The realities of carbon management – why governance matters in the transport sector

This paper explores the development and implementation of carbon management policies in the transport sector. It draws on the framework of multi-level governance to consider the interaction between elected bodies acting at different spatial scales from the EU to the local level and between these bodies and the range of non-governmental stakeholders that influence the system. It provides insights into the strengths and limitations of carbon management in this complex sector and suggests ways in which more effective governance could be brought about. The paper presents a case study of the UK. The data draws on a combination of documentary review surrounding the framework for carbon management and current policy proposals, interviews with 59 governmental and non-governmental stakeholders engaged in carbon management. The interviews were conducted at a local scale with two cities in England, two cities in Scotland, at a national scale in Scotland and England and at the European level. This will feed into a series of stakeholder workshops which will be underway by the time of the conference. The research identifies a clear rationale for carbon management which derives from global environmental agreements. Beyond this however several factors combine to make the implementation of carbon management policies a complex policy problem. These include perceptions of the importance of the economy relative to the carbon management agenda, a lack of clear accountability for carbon goals and considerable uncertainty about the role and timing of technology change. Whilst institutional differences exist between the cities and countries studied, these appear secondary in explaining the limited progress made to date compared to the bigger questions of the focus on economic growth and poorly defined accountability structures.