A meta-evaluation of climate policy evaluations: findings from the freight transport sector
Journal article, 2023

Knowledge about how implemented policy instruments have performed is important for designing effective and efficient policy instruments that contribute to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper carries out a meta-evaluation of ex-post evaluations of climate policy instruments in the freight transport sector. By analysing the outcomes and quality of evaluations, the aim is to identify whether estimated effects of policy instruments can be compared between evaluations and if the results are appropriate to use for evidence-based decision making. To analyse these aspects, commonly applied evaluation criteria are assessed and classified according to an assessment scale. We confirm that few ex-post evaluations are carried out and that there is a gap between evaluation theory and how ex-post policy evaluations are performed in practice, where evaluation criteria recommended in policy evaluation guidelines are found to often be neglected in evaluations. The result is a lack of systematic climate policy evaluation which hinders reliable conclusions about the effect of policy instruments. There is a need for more systematic monitoring and evaluation of implemented policy instruments and we suggest that evidence-based decision making can be improved by adjusting current policy evaluation guidelines and by introducing an evaluation obligation.

greenhouse gas emissions

evaluation criteria

Policy evaluation

freight transport

climate policy instrument

Author

Lina Trosvik

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Geology and Geotechnics

Johanna Takman

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Geology and Geotechnics

L. Björk

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

Jenny Norrman

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Geology and Geotechnics

Yvonne Andersson-Sköld

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering

Transport Reviews

0144-1647 (ISSN) 1464-5327 (eISSN)

Vol. 43 5 867-887

Subject Categories

Environmental Management

Public Administration Studies

Other Civil Engineering

DOI

10.1080/01441647.2023.2175275

More information

Latest update

3/7/2024 9