The worldwide disruption of fuel supplies and accompanying price spikes caused by Hurricane Katrina convinced the Swedish government that it is high time to give fossil fuels the heave-ho, according to Mona Sahlin, minister for sustainable development. She announced on October 1 that the government has set a new policy target to eliminate Sweden’s dependence on fossil fuels by 2020.

Sweden is the second-highest per capita consumer of energy in Europe, and some critics argue that boosting the efficient use of existing energy resources will do more to reduce fossil fuel use than setting a radical target that is not likely to be met.

The new target to break Sweden’s reliance on fossil fuels by 2020 will be achieved with a focus on renewable energy, through tax incentives and market-based mechanisms, Sahlin says. Beginning on January 1, homeowners who convert to renewable-energy heating systems will receive a tax break. The green certificate system, which already requires commercial electricity suppliers to purchase a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, will be extended to 2030. Drivers of “environmentally friendly” cars, such as hybrids and cars that run on ethanol, will enjoy tax relief, get free parking in some cities, and be exempt from Stockholm’s congestion charge.

Prime Minister Göran Persson is genuinely interested in breaking Sweden’s dependence on fossil fuels, says Stefan Edman, one of Sweden’s most respected environmental authors and chair of a commission that is recommending further measures to meet the target.

“Sweden could reach the target in the heating sector, but it will be much more difficult for transportation,” Edman says. Since 1975, oil consumption for heating homes and businesses has dropped by 70%. Transportation now accounts for roughly half of Sweden’s fossil-fuel consumption. In a government report released last June, Edman proposed more than 20 measures to cut fossil-fuel use for transportation.

Sweden would have a greater impact on cutting global emissions of CO2 if it simply used its existing energy resources more efficiently, responds Per Kågeson, director of Nature Associates, a consultancy. He says that large-scale conversion to ethanol could lead to more clearing of rainforests and ultimately elevate greenhouse gas emissions in countries outside of Sweden; for example, Brazil supplies 80% of Sweden’s ethanol. It could also mean the end of Swedish biofuel exports. Countries that rely on Swedish biofuel are likely to switch to fossil fuels if exports decline, Kågeson says.

Source: ES&T Online News.

January 11th, 2007 | Earth Sciences and Geomatics, Environment

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