Sweden will propose a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020 by lowering pollution from cars and raising taxes on carbon-dioxide output, said Maud Olofsson, Sweden's enterprise and energy minister.

The government will offer legislation later this year to reduce global-warming emissions 30 percent below 1990 levels, Olofsson said today at a renewable energy conference in Washington. Sweden's current target is a 17 percent cut.

"We want to put pressure on the rest of the world to set a global agreement," Olofsson said in an interview.

The key to reaching the new target is lowering greenhouse- gas emissions from cars, Olofsson said. The new law will aim to shift commuters to railways, she said.

The law will also propose an increase in Sweden's tax on carbon emissions. The country enacted a carbon tax in 1991.

"We have to put a higher price on carbon," Olofsson said.

Sweden has cut carbon-dioxide emissions 9 percent since 1990. During that period, the European country's economy has expanded by 44 percent, Olofsson said. Renewable energy provides 40 percent of Sweden's energy, the highest level of clean energy in the world, she said.