The Ministry of Climate and Business, representing the Swedish government, has announced a proposal to reduce the reduction obligation for petrol and diesel in the years 2024–2026. This move aims to make living in Sweden more affordable while also benefiting the business and agriculture sectors.
The proposed reduction would lower the reduction obligation to six per cent for petrol and diesel from 2024 to 2026. This change represents a decrease of 34 percentage points for diesel and 6.5 percentage points for petrol compared to the previously expected levels in 2024.
Consequently, by 2024, consumers could benefit from a potential saving of up to SEK 5.50 per litre of diesel (including VAT) compared to the scenario where the reduction obligation remained unchanged.
Furthermore, the government’s proposal includes plans to eliminate the reduction obligations for the period of 2027–2030. Future requirements imposed on fuel suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during these years will be subject to further analysis.
The government is also considering alternative socio-economically effective policy instruments to replace the reduction obligations.
The proposed amendment to the law is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2024.
Swedish TSL organisations call on the government to stick to its climate change targets instead
Transportation news portal Trailer.se published an article discussing the reactions of over 200 companies and organizations to the potential abandonment of Sweden’s 2030 climate target for the transport sector. These organizations emphasize the importance of maintaining the goal, highlighting its benefits for the climate, Sweden’s reputation, competitiveness, the labour market, safety, and export earnings.
The article underscores the idea that short-term goals have a more significant impact on businesses compared to distant goals. Concrete goals are seen as easier to translate into practical opportunities for businesses, and national goals complement and clarify broader European objectives.
The debate article lists five key reasons for the importance of near-term goals:
- target management,
- Sweden’s leadership role,
- synergies,
- long-term perspective and breadth,
- and a focus on Sweden’s interests.
Maintaining the 2030 goal is considered essential for business competitiveness, technology development, and job security. The goal also fosters cooperation among companies to achieve synergies and lower transition costs while benefiting society.
The article suggests that the government’s consideration of buying emissions rights abroad, potentially transferring significant funds to other countries, may not be in the best interest of Swedish jobs and competitiveness.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Agency have previously demonstrated that the 2030 goal could be achieved with a broadly accepted climate policy. However, if several substantial measures are now removed, the article argues that alternative approaches will be necessary to reach the target. The organizations express a willingness to collaborate on developing the right measures in an action plan to ensure the 2030 goal is still attainable.
Photo: Bengt Oberger, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons