A combination of measures needed in the transport sector

2023 has been the warmest year ever recorded on Earth, topping the last nine consecutive warmest years on record. Right now, due to human climate impact, we are heading towards 3 degrees of warming and climate disasters are already happening. This year, we have seen devastating fires in Greece, severe flooding in India and extreme drought in Uruguay. Already, extreme weather is happening all over the world, including disasters in Sweden such as the floods associated with storm Hans. What does the world need to agree on in Dubai? Agenda Special: The Climate Challenge invited some of the country's top scientists and experts on the subject to discuss how we can phase out fossil fuels.

According to Sweden's climate goals, we should have no net emissions in the country by 2045, and the EU has a climate law with the same goal for 2050. In practice, a large part of this will have to be about reducing emissions from traffic. But the forecast is that there will be 3 million petrol-driven cars remaining by 2030, and if so, the target will not be met.

Professor Karolina Isaksson, Deputy Program Director of Mistra SAMS, participated in the TV program, which invited both researchers and politicians to ask how Sweden can achieve its climate targets. To gain political legitimacy for a transition in the transport sector, a combination of measures is needed, she explained:

"By using combined measures and ensuring they interact with each other. So it could be fuel taxes, parking fees in cities, reduced traffic speeds, congestion tolls, but at the same time introducing measures that make it easier to walk, cycle, use public transport, share mobility, and work for a society where people are closer to what they need in everyday life."

Electrification does not go all the way

In the program, Karolina Isaksson refers to the new study "Low emission scenarios with shared and electric cars" , recently published by researchers at Mistra SAMS. The study concluded that car travel must be reduced by 20-50% per person per year, even with a high rate of electrification.

"Electrification is important, it takes us forward, but we should remember that it is not entirely unproblematic either."

says Karolina Isaksson in Agenda.

But how do we get started with the change? ""We have to start where it is easiest," says Karolina Isaksson. In cities, the measures are more accessible to implement now. But we must not forget to improve sustainable alternatives in suburbs and rural areas as well. "The immediate focus needs to be on reducing the number of fossil fuel cars," says Karolina Isaksson, pointing to examples such as Finland and France, where scrapping premiums have been introduced, that can be used to buy an electric car, an electric bike or public transport tickets.

Watch the TV program Agenda Special: Klimatutmaningen (in Swedish)