ABSTRACT
This chapter conceptualises environmental conscience in the context of European Union (EU) transport policy. It discusses the role of Dieselgate as a catalyst for technological change. The chapter analyses how EU industrial policy aims to facilitate technological innovation in the automotive industry. It discusses the relation between EU sustainable mobility policy and energy transition policy to analyse the role of the environment in these two agendas. The chapter also discusses the role of the Commission in decarbonising road transport in its attempt to show climate leadership. Environmental protection mitigates air pollution and noise from transport activities, but it also entails protecting biodiversity, for example, from new transport infrastructure. The EU has a long history of mitigating road transport externalities. It adopted the first auto-oil programme in the 1990s. The car industry was part of the revitalised EU industrial policy that emerged after the financial crises, and low-emission mobility is integral to the transition to a circular economy.
