Sweden plans to join the fossil-fuel-free club

To date, 13 countries, including China, Costa Rica, the UK, Israel and France, have announced plans (mostly vague) to phase out the sale of gas and diesel cars. Sweden recently became the latest member of the club, appointing a commission that will offer proposals on when and how sales of new fossil fuel cars, and/or fossil fuels themselves, should be phased out.

Above: One of Vattenfall's 40 new fast-charging stations in Sweden, powered by ABB, is seen charging a Tesla (Source: ABB)

The commission is to propose a year by which fossil fuels should be phased out in Sweden, and the measures needed for this to happen in the most cost-effective manner possible. The group is also tasked with developing a plan to bring about the same changes in the EU as a whole.

Sven Hunhammar, Director of Sustainability and Environment at the Swedish Transport Administration, has been named the commission’s chair. The inquiry’s findings are due February 1, 2021.

Above: Original plans in Sweden to go fossil fuel free in 15 years may actually be accelerated based on recent news (YouTube: CNBC International); Note: Stats from this video (from 2015) have already shown potential improvement

“Sweden will be the world’s first fossil-free welfare nation,” said Per Bolund, Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets and Housing [in fact, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands have also announced plans to phase out the fossils]. “The transport sector is responsible for a third of Sweden’s emissions of greenhouse gases, and thus has a significant role to play in the climate transition.”

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This article originally appeared in Charged. Author: Charles Morris. Source: Government Offices of Sweden