Stockholm Airport (Arlanda) declares that it is the best environmental airport in the world. It is great. But, when I talked to a taxi driver in Stockholm, he hated the airport. He invested into a new environmental (ethanol) taxi, but they changed regulation too fast, and it was not possible for him to adapt himself, so he was very upset.
We pay a lot of tax in Sweden and almost the entire European countries on gasoline and diesel. The tax is getting more and more every year, while the oil price is also increasing. So, we have to pay more, while many people have no option than continue taking the cars. How can we ask them to reduce their fuel consumption?
In another example, we all remember that ethanol was considered a great biofuel in Sweden a few years ago, and the government gave a lot of subsidiary to people who bought ethanol cars. It was a great investment, considering Sweden as net exporter of grains. But, they go too fast and too far, so they want to remove most the subsidiary on fuel ethanol. It is a great damage to people who buy ethanol cars, and all the investments that companies have made!
When we asked King of Sweden a few months ago, if he is interested to biogas for his next car, he said charmly no, and mentioned Electrical car as an environmental option. But, we shouldn't forget where the batteries for these cars should come from, and where we should get the energy from. These are two major challenges for the new electrical cars to introduce into the market.
In EU, we have a goal to use 20% renewables in 2020. However, we hear from different sides that this goal might not be possible to reach, and many people are not happy with these actions.
There are many other examples to mention. But, one important aspect that is usually forgotten in these environmental actions is the sustainabilty of the actions in short and long terms.
(The tax and production costs of gasoline in Sweden)
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