Discourses about EU Transport Decarbonisation: Towards a Paradigm Shift?

The development and introduction of new technologies are central to achieving sustainable transitions. Policymakers are important in enabling a successful transition. However, discourses about EU transport decarbonisation reveal multiple policy approaches to technology innovation, both in terms of decarbonising the car and building new alternative fuels infrastructure for transport. A discursive institutionalist analysis of these two separate but interdependent communicative discourses on road transport decarbonisation shows the complexities of facilitating transformative change. This shift requires coordination at all levels involving different actors and sector coupling to successfully decarbonise road transport.
Keywords: EU road transport policy; transport decarbonisation; sustainable transition; discursive institutionalism; alternative fuels infrastructure