Sweden to Become One of World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nations [View all]

[RiverLover]

Sweden to Become One of World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nations​
Published: September 27, 2015 | Authors: Lorraine Chow | EcoWatch | News Report

...“Sweden will become one of the first fossil-free welfare states in the world,” Prime Minister Stefan Löfven told the press. “When European regulations do not go far enough Sweden will lead the way.”

As broken down by Bloomberg, here’s how Sweden plans to completely abandon fossil fuels (no deadline has been set):

390 million kronor per year between 2017 and 2019 in photovoltaics, with a plan to spend 1.4 billion kronor in total
50 million kronor annually on electricity storage research
10 million kronor on smart grids
1 billion kronor to renovate residential buildings and make them more energy efficient
Subsidies and investment in green transportation such as electric cars and buses
Increase funding of climate-related projects in developing countries, raising its budget to 500 million kronor

Science Alert also pointed out that most of the budget increase will be financed through tax increases on petrol and diesel fuel.

According to Science Alert, “The move comes after Sweden suffered extreme heatwaves last summer, and one of the worst bushfires in the country’s history. The government has committed to taking action to protect its citizens from the effects of climate change in the future.”

Also see~
Five developing countries ditching fossil fuels
Costa Rica, Afghanistan, China, India and Albania are all embracing renewable energy sources – five experts give their opinion on what the future holds

Elsewhere in the world...

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President Obama says we must get involved with the conflict in Syria to help destroy ISIS, but what if that is not entirely the case? Could a pipeline issue in Syria be the true reason the U.S. has gotten involved? As this crisis deepens we will find out.
Published: September 27, 2015 | Authors: Michael Payne | NationofChange | Op-Ed