Abstract
This study investigates how the introduction of more stringent environmental regulation regarding sulphur and nitrogen emission control areas induced shipping companies to react to a new situation and opened up a window of opportunity for build-up of niches for alternative vessel energy sources. By drawing on a multi-level perspective from the socio-technical transition literature, the study provides empirical evidence for how realignments in the environmental regulatory regime alter incumbent actors’ positions and produce varying environmental innovation responses to reduce air-borne pollution from shipping. The study illustrates that the stringency of a regional command-and-control regulation in combination with evolving pressures in the external landscape environment and shipping companies’ task environments are essential components shaping the adoption of environmental innovations. Although incremental innovations seem to dominate in a fossil fuel-based maritime transportation socio-technical system, our results demonstrate the role of regulations and the behaviour of frontrunners in the context of regime fragmentation and sustainability transition processes.
Highlights
Various industries face growing societal pressures to address sustainability challenges
This study focuses on the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) and Nitrogen Emission Control Area (NECA) in the Baltic Sea area
We show what types of environmental innovations were adopted among the Baltic Sea shipping companies with a goal to reduce local air-borne pollution
Summary
The maritime environmental governance architecture has been characterized as polycentric and fragmented [10,11,12]. This means that the control of pollution from shipping encompasses a number of different actors with multiple centres of decision making. The Baltic Sea area is one example of a regional approach to regulating emissions from shipping. Due to its environmental sensitivity the Baltic Sea has been designated as a “special area” in regard to air-borne pollution, oil, sewage, and garbage discharges where more rigorous environmental regulation (in the form of emission control areas or ECAs) is applied [13]
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