Sweden may miss CO2 targets with biofuel cut

Sweden will struggle to hit its 2030 emissions targets, a government agency warned after the country’s minority coalition cut the biofuel that must be added to diesel and gasoline.

The right-wing Sweden Democrats-backed coalition government has already cut fuel taxes, raised tax breaks for people driving to work and ended new electric vehicles subsidies.

Mixing in biofuels from renewable sources is a way to reduce emissions from cars, but the government said at the weekend it will cut the required amount of biofuel to 6% in 2024 and for it to remain at that level until the end of 2026.

Under current rules diesel has to contain 30.5% biofuel and petrol 7.8%. The percentage was meant to increase each year.

The decision was motivated by the cost-of-living crisis amid soaring inflation. Sweden has some of the highest diesel and petrol prices in the world, mainly due to heavy taxes. The move was criticized by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The government says people who live in the countryside are penalized by the regulations.

The party had wanted biofuel levels to be cut to zero and threatened to bring down the government if that did not happen.

Diesel currently costs around 20.3 Swedish crowns ($2.00) per liter and petrol 18.8 crowns. The government said reducing the amount of biofuel will cut the cost of a liter of diesel by 5.5 Swedish crowns.