trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

SMALL STEP TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT?MEDIA DEBATE OVER FINNISH CAR TAX REFORMNina A. Nygrén 1 , Jari Lyytimäki 2 and Petri Tapio 31 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland2 Finnish Environment Institute, Finland3 Finland Futures Research Centre, University of Turku & Research Group FIDEA(www.fidea.fi), FinlandABSTRACT - Environmental and societal impacts of transport policies are key determinants ofsustainable future. Finnish car tax reform was enacted in 2008. The national level reform was basedon EU level requirements for carbon dioxide emission reductions, ultimately aiming to promote moresustainable transport. Based on material from the dominant Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat,we analyze the public discussion on the topic. By using the Environmental Protection Process (EPP)framework as a conceptual tool, we perform a quantitative content analysis on the media discussion ofcar tax reform. The EPP framework is an integrative tool aimed at gaining an overall view of thecharacteristics of environmental problems and mitigation measures. Our study suggests that societalfactors, emissions, targets, measures and potential side-effects of the reform dominate the mediadiscussion of the car tax reform. The future orientation of the discussion appears to emphasize shorttermimpacts over longer time perspectives. Overall, it seems that despite of relatively wide-rangingdiscussion, the media debate contributed only marginally to the public understanding of theprerequisites of sustainable transport.1. Introduction and BackgroundAnthropogenic climate change has emerged as the most pressing popular environmental concern of theearly 2000s. This is largely due to the heightened media coverage, especially after 2006 (Boyce andLewis, 2009; Boykoff, 2009). Various mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change have beendemanded and sought for through almost all sectors of society, and media coverage is a key factor also inthese processes of mainstreaming the climate policies (Lyytimäki, 2011).Transport is one of those sectors where effective measures have especially been called for (KahnRibeiro et al., 2007; Givoni and Banister, 2010). In the European Union (EU-15 Member States),emissions of greenhouse gases from transport (excluding international air and maritime transport)increased by 20% during 1990–2008 and the transport sector was responsible for 21% of the totalgreenhouse gas emissions in 2008 (EEA, 2011).The European Union (EU) has aspired to be the leader of international climate policy. In January2008, the EU presented a climate and energy package that was intended to be the showcase of European458