f3 2013:15 88
7 THE FUTURE FOR SWEDEN
7.1 POLITICAL INTENTIONS REGARDING THE USE OF RENEWABLE
f3 2013:15 89 nationally. For EU15, the corresponding figure was 21 percent and the main reason for the high share in Sweden is the low share of fossil fuels in the energy utility sector (Ministry of the Envi-ronment, 2009). In contrast to the goal for the transport sector, the proposition entails a well-de-fined goal regarding another application for fossil fuels on the way to the vision for 2050: fossil fuels should not be used for residential heating by 2020.
The government states in the proposition that general policy instruments should be the foundation for the change towards abatement of greenhouse gases from the transport sector and is referring to policy instruments that set a price for greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is further stated that the general policy instruments are to be combined with more targeted policy instruments and de-scribe such policy instruments in use in Sweden. These are research, development and demonstra-tion (RD&D) support to companies and academia, tax exempdemonstra-tions for green cars, obligademonstra-tions to supply biofuels for filling stations, blending standards, emissions standards for vehicles, sustaina-bility criteria for biofuel production, greenhouse gas emission demands on suppliers of transporta-tion fuels, tax reliefs on biofuels, investment supports directed at biogas and second generatransporta-tions biofuels, and support for development of electrical cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Sweden should also work for a removal of the EU ethanol toll used for blending according to the proposition and it is announced that the Swedish Energy Agency should investigate the use of blending quotas instead of tax reliefs, see below. These general and targeted policy instruments should also be combined with information campaigns about fuels efficiency (eco-labelling) and efficient driving, together with changed speed limits and increased speed controls.
Following the vision that Sweden not should generate net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 as presented in the proposition, the government commissioned the Swedish Environmental Protec-tion Agency to investigate how this could be achieved in July 2011. A report in the form of a road-map for such a development was delivered to the government in December 2012 (Swedish Envi-ronmental Protection Agency, 2012). According to this analysis, the goal with zero net emissions could be achieved by large domestic abatement of greenhouse gas emissions, by the utilisation of terrestrial sinks, and by creating emission reductions in other countries to balance the remaining Swedish emissions. The analysis was general in its character and it was also stated that to suggest a complete list of policy instruments until 2050 not is meaningful, since we not can be sure about future technologies, behavioural patterns, and international policies. Still, suggestions were made and the proposed changes for policy instruments were mostly aimed at affecting investments in technologies and infrastructure that have long lifetimes or demand development, demonstration, or new markets. Regarding general policy changes, it was suggested:
that all relevant public documentation should be judged regarding the impact on the climate,
that Sweden should work for decreased limits within the EU ETS,
that the energy and CO2 taxes should continue to be pillars of the Swedish climate strategy,
that Sweden should work for increased funding of research and innovations within the European Union, especially regarding technologies that are strategic for mitigation of climate change,
that the regulatory framework for energy efficiency should be developed and, specifically, development of the Ecodesign Directive (European parliament and the Council, 2009c) as well regulations for energy savings in the residential sector, and
f3 2013:15 90
that the connection between consumption and greenhouse gas emissions should be visualized by developed official inventories and reporting.
The suggested policy instruments directed at the transport sector were also relatively general in their character and it was recommended that:
Sweden should work for a stepwise development of the EU emission standards for new vehicles,
a national bonus-malus system for registration tax on new cars should be investigated,
a geographically differentiated system for infrastructure fees for heavy transports should be investigated,
regulations regarding infrastructural planning at different levels should encompass analysis of how to reduce transports and visualization of the conflicting goals between increased transport capacities and climate goals,
funding should be provided for research and pilot/demonstration plants for second and third generation biofuels,
policy instruments directed at both production and demand are necessary to stimulate the development of second and third generation biofuels,
the knowledge about policy instruments has to be developed,
the knowledge about structures for a less transport-demanding society has to be developed,
research on energy efficient vehicles should be directed at areas where Sweden could develop its competiveness, and
the use of policy instruments with other primary aims, such as congestion taxes and infrastructural fees, should be increasingly used for climate purposes.
As can be seen from the suggestions above, the Swedish Environmental Agency suggested a wide range of policy instruments for how to achieve the vision of a Sweden with no net emissions of greenhouses gases by 2050. Among the discussed changes in the transportation sector, energy effi-ciency measures through more fuel efficient engines and a transition to hybrid and electrical cars are mentioned. However, no other policy instruments than the ones listed above are mentioned explicitly for the support of such energy efficiency measures.
It is evident that the ambitions for climate change mitigation, as described in the governmental proposition, are high and that an important part of this is the transportation sector. It is also clear that the measures as listed in the proposition and in the roadmap from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency above are not sufficiently specified, at least not to reach the ambition for 2030;
hence, a public inquiry about how to reach the goal with a vehicle fleet independent of fossil fuels by 2030 was commissioned by the Swedish government in July 2012 (Ministry of Enterprise, En-ergy and Communications, 2012). Since this goal has not been specified previously, part of the work will be concentrated towards establishing different alternatives for what independent of fossil fuels mean to be a relevant step on the way towards the vision of no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 (ibid.). The results from the public inquiry are to be reported by the end of October 2013.
f3 2013:15 91