Ten municipalities in northern and southern Skåne county, Sweden, cooperated to reduce their use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, heating and transport. This collaborative effort cut their greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 %. The two projects – one carried out in northern, the other in southern Skåne – involved five municipalites each.
Municipalities in Sweden’s Skåne county team up to cut fossil fuels
- 20 November 2019
The environmental work in a municipality is often the sole responsibility of a single official. In this project, the municipalities help and support each other to make the environmental work more efficient. Together, the municipalities will be strong.
The first step in the two projects, Fossil-free municipalities in northern and southern Skåne, was to measure the use of fossil fuels in the communities involved. Called the Municipal Challenge, participants drew up an inventory of their annual fossil fuel use.
The municipalities then compiled a plan that subsequently reduced the use of fossil fuels by their fleets of vehicles. The municipalities own approximately 700 vehicles between them, the majority of which now run on biogas. Some run on electricity. In addition, municipal buildings were made more energy efficient.
Renewable energy
The project promoted the use of renewable energy sources such as biogas, hydrogen and wind power. Declarations of intent were entered into with eight energy suppliers. This resulted in reduced fossil fuel use for heating, cooling and electricity in all the properties owned, rented or used by the municipalities.
A biogas transport plan was introduced before the start of the project to support Skåne’s production. Over 50 entities signed a declaration in support of biogas production, distribution and use. This supported business development and job creation in the area. Nine jobs were created due to the municipalities’ increased biogas demand.
Wind turbines are another way Skåne is cutting down its reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity. It has approximately 435 wind turbines producing approximately 12 % of the power used in the region.
Collaborative effort
The project was a joint initiative driven by Klimatsamverkan Skåne, a collaborative effort to address climate change between Region Skåne, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and the County Administrative Board of Skåne.
Collaboration and the exchange of ideas and experience were key to the project’s success.
During its implementation, successful steps towards a renewable energy transition were communicated to the wider public. The project received much media attention that resulted in many newspaper articles and radio interviews. The goal was to inspire people to set out on similar renewable energy journeys in their own communities.
The project concept has been duplicated in several places in Sweden. A project that will continue its work will run from September 2019 to December 2022.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Fossil-free municipalities in northern and southern Skåne” is EUR 18 434 206, (SEK 16 541 599) with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 9 326 359 (SEK 8 368 839) through the “Skåne-Blekinge” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Energy Union and Climate”.