The Government of Sweden has launched a study to offer proposals on how to implement a ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars, and the timeline for the phase-out of fossil fuels. The final report is to be presented by 1 February 2021.

Sven Hunhammar will chair the inquiry. Hunhammar holds a Master’s degree in engineering and a doctorate in natural resource management. He is Director of Sustainability and Environment at the Swedish Transport Administration, and has previously worked at the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Transport Analysis and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

The inquiry is to:

• Analyze the conditions for introducing a national ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars—and how to exempt vehicles that run on renewable fuels and electric hybrid vehicles from such a ban;

• Analyze how to bring about an EU-wide ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars and the phasing out of fossil fuels in the EU;

• Make the necessary legislative proposals, albeit not in the area of taxation, where the inquiry may only analyse measures and conduct impact analyses; and

• Propose a year by which fossil fuels should be phased out in Sweden, and the measures needed for this to happen in the most cost-effective manner possible.

The inquiry’s terms of reference are based on point 31 of the January Agreement, the policy agreement between the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Center Party, the Liberal Party and the Green Party.