Sweden is getting serious about banning the sale of new gasoline and diesel powered cars by 2030 as the government commissioned an inquiry on Friday into how the Scandinavian country could best phase out fossil fuels and ban sales of fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

The report commissioned by the Swedish government today is a follow-up to the Statement of Government Policy from January this year, which said that ?No new petrol- or diesel-driven cars will be sold after 2030. This is how we will reduce the major climate emissions from the transport sector.?

The government policy from January also stated that ?Prospecting and new exploitation of coal, oil and fossil gas will be prohibited.?

Commenting on today's commissioning of the report, Per Bolund, Minister for Financial Markets and Housing, and member of the Green Party, said in a statement:

?Sweden will be the world's first fossil-free welfare nation. The transport sector is responsible for a third of Sweden's emissions of greenhouse gases, and thus has a significant role to play in the climate transition.?

The report should be completed by February 1, 2021, and should analyze the conditions for introducing a national ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars, and how to exempt vehicles running on renewable fuels and electric hybrid vehicles from such a ban. The report will also analyze how an EU-wide ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars could be implemented and conditions for phasing out fossil fuels in the EU, Sweden said today.

Sweden, which has a population of around 10 million residents and is therefore a small market for vehicles, is one of the global leaders in terms of electric vehicles (EVs) market share. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Sweden is third globally in terms of EV market share with 8 percent, after Norway's 46-percent EV share and Iceland's 17-percent share of electric cars. ??

Sweden is also the leader in the share of renewable energy use in the EU, and targets to eliminate subsidies for onshore wind farms by the end of 2021. Sweden generates more than?54 percent?of its electricity from renewable sources on a sustainable basis. As early as in 2012, the Scandinavian country reached its 2020 target to have 50 percent of energy use from renewables. The country is targeting 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2040.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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