Policies for Climate-Neutral Road Transport

The chapter discusses how to achieve climate-neutral road transport. In particular, we discuss the prospects afforded by the electrification of road transport, including the constraints to be overcome and policies that could accelerate such development. In our case studies, we first compare the electric vehicle (EV) policies of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, some of which are among the forerunners in this area. Second, we examine the Chinese and Japanese EV policies. In China, the focus is on new energy vehicles excluding hybrid EVs, whereas in Japan the hybrid vehicles industry is strong. Third, as electrification of heavy-duty transport remains challenging, biomethane is considered as a solution in this segment by looking at the case of Finland. We conclude that tailoring a context-sensitive combination of policy instruments and part-solutions is needed, and identify policy lessons to accelerate the transition toward climate-neutral mobility.