Policy Mixes, Policy Interplay and Low Carbon Transitions: The Case of Passenger Transport in Finland Paula Kivimaa 1,2 * and Venla Virkamäki 1,2 1 Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland 2 Aalto University School of Business, Department of Management and International Business, Helsinki, Finland ABSTRACT The promotion of low-carbon transport systems is largely dependent on the interplay between technology, innovation, markets, people’s behaviour and policy. Various policies jointly influence the development of transport systems, some policies implying different or even contradictory designs for future transport systems. Policy interplay has not been much addressed in previous research on sustainability transitions. This article combines the technological innovation system (TIS) functions, within the transitions framework, with pol- icy analysis to empirically map multiple policies and their intended paths towards low-carbon transport systems. Empirically, the article provides a systematic review of Finnish national- level policies for transport and transport-related innovation. The discussion examines the contribution of the current policy mix to sustainability transitions based on its degree of attempt to re-design the transport system. The findings reveal that policy support is more comprehensive regarding more energy-efficient vehicles and low-carbon fuels than based on reduced transport demand or alternative transport modes. A holistic policy approach towards low-carbon transitions is only achieved to a degree and innovation policy gaps are identified. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Received 29 October 2012; revised 10 October 2013; accepted 10 October 2013 Keywords: transport policy; innovation policy; sustainability transitions; policy coherence; climate change mitigation Introduction T HE TRANSPORT SECTOR IS GLOBALLY THE SECOND-LARGEST PRODUCER OF CO 2 EMISSIONS. FOLLOWING A GROWING trend, in 2009, CO 2 emissions from transport represented 23% of global CO 2 emissions, emissions from the road sub-sector being the largest in terms of volume (IEA, 2011). The International Energy Agency forecasts a continued increase in the sector’s emissions and the number of cars based on various population and economic growth scenarios (Replogle and Hughes, 2012). To achieve reductions in transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- sions, wider socio-technical system change appears imperative. Recently, research on transport and mobility systems from the sustainability transitions perspective has increased. The literature has particularly addressed the dominance of and change pressures on automobility (see, e.g., Geels *Correspondence to: Paula Kivimaa, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: paula.kivimaa@ymparisto.fi Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Environmental Policy and Governance Env. Pol. Gov. 24, 28–41 (2014) Published online 20 November 2013 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/eet.1629