A great deal of uncertainty in the Swedish municipal sector remains in respect of climate change related work. Even though the level of municipal response seems to have increased with more municipalities now working with climate change issues, climate change adaptation and transport issues continue to present the most significant future challenges at this level.
These are some of the main findings of the second edition of the annual Nordregio survey on climate change responses in Swedish municipalities. The study, which saw a 100% response rate, further maps the contours of, and pinpoints the challenges ahead, for Sweden's 290 municipalities.
The results of last year's study showed that a great deal of uncertainty remained in respect of municipal obligations relating to the climate change issue as well as a high variability in the climate change response among the municipalities. This has acted as a point of departure for the second edition of the survey. The results of last year's study have also been widely used by Nordregio as an empirical base in the formation of new research projects and project applications.
In this year's survey a number of new research questions were formulated to access new dimensions of the climate change response in Sweden. One of the main points of interest in this second edition was to engender cooperation with Nordregio research project: Another climate - gendered structures of climate change response in selected Swedish municipalities which sought to map the linkages between climate change and gender in the Swedish municipal sector. The results from a gender point of view are elaborated in the article p. 20 in this issue of the Journal of Nordregio.
In line with the results of the first edition of the survey the municipalities can still be seen to be predominantly preoccupied with mitigation activities. Typical measures include ecocars, district heating and establishment of energy plans. Energy is the main focus for the municipalities and this is due to in the main institutional and administrative tradition and to economic incentives.
Swedish municipalities have already managed to save a significant amount of money by reducing their dependence on oil and by adopting new renewable energy sources. Several success stories can be found and Swedish municipalities are, in general, good at mitigation measures. However when questioning the municipalities on their climate change activities only a few mention adaptation. Several municipalities mention the dilemma that, in their view, they do not seem to have the same incentives in relation to adaptation as when they invest in mitigation measures.
In early October 2007 the Swedish Commission on Climate and Vulnerability published a final memorandum entitled Sweden facing climate change - threats and opportunities. This was a study on the presumed effects and possible future societal vulnerabilities and challenges of climate change. The memorandum clearly highlighted the vulnerabilities and the need for adaptation measures in Sweden.
Following the release of the memorandum however little has been mentioned in respect of actual concrete measures. A waiting game has now begun in which the Swedish municipalities await the final government directives that will formulate future Swedish climate change policy and present the prerequisites for climate change adaptation. This has meant that the municipalities are trapped in something of a catch 22 situation which sees them waiting for a directive from the government level before they dare launch and invest in costly new adaptation measures. Notwithstanding this general trend however a number of pathbreaker municipalities have however emerged to lead the way.
Journal of Nordregio No 2-2007 presented the first overview of climate responses in Swedish municipalities.
By Per Francke previous Research Assistant at Nordregio