Barriers to what target. The trade-off between effectiveness and acceptance The cases analysed in Chapter 3 indicate that conflicts between effectiveness (target achievement) and acceptance of policies are a frequent feature in practical policy making. Although the cases analysed in chapter 3 are chosen partly because they are considered successes, they are still not without conflicts. In the Stockholm package ‘green cars’ (mainly ethanol cars) were exempted from charges. The reason for this seems to have been a combination of a will to enhance acceptance among car drivers and a will to simultaneously stimulate sales of green cars. These exemptions reduced main target achievement, which was to reduce congestion. It was also proposed in the policy formation phase that charges, although lower, should be levied on an alternative road, Essingeleden, which was otherwise at risk of becoming even more congested when the scheme started. However, this was not considered politically feasible because of a perceived lack of public acceptance. In this context it is important to ask this question: In relation to what target does a certain barrier, or success factor, exist? For instance, a target regarding greenhouse gas emissions that are confined to a certain sector (e.g. transport) and a certain geographical area (e.g. a city or a country) may not be consistent with the overall EU-target for all sectors. Further- more, there may often be a discrepancy – possibly caused by the high inertia in the policy process – between on the one hand the current quantitative targets of countries and the EU, and on the other hand what recent scientific evidence indicate is necessary to keep global warming below 2 degrees. Strong stakeholders in many cases oppose policies that are effective in reaching the more demanding overarching targets, while policies only reaching less ambitious targets are likely to face less fierce opposition. This means that the value of a “success factor” must be judged against the target used in that specific case. Factors leading to “success” in relation to less demanding targets may not necessarily be applicable when more demanding targets are to be met. The case of Aviation in ETS illustrates this. If the benchmark is taken as the previous state regarding aviation – no climate taxes at all – then it may be regarded as a success. If, on the other hand the comparison is made to what road transport currently pays for its emissions, then it may scarcely be labelled a success, at le...
