Environment-friendly transportation

Not only the new information society has changed our world. Environmental aspects have shown us that the world truly is increasingly globalized.

Threats and challenges for one country are often everybody's concern. Sweden has a long tradition in environmental work, and is now actively participating in puting the environmental issue on the international agenda.

There are, of course, many relevant environmental issues to work with, but one area that Sweden has experience in, and that relates to the situation of cities in Indonesia, is the case of emission control.

Transportation is a major contributor to the environment burden. Air pollution in the form of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and particulates affects health and is a cause of eutrophication and acidification.

The Swedish government aims to take the necessary action in the transportation sector to ensure, within a generation, high air quality, zero eutrophication and levels of acidification that do not exceed natural levels. To achieve this it will be necessary to take action to make vehicles cleaner, especially since the number of vehicles is increasing all the time.

The ministry is making vigorous efforts in the European Union (EU) to achieve more stringent limit values for both gasoline and diesel fuel, which will necessitate the use of new vehicle technologies. In the EU, Sweden also advocates the introduction of more stringent exhaust emission control standards, requirements that will extend products' service life, producer responsibility, the option of introducing national environmental classification systems and development of fuel-efficient and safe vehicles.

The EU has also introduced more stringent exhaust emission standards for light vehicles, that is, buses and trucks with a maximum weight of 3,500 kilograms. The government plans to introduce tax reductions for environmentally friendly vehicles that meet the new standards.

The government has adopted a long-term strategy for the introduction of alternative fuels and is also collaborating with the car industry on the development of environmentally friendly vehicles.