4.2 Article

EU Legislation to Reduce Carbon Emissions from Cars: Intergovernmental or Supranational Policy Making?

Journal

REVIEW OF POLICY RESEARCH
Volume 31, Issue 6, Pages 503-528

Publisher

WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/ropr.12100

Keywords

car emissions; climate policy; EU policy making; passenger cars; transport; EU; EU commission; climate change; automobiles

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This article examines the making and implementation of the 2009 European Union (EU) regulation on cars and CO2 emissions (Regulation [EC] No 443/2009). As the first legally binding measure to target the CO2 emissions of passenger cars, this regulation represents a milestone in EU efforts to reduce the climate impacts of road transport. The analysis draws on two central theoretical perspectives on EU policy making: liberal intergovernmentalism and supranationalism. Both offer important insights, but their explanatory power varies with the policy-making phase in focus. The analysis shows that the Commission and the car industry were instrumental in shaping what eventually became an industry-friendly regulation applicable in all EU countries. However, far from being a case of closed negotiations between the industry and the Commission, Germany and other EU countries defending the interest of manufacturers of high-emission vehicles made use of their powers during the decision-making phase and succeeded in watering down the Commission's proposal.

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