This doctoral dissertation examines the mode and efficacy of environmental and climate policy in China’s automotive sector. The ascent of China’s automobile market to the largest worldwide has detrimental effects on the country’s energy security situation, worsens environmental pollution, and increases greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental and climate policy measures to ameliorate these repercussions are the most apt tools available to the Chinese government. The objective of this dissertation is to identify the dominant mode of environmental and climate policies in China’s automotive industry and to assess the efficacy of select policy instruments. It does so by asking whether a uniform national approach to policy instrument adoption can be discerned that reflects China’s institutional and administrative history or whether modal exceptions exist. Secondly, if modal differences exist, to what extent do different instruments confirm the current understanding of the advantages and pitfalls of individual policy instrument types? And finally, how do Chinese instruments compare to those in other ambits in terms of policy mode and instrument efficacy? The literature on policy instruments holds that, due to their alleged efficiency advantages, incentive-based instruments dominate the political agenda of industrialised countries and international organisations (environmental consensus). This favouring of flexible instruments in academic and political circles contrasts with an evident lack of incentive-based instruments in practice and an observed lack of efficiency of some of those instruments actually implemented. Moreover, the policy mode adopted in developing countries and emerging markets has not yet received sufficient academic attention despite significant differences in institutional design, enforcement capacities, resources, and development paths that may imply reason for modal deviation. Applying a blend of qualitative and quantitative social sciences research methods, I add the case of China to the comparative literature and show that command-and-control regulation indeed forms the backbone of environmental and climate policy in China’s automotive industry. At the same time, modal differences exist between national regulation and local/ municipal incentive-based policy as well as in the electric vehicle sector, which shows a trend towards more incentive-based instruments and flexibility mechanisms in conventional regulation. Compared to other ambits, China has established a relatively flexible policy regime, at least for the case of vehicle efficiency standards. For the time being, incentive-based instruments remain comparatively ineffective and flexibility mechanisms in conventional regulation have an erosive effect on instrument stringency.

The aviation industry stands for about 2% of the global CO2 emissions and constitutes a large portion of what the individual can affect by their own decision making. A direct round-trip Stockholm to New York consumes about 50% of an individual's annual CO2 budget. This paper studies what role carbon offsetting has in the transition towards sustainable aviation. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), electrical aviation and abstaining from flying are also considered as potential approaches to making aviation more sustainable. The research method is both empirical and theoretical. Empirically, a Carbon Offsetting Assessment Framework evaluates airlines’ and online travel agencies’ (OTAs’) work with carbon offsetting and SAF. This is done from a Sweden-centric perspective. The airlines BRA, KLM and SAS score highest. Theoretically, a discussion of the dynamics of the aviation industry’s transition into sustainability is carried out through the multi-level perspective (MLP). Carbon offsetting is considered the best short-term solution for sustainable aviation due to availability and costefficiency. SAF is currently too expensive and the usage too low to yield significant emission reductions but is a promising mid-term solution. In the long-run, electrical aviation is the solution that has the potential to lower direct emissions to almost zero but it relies on major energy storage development and is not commercially viable today. The study also explains why carbon offsetting not should be used as a letter of indulgence but still is a good way to be certain that climate positive actions happen now and not are postponed or not happen at all. / Flygindustrin står för ungefär 2% av de globala CO2-utsläppen och utgör en stor andel av vad individen kan påverka genom sitt eget beslutsfattande. En direktresa tur- och retur Stockholm till New York konsumerar ungefär 50% av en individs ärliga CO2-budget. Den här studien undersöker vilken roll klimatkompensation har i en övergång mot hållbart flyg. Hållbart flygbränsle (SAF), elflyg och att avstå från att flyga har också utvärderats som potentiella tillvägagångssätt för att göra flyget mer hållbart. Studiens forskningsmetod är både empirisk och teoretisk. En modell för att empiriskt utvärdera flygbolags och onlineresebyråers (OTAs) arbete med klimatkompensation och SAF appliceras på en Sverigecentriskt urval av aktörer. Flygbolagen BRA, KLM och SAS får högst poäng. Vidare förs en teoretisk diskussion om dynamiken i flygbranschens övergång mot hållbart flyg genom “the multi-level perspective” (MLP). Klimatkompensation anses vara den bästa kortsiktiga lösningen för hållbart flyg eftersom det är tillgängligt och kostnadseffektivt. SAF är idag för dyrt och användandet för lågt för att resultera i betydelsefulla utsläppsminskningar men är icke desto mindre en lovande teknik på medellång sikt. På lång sikt är elflyg lösningen som har potential att minska direktutsläpp till nästan noll men det står och faller med avsevärd teknikutveckling inom energilagring och är inte kommersiellt tillgängligt idag. Studien förklarar också varför klimatkompensation inte borde användas som ett avlatsbrev men att det fortfarande är ett bra sätt att försäkra sig om att klimatpositiva handlingar sker idag och inte blir uppskjutna eller uteblir.

Le changement climatique est devenu aujourd’hui le fléau environnemental qui préoccupe etmobilise le plus la communauté internationale. L’aboutissement de cette mobilisation générale reste sansdoute la mise en place du régime international de lutte contre le changement climatique dont la Conventioncadredes Nations Unies sur le changement climatique et le Protocole de Kyoto constituent les basesjuridiques. Ce régime innove en ce qu’il fixe des engagements quantifiés de réduction des émissions de gaz àeffet de serre pour les États pollueurs, mais aussi en ce qu’il instaure des mécanismes dits de « flexibilité »dont la mise en oeuvre est assortie d’un contrôle original basé sur un Comité dit de « l’observance ». Mais, endépit de toute cette production normative, il est regrettable de constater aujourd’hui que le régimeinternational du climat est un véritable échec. En effet, si la mobilisation des États ne fait aucun doute, enrevanche, les mêmes États qui ont volontairement accepté de s’engager refusent délibérément d’honorer leursengagements pour des raisons essentiellement politiques, économiques et stratégiques. Ce travail ambitionnedonc de lever le voile sur les causes de cet échec en dressant un bilan mitigé de la première périoded’engagement de Kyoto qui a pris fin en 2012, et propose des perspectives pour un régime juridique duclimat post-Kyoto efficient et efficace, en mesure d’être à la hauteur des enjeux. / Climate change has become the scourge environmental concern and mobilizes more theinternational community. The outcome of this mobilization remains probably the implementation ofinternational climate change regime for which the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol are the legalbases. This system is innovative in that it sets quantified emission reduction commitments for greenhouse gasemissions (GHG) for polluters States, but also in that it establishes mechanisms known as of “flexibility”whose implementation is accompanied by a control based on a Committee known as of “compliance”. Butdespite all this normative production, it is regrettable that today the international climate regime is a realfailure. Indeed, if the mobilization of states is no doubt, however, the same states that have voluntarily agreedto engage deliberately refuse to honour their commitments for essentially political, economic and strategicreasons. This work therefore aims to shed light on the causes of this failure by developing a mixed record ofthe first Kyoto commitment ended period in 2012, and offers prospects for a legal regime of the post-Kyotoclimate and efficient, able to be up to the challenges.