"Six goals to win a global green race" Svante Axelsson, national coordinator, Fossil-free Sweden Marie Nilsson, chairman, IF Metall Johan Rockström, Professor of Earth System Science and Director of the German Potsdam Institute for Climate Research The state and business need to share the risk in the technological leaps that lie ahead, write the article's authors. The world has not managed to reduce emissions. Individual countries must therefore act in a new way, and take advantage of the fact that fossil-free technology has become good and cheap. Sweden should now try to introduce industrial development targets to increase exports and welfare, writes Svante Axelsson for Fossilfritt Sweden, Marie Nilsson for IF Metall and Professor Johan Rockström. This is an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter. The writer is responsible for opinions in the article. The UN's verdict on the international climate work after the Paris Agreement in 2015 is harsh. Despite all the extreme climate damage in the form of floods, heat waves and torrential rains, and despite the scientific warnings, the world community has failed to deal with the acute crisis. Emissions continue to increase globally and the annual international climate negotiations are stuck in formalities without real progress. The IPCC, the UN's scientific climate panel, shows that the remaining carbon dioxide budget corresponds to six to seven years of emissions at today's rate. Therefore, emissions must decrease by at least 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2020, and then continue to decrease at the same rate. This means a halving for each decade, until net zero emissions in 2050. The path to freedom from fossil fuels is thus just as important as the end goal. When the world community has failed, the nation-states must now attack the problem in a new way, and the people must experience the benefits of fossil-free development here and now. This strategy was practically impossible just ten years ago, but today several fossil-free technologies are mature, cheaper and competitive. For example, solar cells, batteries and wind power are 75-90 percent cheaper than a decade ago. It not only replaces fossil energy, it also opens the door to more hydrogen production. The consensus on how Sweden should be built strong is much greater within business and trade unions than in the Riksdag. Advances in technology mean that climate change is now moving from an international discussion about burden sharing to a global green race. For purely selfish reasons, nation-states see the possibility of increasing competitiveness, exports and thus welfare by quickly becoming fossil-free. The US's "Inflation reduction act", which includes 300 billion dollars in public investments in green technology, is one such example. Climate policy goes hand in hand with an active state economic policy. Today, Wednesday, Fossilfritt Sweden is handing over four new upgraded roadmaps to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) with the call to increase the pace of the transition in order to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish companies through freedom from fossil fuels. The development is going better than the industries dared to believe when the first 22 roadmaps for fossil-free competitiveness were drawn up in 2018. Most industries in Fossil-free Sweden want to increase the pace of the transition, and companies such as SSAB, Cementa and Preem all want to be fossil-free or have net zero emissions by 2030 and 2035 respectively. And this also applies to the vehicle industry and the fuel industry, which do not want to remove the climate target for domestic transport by 2030 in a time when the production of biofuels, biogas, electrofuel and electric cars/electric trucks, on the contrary, needs to increase. In order to now increase the pace at the rate that both the climate and the competition require, greater political clarity is needed on how the country is to be built fossil-free. The 22 roadmaps show which technological leaps are necessary in the short term. The consensus on how Sweden should be built strong is much greater within business and trade unions than in the Riksdag. Sweden should now, for the first time, try to introduce six industrial development goals for increased competitiveness that have been drawn up in dialogue with the respective industry concerned: 1. The energy supply is a key issue when Sweden needs to double electricity use while fossil fuels are being phased out. An interim goal is needed in the shorter term with a planning goal of increasing production by at least 45 TWh by 2030. Otherwise, Sweden risks missing out on new establishments, companies moving abroad or postponing their investments. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT 2. The increased use of electricity is needed above all to produce hydrogen. We are on our way into a society where hydrogen will replace fossil fuels in iron, steel, refining, chemistry and freight transport. The government should adopt the Energy Agency's hydrogen strategy and decide on a planning target of at least 5 GW by 2030 and 15 GW by 2045 in fossil-free hydrogen production capacity. 3. Although electrification is progressing rapidly, fossil-free fuels and biogas are needed during the time that fossil fuels are to be phased out. The government should set a production target of 10 TWh of biogas by 2030. 4. The construction and property sector currently causes 20 percent of Sweden's total emissions of greenhouse gases. The government should support the restructuring of cement production and have a goal of introducing the CCS technology (carbon dioxide capture and storage) in cement production in Sweden by 2030. 5. The UN panel IPCC is clear that technologies for sequestering carbon dioxide must be scaled up quickly, while oil, coal and gas are being phased out. The government should set a target for the production of at least 1.8 million tonnes of negative carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. 6. The charging infrastructure is a basic prerequisite for rapid electrification of cars and trucks. The EU regulates the major European roads through the AFIR regulatory framework, but Sweden needs to have similar ambitions for the rest of the road network. This would mean charging stations every 60 kilometers, as well as refueling stations for hydrogen gas at least every 200 kilometers. We are on our way into a society where hydrogen will replace fossil fuels in iron, steel, refining, chemistry and freight transport. Sweden competes on the new green market with economically strong countries such as the USA, China, Germany and France. If we are to come out of this fight unscathed, we must have strong political leadership and a climate policy that supports a rapid transition. We need close cooperation between government and business with clear rules of the game. The state and business need to share the risk in these transformative technological leaps ahead of us. Sweden has a head start in the global race towards being fossil-free. Whether we come out as winners or losers will determine our future as a modern welfare state. We have all the conditions to win. Facts. Fossil-free Sweden Started at the initiative of the government in 2015 and brings together companies, municipalities, regions and organisations. The initiative will continue until the end of 2024. The goal is to increase the pace of climate change, build a strong industry and create more jobs by making Sweden fossil-free. https://www.dn.se/debatt/sex-mal-for-att-vinna-en-global-gron-kapplopning/