Björn Palm signed an opinion paper to the Swedish government

Björn Palm, Senior Professor in Energy Technology at KTH is among the 1000+ researchers who signed the recently published opinion piece in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter  Entitled “Vår forskning kan inte viftas bort som åsikter” (“Our research cannot be dismissed as opinion”), the authors argue that politicians must listen to the research when making decisions. That includes important issues such as energy, climate, environment and criminology.

Björn Palm, why did you sign the petition?
“It expresses exactly what I wanted to write since over a year back. My doubts about some politicians arose during the Swedish election campaign, when some parties insisted on the absolute need for nuclear power, despite scientific uncertainty. They deepened when the Swedish Prime Minister dismissed expert advice in a TV interview, saying, ‘you can't just listen to experts.’”

From an energy research point of view, why is this important?
“As stated in point four in the opinion piece, the government stubbornly claims that nuclear power is necessary for a stable energy system. According to a broad consensus among researchers, and according to investigations by the government's own expert agencies, this is simply not correct. There are other solutions, and we have yet to see a proper investigation comparing the costs.”

“I recently learned the word ochlocracy — rule without respect for knowledge, where institutions are torn down as threats to ‘the people.’ Ancient Greece fell to it, the USA shows clear signs, and Sweden is not immune.

In my opinion, the task of politics is to govern, not to be governed by voters. Governance must be based on facts, not opinions. That is why expert authorities exist, and universities also have a clear role in this.” - states Björn Palm.