigns.
The demand: “Ban peat extraction”
Since its inception, Restore Wetlands has had a further demand alongside its call for the restoration of wetlands: a ban on peat extraction.
As early as the summer of 2023, Återställ Våtmarker began taking action at peat extraction sites by filling in ditches. The campaign for a ban on peat extraction has been directed at the state-owned Finnish company Neova, which accounts for over 70% of peat extraction in Sweden.
Grimsås
In the summer of 2024, Restore Wetlands began working with the residents of the small community of Grimsås.
Right next to the community lies Grimsås Mosse, which was under threat from development by the company Neova. As well as stopping the machinery and refilling the ditches, Restore Wetlands established a nature reserve to protect the bog.
In the summer of 2025, Återställ Våtmarker returned to Grimsås, and the collaboration with the residents and the actions taken on the bog have attracted national attention.
Report of the Committee on Environmental Protection
On 12 February, the Environmental Protection Committee submitted a report to the government on how Sweden should meet the EU’s climate targets; among other things, it proposes a ban on new peat extraction from 2026.
Motions in the Riksdag
In October, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party tabled motions calling for a ban on peat extraction.
The Government appoints a committee of inquiry at the Ministry of Finance
Immediately after the Environmental Protection Committee presented its proposal to ban peat extraction, the government set up a commission of inquiry, the Peat Cultivation Commission. The expert group includes the lobby organisation Svensk Torv.
The commission’s task is to “propose socio-economically effective measures” for Sweden to achieve its 2045 climate targets, as well as the EU commitments Sweden has in the climate field. However, the overall climate impacts of peat extraction will not be the focus, as the peat that is exported does not affect Sweden’s climate targets, since the emissions occur outside the country’s borders.
The Ministry of Finance has not responded
The directive states that “The investigator’s remit shall be carried out in consultation with the relevant authorities, industry and other relevant stakeholders”. On 1 December, we contacted the Ministry of Finance to ask who is included in the expert group and what their background is. We have still not received a reply. As far as we are aware, no representative from the climate or environmental movement has been contacted or consulted.
We are therefore absolutely certain that the inquiry is a commissioned job designed to bury all proposals to introduce a ban on peat extraction in Sweden.
The public needs to be heard
The government is setting up a tailor-made, undemocratic inquiry in collaboration with the peat industry. We want a democratic mandate on this issue and are therefore instead calling for a referendum on peat extraction in Sweden.
A referendum is an election
A disobedient referendum is an election – not a petition. We do the work ourselves, just as we did at Grimsås Mosse, where we stopped the machinery, filled in the ditches and built a nature reserve – a nature reserve that is now regarded as just that by the local population, by local politicians and by politicians at national level.
In the same way, we do the work ourselves when we organise a disobedient referendum.
What happens after the election?
A clear victory for the ‘No’ camp gives us the mandate to shut down the peat industry in Sweden. We will not be lobbying politicians, but will act on the outcome of the referendum. We will do the work ourselves, and the campaign will continue out in the peat bogs this summer.
A ‘No’ vote means that the will of the people prohibits the extraction of fossil peat. It means that peat extraction within Sweden is no longer legal.
If the result is a ‘Yes’ to continued peat extraction, we will accept the people’s decision. This gives the peat industry a mandate to continue extracting peat in Sweden. But Restore Wetlands will always act in the interests of democracy and do everything in our power to stop the destruction of our land.