The car remains the bedrock of our society, despite the introduction of several land-use and transport engineering measures to reduce the need for travel and promote sustainable modes of transport. Transport is being recognised as the fastest growing source of carbon emissions. Transport emission levels have generally increased in almost all EU-27 states since 1990. The increase is said to have been driven by road transport activities. Policymakers across Europe are now faced with the ultimate challenge to deliver economic growth and emission reduction targets at least costs to taxpayer and energy consumers. First steps have been taken to decarbonise the European transport infrastructure and build a stable low carbon economy. This paper addresses the multitude of policy beliefs policymakers are being confronted with when trying to cater for a European low carbon fleet and economy locally. It focuses on describing the conflict between sustainable urban regeneration efforts and rising demand for low carbon road transport as experienced in Great Britain. The research utilizes theoretical insights from the inter-disciplinary field of policy analysis. Findings are being presented from a longitudinal discourse network analysis based on twenty years of House of Commons Transport Select Committee inquiry discussions.
