Policy Incoherence in the Development of Biogas in the Road Transport Sector

Abstract: Sweden has one of the highest biogas potentials in the world and has been a leader in reducing fossil fuels in the transportation industry. With a goal of achieving a 70% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in domestic transport by 2030 compared to 2010 levels and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, despite the potential advantages of biogas implementation, its adoption in the Swedish transport sector has been limited. Sweden's transportation sector is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for approximately 31% of the country's total emissions. Making it an important sector to address the efforts of Sweden in reducing its carbon footprint. The slow progress of biogas uptake in the sector has been attributed to several factors, but policy incoherence appears to be a key issue. By using qualitative methods, this study investigates the identified problem and involves four interviews. The results indicate that the challenges associated with the problem are tax exemption, limited support for exported biogas, unequal competition between biogas and other renewable alternatives, lack of knowledge regarding biogas benefits and a lack of political will. The solutions to these issues on the other hand involve increasing awareness, supporting imported and exported biogas, promoting collaboration between different actors, and ensuring equal competition between biogas and other renewable alternatives.