Policy brief: Phasing out fossil fuels in the Swedish transport sector
Fuel taxes in Europe are historically unique and along with transport policies and land use planning have affected travel behavior and vehicle choice. Transportation‐related greenhouse gas emissions in Europe are less than 40% of US emissions per capita. This is an historic achievement and high fuel prices no doubt a contributing factor in the rapid penetration of electric vehicles in Europe.
Some analysts have advocated strictly adhering to carbon prices and their effect on fuel prices to motivate further emissions reductions. However, in Sweden as in many other countries, even with existing fuel prices, emissions have not fallen fast enough to meet Sweden’s ambitious climate goals.
In this policy brief we reflect over some of the pending proposals in the current Swedish policy discussion.