The price of petrol and diesel needs to be raised further for Sweden to reach the climate goal for the transport sector, the Swedish Transport Administration believes in a new document, which Ekot has read. At the same time, the countryside must be compensated for it, according to the authority.
– We need to continuously raise the price of fuel to curb the increase in road traffic, at the same time as we greatly expand electrification and increase the proportion of biofuels, says Lena Erixon, Director General of the Swedish Transport Administration, to Ekot.
To reach The climate goals for the transport sector, including reducing emissions by 70 percent by 2030, need more electric vehicles, more biofuel and so that taxes on petrol and diesel are raised, according to the Swedish Transport Administration.
It appears in a document about the infrastructure of the future that has today been submitted to the government.
The Swedish Transport Administration’s analyzes show that the goals can be achieved in a cost-effective way with extensive electrification and increased biofuel use, in combination with a curbing of the increase in road traffic through higher fuel prices, βthe data states.
But the question of Raising fuel prices is much debated. There are both many advocates, when it comes to reducing emissions, and stubborn opponents.
A higher price would hit the countryside and low-income earners harder, according to the data.
βAt present, rural residents pay about twice as much of their income in fuel taxes as city dwellers. As new cars are increasingly electrified, and high-income earners and city dwellers drive newer cars on average, the differences in fuel tax expenditure between high- and low-income earners, and metropolitan and rural residents, are likely to increase β.
– This affects the countryside more than the cities, because we see that you have an older vehicle fleet in the countryside, for example, says Lena Erixon to Ekot.
Therefore, the countryside must compensated in some way, she says.
– It can be about better conditions linked to infrastructure. But it can also be tax policy, for example. We believe it is important that in different ways, to create acceptance for these instruments, look at compensatory measures, she says.
How much fuel prices need to be raised depends, among other things, on how fast the electrification goes.
– It depends very much on how fast you can electrify the vehicle fleet and increase the proportion of biofuels.
Regarding electrification, the authority points out that significantly more charging posts must be built for electric vehicles.
– You need to get a better charging infrastructure in place. We think it is important to have a good charging infrastructure on site, even in places where it is not economically profitable to expand.