Embedding imaginaries- electric vehicles in Sweden?s fossil fuel free future

The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction between visions of the future and policy through the analysis of one Swedish policy document, a 2013 government investigation Fossil Fuel Freedom on the Road, and its subsequent policy process. Here, I examine the emergence of a sociotechnical imaginary (Jasanoff & Kim, 2009) that places electric vehicles at the center of a fossil fuel independent future. Analysis centers on textual analysis of this document as well as responses from a formal consultation process and two concrete policy measures showing how this imaginary is stabilized through interaction with additional actors and translation to additional contexts. This electric vehicle imaginary as presented in the policy report focuses on the role of electric vehicles in fighting climate change, as well as the increased energy efficiency and positive impact on city environments these vehicles promise. Additionally, this investigation identifies a specific policy agenda where electric vehicles are introduced first for personal vehicles and urban buses. This imaginary is stabilized in the consultation responses and two policy instruments, showing a process of embedding. Frictions, however, remain as these documents introduce contestations around biofuels versus electric vehicles and which sections of transport should be electrified.

Automated summary

This study examines the role of electric vehicles in a fossil fuel independent future as outlined in the Swedish policy document Fossil Fuel Freedom on the Road, and how this vision is stabilized through policy processes. Through analysis of consultation responses and two policy measures, it shows how this imaginary is embedded and contested in different contexts.