Ygeman: "Electric fuel is an important solution"

The government's goal is for Sweden to become the world's first fossil - free welfare state. In that transition, the transport sector is the key, according to Anders Ygeman.

The climate policy action plan includes, among other things, introducing mandatory blending of renewable fuels in aviation, reviewing the possibility of take-off and landing fees and pursuing the issue of taxation on fossil aviation fuels at an international level.

- We already have the opportunity to increase the use of renewable fuels by using biofuels that can be blended into up to 50 percent in ordinary aviation fuel. Over time, we expect that it will be possible to use up to 100 percent biofuels, Anders Ygeman writes in an email to SVT Nyheter.

In February 2018, the so-called biojet investigation started with the task of investigating how sustainable biofuels can be used in air traffic.

According to the government's proposal, aviation fuel in Sweden will contain 1 percent biofuel in 2021, to increase to 30 percent by 2030.

Biofuels are extracted from different types of plant parts and are considered to be climate neutral because the carbon dioxide emitted during combustion is what the plants have just captured. However, the technology is expensive and the production requires large amounts of forest raw material. In addition, the collection risks generating large emissions.

Researchers that SVT spoke to do not believe that biomass should be seen as the primary solution to the transition and point out that Sweden is lagging behind in the development of environmentally friendly electrical fuels.

Anders Ygeman does not agree, however.

- Such fuels are not excluded in any way.

"Hydrogen and electric fuels may in the future be important solutions for a change in aviation," he says.