Cutting carbon from road transport; lessons from the first decade of focused UK policy

摘要

This paper presents a study commissioned by the Low CarbonVehicle Partnership (LowCVP) and completed by E4tech andthe Centre for Automotive Industry Research (CAIR) at CardiffBusiness School, published in July 2014. The study aimed toreview the impacts of a low carbon policy focus on UK automotiveinvestment, growth and jobs.It included a broad industry survey, supplemented by indepth interviews with senior executives from motor and energyindustries, government representatives and other stakeholdergroups. The study sought to reveal whether a consistentand sustained policy approach to cutting carbon dioxide emissionsfrom a specific sector can produce both ‘green’ results andgrowth. It sought to examine the extent to which progress inthe road transport sector can be seen as an exemplar for policytowards other sectors of the UK economy where progress hasbeen less encouraging.In the early 2000s, the UK car industry was in a state of decline.Factory closures were commonplace, innovation was minimal,and the supply chain had become hollowed out. Environmentalregulations were seen as a threat in some quarters. Since2003, UK investments in the low carbon automotive sector haveamounted to about £40 bn, a figure which matches increases inthe turnover of the sector, also accompanied by a 10 % increasein UK exports from the sector over the last 10 years.