Response to interpellation 2025/26:309 on the Armed Forces' demand for sustainable fuels

Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)

Madam Speaker! Hanna Westerén has asked me whether I and the government intend to reduce Sweden's fossil dependency and strengthen domestic production of sustainable fuels in order to strengthen Sweden's total defense. Hanna Westerén has also asked me whether I and the government will demand sustainable fuels in the expansion of Swedish military capability.

The security policy situation remains serious, and the total defense faces a historical buildup. The defense decisions for the years 2025–2030 mean that the Armed Forces will conduct expanded operations at its training and shooting ranges as well as wing airfields.

Defense materiel is expensive and is used over a long period, often over several decades. This also applies to the Armed Forces' vehicles, which means a continued use of fossil fuels. The agency is also dependent on fuels that can be stored for a long time, and for among other reasons, the Armed Forces have been exempted from the reduction obligation.

A robust energy supply is central for society to function even during high alert and in war. The possibility of pre-stockpiling of fuels is important within the framework of Sweden's host nation support in Nato. The Government has taken several measures to develop the fuel readiness. This includes, for example, support for charging infrastructure and electric vehicles as well as extended and increased support for biogas production.

The government has also appointed the Steering Measures Inquiry, which among other things shall analyze various steering measures to phase out fossil fuels in a cost-effective and socio-economically efficient manner. Production of sustainable fuels may receive support from both Industriklivet and Klimatklivet. In the budget bill for 2026, the government has reinforced Klimatklivet with an additional 1.5 billion kronor for 2026, 2027 and 2028.

In May 2025, the Government Offices appointed a letter investigation with the mandate to promote access to sustainable, fossil-free, and low-carbon fuels for maritime and aviation transport. The analysis shall, among other things, consider the total defense's needs for sustainable and fossil-free fuels, including storage possibilities for the needs of civil and military defense. The assignment shall be reported in April 2026.

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Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.

In many and many ways we agree when it comes to the build-up of the Swedish defense, and I truly consider that to be a strength for Sweden. On the other hand, we face a number of choices when it comes to the build-up of the total defense.

I understand what the Minister of Defence says in his response regarding the fact that it is difficult to build away the fossil dependency within the Armed Forces because the vehicle fleet looks the way it does, but I believe that frankly we cannot afford to deprive ourselves of the opportunity to become more self-sufficient in, for example, sustainable aviation fuel, which I raise in my interpellation.

The potential is enormous. Many Swedish companies are standing still and want to contribute to a green transition and to the Swedish total defense. I can give an example: There is an individual producer in Västernorrland who, with the right conditions, could relatively soon deliver 80,000 tons of hydrogen and 640,000 tons of oxygen per year. The Minister for Defence can himself judge whether it is a resource to count on or not.

I also do not think we should underestimate the scalability in this type of project, that is, the ability to relatively quickly scale up and deliver even more, and I mean that the domestic demand is crucial in the startup phase of these investments.

I also believe that promoting domestic production is wise for many reasons. People often speak of mutual benefit or perhaps even triple benefit. The domestic production of sustainable fuels could, in fact, not only meet the Swedish Armed Forces' needs and the military requirements but also make Sweden less vulnerable as a country, and I do not think we should underestimate that in the situation we find ourselves in, Madam Speaker. Furthermore, it could contribute to jobs and growth across the entire country, and that is also something our country truly needs.

Therefore, I had hoped for a somewhat more forward-looking attitude from Defense Minister Pål Jonson, Madam Speaker. This is, frankly, what is usually called a low-hanging fruit.

The Minister for Defence mentions Klimatklivet and Industriklivet, and it is both problematic and welcome. It is problematic because both Klimatklivet and Industriklivet seem to be leading a somewhat uncertain existence under the current government base, where the climate transition is often questioned. I think, however, that it is very welcome that Minister for Defence Pål Jonson nevertheless shows will and that he has insight that the upgrading of our total defense and the green transition can go hand in hand.

I mean that we need to reduce Sweden's dependence on foreign energy raw materials. We must reduce Sweden's vulnerability, and one way to do that is to promote Swedish-manufactured, storable hydrocarbon chains that function in existing infrastructure. I believe that this is something that the Swedish total defense needs, and I truly hope that the Minister for Defence also thinks so.

My questions have been partially answered, but not fully. I therefore look forward to the Minister for Defence elaborating on his ambitions in this area.

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Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the interpellation, Hanna Westerén!

The strength in Swedish defense policy is precisely the broad unity, and we have repeatedly demonstrated that – both when the Riksdag on December 17 adopted a new total defense decision that all parties stood behind, and in the decision to allocate 5 percent of GDP to defense, of which 3.5 percent shall be allocated to military defense and 1.5 percent shall be allocated to civil defense, infrastructure, and Ukraine support. That strength is significant, and it has been noted by our international community.

Then we may have slightly different views on how individual tasks with this are structured within the Armed Forces. For the most part, this is a government agency mandate, but I will try to address and reason around the issues that Hanna Westerén raises and which I consider important and relevant.

Just to put things a bit into perspective connected to the Armed Forces' own responsibility in the area: A few years ago, the assessment was made, after measurement, that the Armed Forces accounted for under 1 percent of the total emissions. Since then, the Armed Forces have, of course, been systematically working with sustainability issues but also research and development when it comes to, among other things, fuels.

That the Armed Forces are not affected by the reduction obligation is something that Hanna Westerén's party's government decided on in 2021. We support that decision; we think it is reasonable that the Armed Forces should not be covered by the reduction obligation. The reason is precisely that the biofuels in question under current conditions cannot be stored long-term and sometimes do not withstand cold. As long as that technological development does not move forward, it is therefore difficult to meet the reduction obligation, and I think that is reasonable.

Just strategic storage of fuels is very central for Sweden now that we are a Nato ally, because it means we must be able to strategically store fuels not only for the Swedish Armed Forces but also for other countries' armed forces. The Armed Forces' assessment was that it would occur at the expense of military capability, and there is not really room for that in the serious geopolitical situation where we are to expand our defense capability very quickly in a short period of time.

I still want to remind that the Armed Forces are continuously carrying out extensive work when it comes to precisely environmental and sustainability issues. They also participate in a number of different research projects both nationally and internationally. FOI, which is an internationally leading defense research agency, has worked with studies linked to energy supply.

I also know that the Armed Forces are currently carrying out work where they are testing electric vehicles. This is being done, among other places, in Umeå, in Kungsängen and in Skövde, where they are looking at alternative ways to supply the vehicle fleet with energy. All things aside, electric drive can sometimes be attractive even on the battlefield because such motors are quieter than, for example, a diesel-driven engine.

So, a rather extensive work is being undertaken to accommodate technological development. I have also myself, in my previous role as chairman of the Defence Committee, looked at the possibilities with biogas and whether it can be used for the propulsion of the Armed Forces' various vehicles. Sweden is therefore quite far ahead in technological development.

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Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! I agree with many parts of the Minister for Defence's answer and in his view of the situation. Now, we must absolutely not relativize emissions, but as the Minister for Defence mentioned, these emissions are a rather small part of Sweden's total emissions.

What I want to get at here is our vulnerability and the energy dependency that Sweden and the Swedish Armed Forces have. We need to increase the Swedish supply readiness. The Minister for Defence gave a meritorious account of some pilots that are currently in operation, and that is very commendable. However, it is the politics that governs, and I believe that the politics must provide a pointer. Many projects all around Sweden are now standing still and waiting for a political signal. They need to know whether there will be a demand.

In his answer, the Minister for Defence brought up Klimatklivet, Industriklivet, the Styrmedelsutredningen, biogas support and so on, but what one needs to know as a producer is whether there will be a market. Is there a business? If there is a business, there is also a greater Swedish robustness. It is precisely that I want to achieve, and I truly believe that the Armed Forces can be a key player here.

I also think it is a bit difficult to highlight Industriklivet and Klimatklivet in the way the Minister for Defence does. Both Klimatklivet and Industriklivet are excellent political initiatives that I truly safeguard and appreciate, but they are not inexhaustible – there are limited funds there. We have had an example in the recent past. A large Swedish raw material producer wants to transition, but the funds simply are not enough. We could face a corresponding situation here where the money simply is not enough and that all of the total defense's needs to increase the supply readiness cannot be solved with funds from Industriklivet or Klimatklivet.

Therefore, I believe that a clearer steering signal is needed from the Minister of Defence to the Armed Forces regarding requesting and procuring sustainable fuels, not primarily to strengthen Swedish producers – which is also extremely important – but above all to strengthen our total defense and our supply readiness. That is what I am advocating for here, Madam Speaker.

I come to the chamber today with a sincere wish that we shall jointly strengthen the total defense. Both I and the Minister of Defence have been aware of the consensus that exists regarding the reconstruction of the Swedish total defense. It is robust and solid, and it is truly a strength for Sweden. However, there are many parts when it comes to what is required to deliver regarding the mission, not least concerning the fuels that power the Armed Forces' vehicles.

I believe there is more to be done here, not least in terms of providing steering signals and demanding sustainable and domestically produced fuels. There are many producers who wonder whether the product with lower emissions that they deliver will actually be demanded by politics and by the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces do what politics says, and therefore I wish that politics, to a greater extent, should say that it shall be domestically produced and sustainable fuels.

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Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)

Madam Speaker! The primary priority, based on the total defense decision we have made, is a rapid buildup of the total defense and a faster development of stronger war units. This is the core activity of the Armed Forces' mission.

With that said, I think it is important to note a few things. In the preparatory works for the Environmental Code, it is stated that war is one of the most serious environmental threats. This is also evident in the Environmental Code itself. We only need to look at the experiences from the war in Ukraine to see what terrible consequences it would have for the environment if we no longer had the privilege of living in peace. Margot Wallström has, in a meritorious way, done a very extensive piece of work with ecocide.

I want to emphasize the importance of a rapid buildup of the defense. This ultimately aims at us and our allies being able to live in peace.

The Armed Forces follow the instructions and regulations that exist in the environmental area. The Environmental Code is naturally one of them. One is encouraged to work with the millennium goals that have been established as a starting point. The Armed Forces also have extensive work in the area of sustainability. They have a sustainability strategy and work systematically with follow-up. This is reported in the performance report that is sent to the government every March.

So, extensive environmental work is taking place within the authority, which is important. I dare to assert that the Swedish Armed Forces, in an international comparison, are far ahead when it comes to working with environmental and sustainability goals.

This is fundamentally the approach one has. As mentioned, there is pilot and testing activity with new fuels and with electric cars. I know that one is also looking at biogas and a number of other alternatives.

The Armed Forces work with a great depth of intention. They follow their instructions and work according to the tasks that we have given the Armed Forces in this area. They are, of course, completely central.

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Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! I understand that the Minister for Defence cannot provide any guarantees for future procurements or instructions, but I would nevertheless like to appeal to us to jointly take advantage of this opportunity.

The Minister of Defence himself was looking into the possibility of reducing emissions, which is extremely important. In the time we are in, it is also extremely important to reduce our vulnerability. The Minister of Defence mentioned our contribution to our defense alliance. I believe we will become a better ally when we can deliver a defense force that is not so dependent on others and that has domestically produced raw materials and fuels in mind.

I met the Swedish Defence Preparedness Agency this evening. I believe the Minister for Defence agrees that it is pleasing that the rebuilding of civil defense is proceeding so quickly and that such a strong forward movement is taking place. The Agency bears witness to the incredible commitment from all actors, not least the large actors in the business sector. They really want to deliver when it comes to the climate goals, but they also want to deliver to the total defense.

Therefore, I want to conclude by reminding that there is a resource here. There is low-hanging fruit to pick, and I hope that the Minister for Defence does so. There are many producers all over the country who want to deliver domestically produced and sustainable fuels both to the Armed Forces and to many other parts of the Swedish vehicle fleet. This makes Sweden stronger and more robust. I believe that we cannot afford to miss it.

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Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Hanna Westerén, for the debate!

I do not believe there are any major political dividing lines here. I have tried to express the trade-off that one sometimes must make when applying certain fuels that can reduce the Armed Forces' availability and operational capability. For example, the problems with long-term storage of biofuels in extreme cold can reduce the availability of our combat units.

With this said, the Armed Forces are working on research and development projects that have a connection to alternative fuels. This is encouraging. FOI, which looks at the energy supply from a total defense perspective, is doing important work. The Defence Materiel Administration has developed sustainability criteria for procurement, which I think there is reason to both welcome and encourage.

We see, therefore, a rather extensive effort to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, and it is intended that the Armed Forces should play a constructive role in this.

We find ourselves in serious times. The geopolitical security situation is the most serious since the end of the Second World War. Our primary focus now is to ensure that we have strong war units and that we have the ability to conduct deterrence and defense together with our allies. Therefore, we must sometimes make trade-offs in the assessment of how quickly we can meet the demands of new technology that is fossil-free.

I thank Hanna Westerén once again for the debate.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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