Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Access to energy is good in Sweden and is largely not a problem. The energy issue has a link to several of Sweden’s environmental objectives, including the environmental quality objectives Clean Air, Reduced Climate Impact and A Good Built Environment. Sweden has the highest proportion of final renewable energy use in the EU. The proportion was 53 per cent in 2014, which is to be compared with 40 per cent in 2005 and the EU average of 16 per cent in 2014.
However, there are tangible differences between different sectors. Energy intensity has been successively decreasing in Sweden for many years. Sweden has the goal of reducing this intensity by 20 per cent from 2008 to 2020. Between 2008 and 2014, energy intensity decreased by 10 per cent.
In 2016, the Swedish Energy Policy Commission submitted proposals for new and stricter targets for Sweden in certain areas. The Commission proposes that the target should be that electricity generation shall consist entirely of renewable energy in 2040 and that energy efficiency shall be 50 per cent higher in 2030 than in 2005 in terms of energy supplied in relation to GDP.
The major challenge for Sweden with regard to the use of renewable energy is the transport sector. In an international perspective, Sweden already has a high proportion of renewable energy in the transport sector, but further measures are needed, such as a greater introduction of electric vehicles, greater use of biofuels and societal planning that makes transport more effective.
As part of its international development cooperation, Sweden provides support for interventions in developing countries in order to promote cost-effective, renewable and low-carbon energy solutions. Support for interventions in the energy sector that had emissions reduction as a principal objective amounted to approximately SEK 129 million in 2015. Support for interventions in the energy sector that had emissions reduction as a significant objective amounted to approximately SEK 495 million in the same year.
