"Biofuels are an important part of the transport sector's transformation"
It is good that the EU wants to tighten the targets for heavy trucks' carbon dioxide emissions. However, the regulations should not be locked into a certain technology or a narrow definition of sustainability. This is the common position of the Europaforum Norra Sverige, of which Region Norrbotten is a part.
The EU wants to steer the transport sector towards fossil-free, sustainable technologies such as electrified vehicles. Biofuels are indeed classified as fossil-free – but not as sustainable. That is why the EU is against them. It is an approach that the European Forum of Northern Sweden (EFNS) opposes.
– For us in Northern Sweden, biofuels are an important part of the transition of the transport sector towards sustainable solutions. That is why we are working to influence the EU to also realize this, says Johnny Lundin (C), rapporteur in EFNS and chairman of the regional development committee in Region Västernorrland.
Road transport emissions account for 20 percent of greenhouse gases. It is urgent to phase out fossil fuels. So far, EFNS agrees. But sustainability is about so much more than tailpipe emissions. If we lock in the targets for tailpipe emissions, we fail to include the manufacture of the vehicle, and where the electricity that charges the car comes from, in the assessment of climate impact.
Is it necessary to take into account regional differences?
What is sustainable in one region may also be unsustainable in another. We live in counties with an Arctic climate, long distances and undeveloped charging infrastructure. Here, biofuels are an important tool for phasing out fossil fuels more quickly. Climate change is already hitting the Arctic hard. Expanding the production of green electricity and charging infrastructure takes time that we do not have. Liquid fuel can also be stored and is not as sensitive to disruptions in the electricity system. This makes the transport system less vulnerable.
In northern Sweden, biofuels can be extracted from food waste and forest residues. The production produces by-products that can be used as biofertilizer and animal feed. This contributes to increasing northern Sweden's self-sufficiency in food, the leftovers of which can be used as new biofuels. Such fuel is very much part of a cycle and a sustainable solution to the transformation of the transport sector.
The Europaforum therefore wants to see technology-neutral rules. The network also calls on the EU to take regional differences into account when assessing sustainability.
FACTS: Europaforum Northern Sweden
How do EU strategies, action programs, laws and budgets affect northern Sweden? Europaforum Norra Sverige is a political network between the four northernmost counties in Sweden, where EU issues are analyzed and discussed. The aim is to present northern Sweden's perspective and contribute to EU policy that benefits our part of the European Union.
The work in EFNS is based on common positions. The positions are always adopted after unanimous decisions by representatives of different counties, so-called rapporteurs. The EFNS network operates across party lines to safeguard the interests of northern Sweden.