“We are prepared to give notice already now that it needs to stay at six percent for quite some time to come,” Ebba Busch told TT after a campaign meeting on the square in Ödeshög.
That would mean a reduction of nearly 25 percentage points compared to now, from 30.5 percent.
The reduction obligation means that the fuel companies must annually increase the mixing of biofuel in petrol and diesel in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The duty is one of the more important parts for Sweden to reach the climate goals that the Riksdag has set. As recently as June last year, KD was involved in deciding on a gradual tightening of the requirement until 2030.
It was clear to everyone involved in the decision that the prices of diesel in particular would increase annually due to the duty.
Switch foot
Last spring, KD changed its foot and proposed a change, and the party continues on that path. Even the Moderates and the Sweden Democrats want a drastic reduction immediately.
“No one could have predicted that fuel and biofuel prices would jump so much even before the war (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine),” says Ebba Busch when she explains the party’s change of pace.
She refers to a report from the Norwegian Economic Institute on the development of fuel prices during the spring. It points out that the prices of biofuels have increased more than for regular petrol and diesel. This means that the price increase will be greater than previously calculated at the pump when the reduction obligation is tightened and a liter of fuel must contain more biofuel.
KD promises to work for the price of a liter of diesel to go down from today’s 24-25 kroner a litre, to 16 kroner a litre, a promise that can be very difficult to fulfill.
In order for that to be possible, the temporary tax reduction on petrol and diesel of the equivalent of 1 kroner and 30 öre per liter at the pump must probably also be reinstated from the turn of the year. It ends at the end of September. But KD has no proposal about it.
Push down
— We still believe that for a number of months we need to reduce the energy tax or freeze it, says Busch, but states that it would cost a lot of money in lost tax revenue to keep the tax at a minimum level.
In the event of a change of government, that space may be needed to pay for proposals in other areas.
Last spring, the Riksdag decided that the increase in the reduction obligation should be paused for one year, 2023. That is, no new step should be taken then.
In two weeks, the Energy Agency must deliver a report on the development of the reduction obligation and its effects.