The project is dealing with the influence of private actors on climate policy, namely the influence of business on Swiss climate policy. The project uses a case study, assessing the voluntary agreements concluded between the federal government and the association of car importers for fuel efficiency standards in Switzerland that were designed to reduce private transport emissions. As a reference case, the EU legislation on CO2‐emissions standards for European car manufacturers will also be considered. Based on the assumption that the policy process is influenced by non‐state actors, i.e. private actors, or special interest groups, I want to explore the strategies corporations develop in order to influence the policy process. The aim of the project is to give policy recommendations for effective climate policy design, attempting to close the gap between ideal policy design in theory and the actual policy outcome in reality. Moreover, this work aims to assess the effectiveness of voluntary agreements in Swiss climate policy. The analysis is economic, attempting to identify incentive structures for actors in climate policy.