Greenhouse gas reduction mandate

To encourage the use of biofuels in Sweden, the Swedish government has implemented a greenhouse gas reduction mandate for gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. This means that fuel suppliers must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from these fuels by a certain percentage every year, through the blending of biofuels. The greenhouse gas reduction mandate is intended to contribute to the national goal of 70 percent greenhouse gas reduction from domestic transport by 2030, compared to 2010.

Economic operators that are taxable for gasoline and/or diesel and/or aviation fuels are by the greenhouse gas reduction mandate (Lag (2017:1201) om reduktion av växthusgasutsläpp från vissa fossila drivmedel) bound to reduce the climate impact of their sales of gasoline and/or diesel and/or aviation fuel by a certain percentage every calendar year, per unit of energy sold. This percentage increases every calendar year and is separate for gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. To reach the required target percentages, fuel suppliers will need to increase the biofuel blend in their gasoline and diesel.

The greenhouse gas reduction mandate (riksdagen.se, in Swedish)

To calculate the reduction, the climate impact of the fuel at hand is compared with the climate impact of a fully fossil counterpart (fossil gasoline, diesel, or aviation fuel respectively). The climate impact of the biofuel component in a fuel is calculated according to a life cycle perspective, from cultivation and production to usage. The purpose of this is to promote use of biofuel with favorable climate properties.

The table below presents the reduction levels as decided in the acts SFS 2021:412 and SFS 2022:1217 as well as ammendments decided by the Parliament on November 30 2023. The currently decided levels can be found in the consolidated act on greenhouse gas reduction mandate.

SFS 2021:412 (svenskforfattningssamling.se, in Swedish)

SFS 2022:1217 (svenskforfattningssamling, in Swedish)

Diesel
Gasoline
Aviation kerosene

2020

21 %
4,2 %
-

2021

26 %
6 %
0,8 %

2022

30,5 %
7,8 %
1,7 %

2023

30,5 %
7,8 %
2,6 %

2024

6 %
6 %
3,5 %

2025

6 %
6 %
4,5 %

2026

6 %
6 %
7,2 %

2027

-
-
10,8 %

2028

-
-
15,3 %

2029

-
-
20,7 %

2030

-
-
27 %

The yearly results of the greenhouse gas reduction mandate can be found in the report, Drivmedel 2021 (Fuels 2021). Since the mandate came in place, two reviews of the system have been conducted. The last one was undertaken 2022. The reports are only available in Swedish. The Swedish Energy Agency conducted the reviews.

Fuels 2022 (in Swedish)

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Which fuels are affected by the greenhouse gas reduction mandate?

The greenhouse gas reduction mandate affects gasoline and diesel fuel used as motor fuel and aviation fuel. This means natural gas and electricity when used as motor fuels are not included in the mandate. Certain liquid fuels are also exempted from the mandate, namely HVO that has more than 98 % bio components, E85, ED95 and FAME100.

Gasoline refers to all gasoline, excluding alkylate gasoline and gasoline used by the armed forces, under the commodity codes (CN codes) 2710 11 41, 2710 11 45, 2710 11 49, 2710 11 51 or 2710 11 59.

Diesel fuel refers to all diesel fuel, excluding dyed diesel/red diesel and diesel used by the armed forces, under the commodity codes 2710 19 41 or 2710 19 45.
Aviation fuel refers to aviation fuel, excluding fuel used by the Swedish Armed Forces, under the commodity code 2710 19 21.

(The commodity codes are those the 2001 combined nomenclature).

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How is the emission reduction of a fuel calculated?

The emission reduction of a fuel is calculated by comparing the emissions of the fuel at hand with the emissions of a fully fossil gasoline, diesel or aviation fuel equivalent.

The calculation can be summarized in the steps below:

ekvation1.PNG

Eb and Ef is the energy content of the biofuel component and the fossil component in a fuel, respectively.

equation2.PNG

Ub is the calculated emission factor of the biofuel component, expressed in g CO2eq/MJ. Uf is the standardized emission factor of the fossil component. Ud denotes the total emissions of the fuel at hand, expressed in g CO2eq/MJ.

The emission reduction of a fuel is then given as:

equation3.PNG

The standardized emission factor of the fossil fuel component, Uf, is as follows:

  • 93.3 g CO2eq/MJ for gasoline,
  • 95.1 g CO2eq/MJ for diesel fuel and
  • 89 g CO2eq/MJ for aviation fuel.

The emission factor of the biofuel, Ub, accounts for the life cycle of the fuel and is calculated according to the sustainability criteria method.