Sweden's Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren,  which will lead the EU when international climate negotiators meet in December, announced last week it aims to be carbon neutral by mid-century. Under a new energy plan, the Nordic country would increase renewable energy production to 50 percent by 2020, transition the national vehicle fleet to fossil fuel independence by 2030, and reach complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

Kalgar, the model of the country, is a city of 60,000 and it is replacing most of its oil, gas, and electric furnaces for district heat with cogeneration plants, which burn sawdust and timber waste from the surrounding wooded region. Publicly owned cars and buses have switched to burning either biogas made from waste wood and chicken manure, or an 85 percent ethanol blend from Brazil.

The European Union agreed on its latest climate policy in December.2008.  By 2020, member states must cut greenhouse gases at least 20 percent below 1990 levels (or 30 percent if other industrialized countries make comparable commitments), increase renewable energy to 20 percent of total energy production, and reduce energy consumption 20 percent by embracing greater energy efficiency.

Sweden has long implemented one of the most progressive energy policies in Europe. The national government enacted one of the world's first carbon taxes in 1990. Ministers announced further ambitions last week through a plan that would increase renewable energy production to 50 percent by 2020, transition the Swedish vehicle fleet to fossil fuel independence by 2030, and reach complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

Mainly through higher carbon taxes, Sweden plans to use bioenergy to meet more of its heating needs and to replace gasoline use with ethanol or biogas. The country is also exploring wide-scale use of electric vehicles, with wind power possibly supplying a larger share of the electricity to charge the fleets. Rather than phase out the country's 10 nuclear reactors by 2010, as previously agreed, the government announced last month that the plants will run until they expire

Sweden joins a growing list of countries that are competing to become carbon neutral - a race now being referenced as the "Carbon World Cup." Others have included Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica and the island nation Maldives.

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