Governance and policy challenges of implementing urban low-carbon transport initiatives

Emissions from transport represent a quarter of Scotland’s total. Action to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport has been criticized for being limited, poorly integrated with other areas of policy and focused on narrow programmes. Several funding bodies at the European level provide funding for the development of pilot initiatives to reduce carbon and to promote knowledge exchange between partner cities. Cities where strategies have been successful consider transport as being a significant part of wider urban design and urban development, thus ensuring that the potential benefits are directly related to concerns of planning, housing and behavioural change. Through research into the experience of one local authority in a European project, this paper finds that governance, cultural, economic and policy barriers inhibit the successful implementation of low-carbon transport initiatives. This paper concludes that, despite these challenges, there is still value for local authorities to engage in projects that fund pilot carbon reduction initiatives and promote knowledge exchange.