Swedish industry aiming for climate neutrality
In 2017, the Swedish Parliament adopted a climate policy framework that included the goal of making Sweden climate neutral by 2045. With the Roadmaps for fossil free competitiveness nine major business sectors show that they stand behind that goal and presents their own plans to reach it. On the occasion of the Global Climate Action Summit a summary of the roadmaps is released in English.
- There are many companies with ambitious climate targets around the world but to see the entire business sectors presenting their own ways to reach climate neutrality really shows us that a transition is possible. The real game changer is that the business sectors themselves see the connection between lowering their greenhouse gas emissions and increasing their competitiveness. Going fossil free is a win-win, says Svante Axelsson, national coordinator of the government initiative Fossil Free Sweden.
Based on the decision by the parliament to make Sweden climate neutral by 2045, the Fossil Free Sweden initiative has encouraged business sectors to draw up their own roadmaps as to how they will be fossil free while also increasing their competitiveness.
In these roadmaps, the industries describe when and how they will be fossil free, what technological solutions need to be developed, what investments need to be made and what obstacles need to be removed. The roadmaps also contain the sectors’ own proposals regarding commitments for the sectors´ stakeholders and political solutions. The first nine roadmaps were presented to the Government in April and more are on the way.
Highlights:
The mining and minerals industry is carrying out an electrification and automation program that, together with a transition to biofuels, will make mining operations fossil free by 2035.
The steel industry describes a unique initiative focusing on the development of a technology to reduce iron ore to iron using hydrogen making fossil free steel possible.
The aviation industry aims to make all domestic flights fossil free 2030 and all flights originating from Sweden fossil free 2045.
The food retail sector’s goal is for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2022, and all plastic packages to be produced from renewable or recycled raw materials by 2030.
The road haulage industry reduced its emissions between 2010 and 2016 by 25 per cent. They will reach the goal by switching fuel and they see the potential in route optimization and digitalization.
The forest sector is aiming for fossil free industry operations 2030, fossil free vehicles in forest industries and in forestry 2030 and an increased production of biofuels based on forest raw material from 1 TWh to 10 TWh per year that will help other sectors becoming fossil free.
The construction industry aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent (cf. 2015) 2030, 75% reduction by 2040 and have net zero emissions by 2045
The concrete industry aims to reach half the climate impact in 5 years, to have climate-neutral concrete available on the market 2030 and all concrete climate neutral 2045.
The cement industry is aiming for climate neutrality with the use of carbon capture and storage technology.
- Together, the roadmaps form a sort of jigsaw puzzle of Sweden that tangibly shows how different parts of greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced while strengthening competitiveness, says Svante Axelsson.
Communications manager
Peter Söderberg
peter.g.soderberg@regeringskansliet.se
+46 70 310 57 97
http://www.fossilfritt-sverige.se
Fossil Free Sweden was initiated by the Swedish government ahead of the COP21 climate change conference in Paris in 2015 to show how enterprises, cities, municipalities and organization contribute to climate efforts. Today it gathers over 350 actors and acts as the link between the actors and the government in the efforts to remove obstacles and create conditions to speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Svante Axelsson is the national coordinator of Fossil free Sweden.
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