City of Helsingborg used climate fees to halve their travel

In 2017, the City of Helsingborg introduced a 50 percent climate fee on business travel by air and private car. After two years, these trips have been cut by almost half.

The City of Helsingborg implemented an internal carbon pricing model in its organisation back in 2010.

Porträttbild på Elin Sundqvist.At that time, the climate fee was 4 percent of flight ticket prices and 4 percent of the cost of work-related travel by private car. The effect was rather small. A few years later, the fee was increased to 10 percent. But the travel habits of employees did not really change and the city's CFO at the time, Ulf Krabisch, noticed the amount of money spent on business travel by plane and private car. He proposed that the climate fee should be increased to 50 percent on these trips. The municipal[GL1]  government agreed and made the decision accordingly. In the summer of 2017, the new fee was introduced. It had an effect. In one year, trips decreased by 30 percent and after two years they have been cut by almost half, resulting in large savings in both costs and emissions.

The money from Helsingborg's climate fee is used to pay for employee business trips by train and bus in Skåne (via Skånetrafiken), and to co-finance the city’s purchasing of electric bicycles. This makes it easier for several departments to reduce their use of cars.

– We’ve seen the greatest impact on trips to Stockholm. We don’t forbid flying, but the fee provides an incentive to consider alternatives instead of just booking a flight because that’s what you’ve always done. Even before the pandemic, our air travel to Stockholm decreased by about two-thirds. Many employees have gotten used to going by train, says Elin Sundqvist, Environmental Strategist, City of Helsingborg.

The impact has not been as strong on longer international flights.

– For long-distance travel, we haven’t really seen any alternatives to flying. However, the pandemic has opened our eyes to the possibilities of digital technology. Perhaps digital meetings will replace some of our international trips in the future.

The City of Helsingborg has implemented an effective for process for the administration of the climate money – both fees and subsidies are automatically transferred via the financial system. in connection to the reporting. Money not used during the current year can be saved for the next year.

Elin Sundqvist has three tips for anyone thinking of introducing internal carbon pricing in their organisation:

  • Introduce a hefty charge that really makes an impact. The 50 percent climate fee has worked well for us.

  • Communicate the gains and benefits of the internal carbon pricing model to all employees.

  • Keep the fees and subsidies within the same area, such as travel, so it is clear what you want to achieve. If you put a fee on certain types of travel, it is good to use that money to facilitate sustainable alternatives to those trips, and not use the money for something completely different.

This project is run by Region Skåne between 2018 and 2022. It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

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