For, or against, boat bonus for environmentally friendly boats? Hear Karin Pleijel (MP) and Axel Josefson (M) comment on the proposal in the clip.
Already last year, the Green Party presented a motion that recreational boats powered by environmentally friendly fuels, such as electricity or wind, should receive lower fees in the municipal ports.
During the course of the process, it emerged that the municipal company Grefab considered that too many resources and too much investigation were required to set the criteria that should apply to the small boats, and the proposal was eventually dropped.
Now Feminist initiative and the Left Party are also on board.
And the hope is that the environmental administration can help with such an investigation - which could ultimately lead to boats receiving different fees - not only depending on length and width - but also on how environmentally friendly they are.
- This is a tool that we in the municipality have power over, so we think it is reasonable to use it, says Karin Pleijel, opposition councilor in the city of Gothenburg.
You bring this up again, why is this an important issue to you?
- Many people turn a blind eye to what happens in the sea, but we know that the sea is very vulnerable to acidification, chemicals, plastics and so on.
We need to review how it can be more environmentally friendly and this can be an incentive for boat owners to switch to, for example, an electric motor.
"Can be wrong"
But the chairman of the municipal board, Axel Josefson (M), does not think that the proposal is valid.
- We don't believe in this, we think it can go wrong.
It will rather be the opposite, that everyone who cannot afford to get these boats will suffer from increased costs.
We think we need to use other instruments.
Like what?
- Like expanding the infrastructure so that it is possible to actually buy an electric boat if you so wish.
So there is electrical capacity and electrical outlets.