The sheer scale of the challenge in achieving the decarbonisation of transport quickly enough to meet Paris Agreement commitments is increasingly well understood. Governments around the world at all levels are now, at various speeds, turning their attention to the policy interventions that will be required to reduce emissions and exploring how to manage the implications of the rapid change in many aspects of the economy and society that will result. Managing the transition as effectively as possible will require the concerted and sustained mobilisation of a diverse set of resources, available across a disparate range of actors, unlike many governance systems have experienced before. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the strengths and weaknesses of many government assumptions, structures and processes that underpin policy approaches. Moreover, it has prompted new questions about the capability of our administrative and democratic systems to respond to critical, time-bound challenges. This Special Issue therefore aims to explore how governance systems are exercising their power and capacity to formulate and deliver policy approaches to achieve transport decarbonisation. In turn, we are interested in original research papers that examine issues such as: The role of governance networks in determining responsibilities for different aspects of transport decarbonisation and their implications; Spatial and scalar contexts for action and how they influence policy attention; Partnership working across complex, multilevel networks; Policy learning and transfer between countries, cities or institutions; The importance of ‘moments’ of policy experimentation and learning for policy change; The interplay between professional expertise, ‘technocratic’ organisation and political actors in formulating and managing decarbonisation processes; Trade-offs between different political priorities (and their formation) in addressing transport decarbonisation.
Keywords: Decarbonisation; Behaviour change; Governance; Decision making; Trade offs; Policy implementation.