#Policy Sci (2007) 40:1 - 34ORIGINAL ARTICLEThe allure of tech no logy: How Fra nee and Califor nia promoted electric and hybrid vehicles to reduce urban air polluti onDavid Calef -Robert GobleReceived: 15 May 2005 /Accepted: 19 July 2006 / Published online: 1 March 2007C Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007Abstract All advancedindustrialized societies face the problem of air pollution produced by motor vehicles. In spite of striking improvements in internal combustionengine technology, air pollution in most urban areasis still measuredat levels determined to be harmful to huma n health. Throughout the 1990s a nd bey ond, Califor nia and France both chose to improve air quality by mean sof tech no logical i nno vati on, adopti nglegislati on thatpromoted cleanvehicles,prominently amongthem,electric vehicles(EVs). In California, policymakers chosea tech no logy-forc ing approach,sett ing ambitious goals(e.g.,zeroemissi on vehicles), establishing strict deadlinesand issuing penaltiesfor non-complianee. Thepolicy processin California called for substantial participation from the public, the media, theacademiccom- munity andthe interestgroups affected by the regulation. The automobile and oil industries bitterly con testedthe regulati on, in public and in the courts. In con trast, in Fra nee the policy processwas non-adversarial, with minimal public participation andnegligible debatein academiccircles. Wearguethat California stringent regulation spurred the developmentof innovative hybrid andfuel cell vehicles more effectively thanthe Frenchapproach.However, in spite of the differe nces, both Califor nia and France have bee nun able to put a substa ntial n umber of EVs on the road. Our comparis on offers some broad less on sabout how policy developme ntswithi n a culture in?uence both the developme ntof tech no logy and the impact of humanson the environment.Keywords En viro nmen tal policy . Tech no logy policy . Policy styles. Air polluti on . Sustainabletransport. Electric and hybrid vehiclesD. Calef ()Visiting Fellow, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Corso Magenta, 63 20123 Milan, Italye-mail: dacalefyahoo.comCurrent addressD. CalefVia Carlo Alberto, 24, 00185 Rome, ItalyR. GobleResearch Professor, Environmental Science and Policy Department, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610In troducti onIn an effort to reduceair pollution in Los Angelesandother metropolitan areasin the state of California, the California Air ResourcesBoard (CARB) adopted in September1990 a plan to encouragethe development anduse of zeroemission vehicles (ZEVs). At the time only battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) quali?ed as ZEVs while other potential ZEV tech no logies,suchasfuel cells a nd?ywheels, werefar from being commercially viable. The ZEV man datewasjust on ecomp onen tof a multi-pr on ged attack o n polluti on, but it was the2onethat attracted the most attention throughout the following decade.The regulati on created i n California is an exampleof tech no logy-forc in g; it required the regulatedi ndustry to produce a nd sell ef?cie nt EVs, withi n a setperiod of time, eve nthough thetech no logy was no t fully developedwhe n the regulati on s were created.As in the caseof the 1970 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) that compelled the auto industry to introduce catalytic converters,the major automakers,the oil industry aswell asseveralpolicy analysts bitterly con testedthe ZEV regulati on. In deed the ma ndateddevelopme ntof EVs triggered aeon troversy about the merits of the new tech no logy that en gagedsubsta ntial public participation in California and in the restof the country. This is not surprising. To a far greater degreethanpeoplein other industrialized countries,Americansoften vigorously debatetechno logical issues,whetherc on cer ning electric cars, in formati on tech no logies,a ntidepressa nt drugs (Prozac), public health measures(?uoridation) or national defensesystems(Strategic Defenseinitiative). And thecontroversiesthat typically accompanypublicdiscourse。n any of thesetech no logies haveusually inten si?ed each time the n ew tech no logy was regulated by the federal gover nmen tor, as in the caseof the ZEV man date, by a state age ncyEstablished in 1967 to promote and protect public health, the CARB has focused on three main objectives: (1) attain and maintain air quality throughout the state; (2) conduct research into the causes of and solutions to air pollution; and (3) attack serious environmental problems caused by motor vehicles. In the United States, between 1992 and 2000, academic and technical literature as well as the national print media devoted a great deal of attention to the ZEV mandate. Throughout those years, think tanks, university research teams, newspapers, large-circulation magazines and business organizations produced essays, reports, editorials, cover stories and ads that focused on the zero emission component of a b