Transport decarbonisation needs better alignment across policy levels.

The results have been published in March 2023 in the study “Aligning transport decarbonisation across policy levels”. The study looks in detail at three countries, Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark.

The following key questions have been addressed,

• To what extent and how is local transport decarbonisation supported by centrally coordinated initiatives?
• What are strengths and weaknesses of different frameworks and measures applied in practice?
• With a view to Denmark, how could the alignment and coordination across levels be enhanced?

The motivation for the study is the observation that regional and local authorities around the world are increasingly committing themselves to fulfil ambitious climate goals. In Denmark, for example, nearly all municipalities have adopted plans for net-zero emission of Greenhouse Gasses before 2050.

One of the most challenging areas to decarbonize is transport. It seems clear that delivering significant CO₂ mitigation in the transport sector is a new and unfamiliar task for many municipalities. Meanwhile, national governments are also struggling to adopt coherent and achievable strategies for transport decarbonisation.

Different levels of government have responsibilities for different parcels of the spatial domain, different sections of the transport system, and different levers in the policy toolbox. Aligning transport planning and policy measures across the levels of government therefore has the potential to achieve more effective results.

Based on the study, the following recommendations for the national level are presented:

1. Develop a clear national strategy for transport decarbonisation pointing towards climate neutrality, to help reduce uncertainties experienced by citizens, business, and local authorities,
2. Explicitly recognize the potential and role of municipal and regional bodies in helping transport decarbonisation, including actions that underpin and implement national measures, as well as measures that employ the unique levers enabled by local conditions, resources, mandates, and democratic engagement,
3. Develop a national support program for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning with elements like customized national guidance, platforms, and fora of exchange.
4. Explore the prospects of consolidating national funding streams from separate short-term pots of money and individual transport infrastructure investments into longer-term unified support packages with a view to delivering low carbon sustainable urban mobility plans and practices.

CONCITO believes the challenge of alignment across policy levels might be important elsewhere. We would therefore welcome any enquiries about further research collaboration or exchange about this topic.

For more information on the study or CONCITO’s other work on transport and mobility, please contact Senior Consultant Henrik Gudmundsson, hgu@concito.dk