The country that came in from the biting cold

Sweden is a country of outstanding cool beauty but I never imagined that it would glow warmly in my mind. Especially not in the depths of a biting Maltese winter. Sweden can get so cold that it is said there are times when one can walk across to Hamlet's Castle in Denmark on frozen waters.

But it is the very coldness of Swedish winters that has made the country glow like a welcoming hearth in my imagination. That and energy costs.

My two visits to Sweden were made in the mid-1990s. On my first visit, I realised that just as filth can be shocking, so can cleanliness. The city of Malmo, both its modern and its old quarters, was striking in its orderliness. Nor did this take away from its character. On the contrary.

Travelling to Stockholm, I visited a clean energy producer in the countryside. Over 14 years ago, there were Swedish buses running on ethanol. Zero emissions!

On a Council of Europe conference two years later, I was again struck by how Swedish modernity, the latest environmental technology and respect for the traditional architectural heritage went harmoniously together.

That combination came about over several decades. A national consensus was important. Up to the late 1970s, nuclear energy was seen as a part of the important mix of energy sources.

Then, in 1979, came a nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. Swedes became convinced that nuclear energy was not safe (and the 1986 accident in Chernobyl in the Soviet Union only served to strengthen that conviction).

Sweden took its place at the forefront of the anti-nuclear power lobby. The country committed itself to phase out all of its nuclear stations by 2010 and two were indeed phased out. Phasing out the others proved more difficult, however. Just a year after my Council of Europe visit, the Swedish government admitted there were not enough alternative energy sources to phase nuclear energy out by the deadline.

Today, about half the country's energy comes from nuclear sources (the other half from hydroelectric dams). Earlier this month, the Swedish government announced it was reversing the ban on nuclear energy.

This decision is splitting the country and some political parties, including the party of my choice, the Social Democrats. Some observers have indeed seen it as a ploy by the centre-right Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, to divide the opposition as he is behind in the polls and faces a general election next year.

This division, however, has not affected consensus on environmental issues in other vital areas. It is one initiative, in particular, that accounts for Sweden's "glow" for me this cold winter.

There is a suburb of Sweden called Hammarby, attractive and much sought after, that is drawing a queue of foreign politicians to see it. I first heard of Hammarby in the committee of the European Parliament responsible for energy. Hammarby's ecological planning and policies are truly remarkable.

In the first place, it is a town without dustbins. Garbage is disposed of by being thrown down chutes where it is duly collected. After this, some of it is converted into biogas, which is used to fuel the extensive local transport system. The rest is incinerated and used for heating. Heating and lighting in Hammarby must also be understood in terms of town planning. All new buildings are structured in a way that is highly ecological.

The large window panes ensure that lots of light enters the apartments and office blocks. (Indeed, the only complaint against them has been that they sometimes make Swedish summers too hot!)

The central heating, in its turn, uses recycled waste water.

The transport system has also been carefully planned. A wide variety of means of transport is available, including not just trams and buses, and adequate spaces for cyclists, but also a sea ferry running every few minutes.

People travelling around the city have a real choice before them when wondering whether to use their car. Indeed, most of them do not. A staggering 79 per cent of people getting around Hammerby use the public transportation system.

Of course, a few wrinkles have needed to be ironed out. One building had to be demolished and rebuilt. But this ecological town has such an overall successful reputation that it is said to have inspired UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's determination to plan ecological towns for his country.Sweden, seemingly so different from Malta, can also serve to inspire us. First, in its success in combining land and sea transport, and environmental high technology with care for cultural character.

Second, we can recognise ourselves in the unfortunate national division and politicking - on issues such as nuclear energy in Sweden. Seeing the consequences of division in others may perhaps spur us to overcome ours.

Finally, there is much to learn for us in how creative, ecological town planning can take place, with warmer homes and lower fuel bills. And more glowing hearths.

Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.