Andersson rejects higher fuel taxes despite climate target risk

Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson says her party would not raise fuel taxes if it wins the election, despite experts warning that higher prices may be needed for Sweden to meet its EU climate target for 2030, SVT reports.

According to the government’s investigator, Svante Mandell, fuel prices would need to rise to levels seen in neighbouring countries. Asked during SVT’s party leader interview whether petrol and diesel would become more expensive under a Social Democratic government, Andersson replied: “I really hope not.”

“We have no proposals to raise the fuel tax. On the contrary, we supported the reduction that was introduced most recently,” Andersson said.

Andersson criticised the Tidö parties’ climate policy, saying Sweden had experienced four years of “completely failed climate policy” and that emissions had not fallen quickly enough to meet the climate targets. However, she said the main problem was not the lower tax on petrol and diesel.

“The biggest mistake was not lowering the fuel tax. The biggest mistake was failing to make it easier for people to buy new electric cars,” she said.

Andersson rejected the investigator’s proposal for higher fossil fuel taxes, arguing that Social Democrats had other ways to increase electric car sales. She said she preferred offering bonuses to people who buy or lease a used electric car rather than raising fuel prices.

The party also proposes state support for people who buy or lease electric cars, as well as the state purchasing large quantities of biofuel to push down the price of renewable fuel.

Asked whether it would be acceptable for Sweden to miss its EU target in 2030 as a result of this policy, Andersson said the country was already far from reaching it. She said Sweden had been on course to meet the target under the policies in place when she was previously in government, but that four years of failed policy would be difficult to make up for.