This paper uses EU and US biofuels policies to interrogate certain issues relating to the concept of policy failure. It utilises recent work classifying policy success, policy failure, and the space in between to explore how we might understand these ideas better in the context of policies designed to run over a set period of time, but which are designed to address problems which are long-term and ongoing – specifically energy security and climate change. A specific policy with specific targets defined over a specified time-period may be judged as success or failure. But insofar as any particular policy, under these circumstances, is intended first and foremost to be taking markets and market outcomes in a specific direction, the judgement of policy success or failure may need to be subordinated to considerations of how policy-makers are able to steer policy, putting it back on track if it veers off, accepting a slower speed of travel if initial targets are overly-ambitious. This ability to reflect on policy and to learn from experience may ultimately be crucial to defining the success or failure of ‘policy’, over and above judgements made about ‘this particular policy’
