Klimattjänster - användbarhet för beslutsfattande om klimatanpassning på lokal nivå?
(2013) MVEM30 20131Studies in Environmental Science
- Abstract
- Climate adaptation is necessary to address the impacts of the climate change which is already unavoidable due to past emissions. There is a strong need for knowledge building, for which climate-related knowledge and information needs to be made available through different types of climate services. The aim with this study is to examine how useful climate services are, as a knowledge base for decision-making on climate change adaptation at a local level. In this study, five municipalities in Sweden are studied and focus have been (i) which climate services Swedish municipalities are using today, (ii) what kind of climate services they need, and (iii) what affect decision making about climate change adaptation.
The study indicates that... (More) - Climate adaptation is necessary to address the impacts of the climate change which is already unavoidable due to past emissions. There is a strong need for knowledge building, for which climate-related knowledge and information needs to be made available through different types of climate services. The aim with this study is to examine how useful climate services are, as a knowledge base for decision-making on climate change adaptation at a local level. In this study, five municipalities in Sweden are studied and focus have been (i) which climate services Swedish municipalities are using today, (ii) what kind of climate services they need, and (iii) what affect decision making about climate change adaptation.
The study indicates that knowledge and competence greatly influence decisions regarding issues relating to climate adaptation. Knowledge is a precondition for municipalities to be able to make long-term and informed decisions on climate adaptation. In municipalities with officials and politicians with a lot of knowledge and awareness about climate change adaptation, the adaptation work is progressive. In municipalities where officials and politicians have low skills in the field the work with climate adaptation is not often prioritized. The results show that the rich supply of information combined with poor accessibility limits the usefulness and complicate the reading of the essence, at the local level. Knowledge is necessary but it also requires competent officials in municipalities which receive the knowledge and forward it within the municipal organization. It is important that issues regarding climate change are included in the planning process and that politicians are involved in the early stages of the working process.
Swedish municipalities in this case study mainly base their knowledge on reports about adaptation, by national and local authorities. The majority of the information in these reports is based on SMHI’s data and scenarios of future precipitation changes. The result shows that there is currently too much information, on the other hand there is a need for information. This means that the knowledge that exists today need to be synthesized. Too much information and poor availability of data and knowledge has contributed to the fact that the knowledge hasn’t been useful. Access to knowledge and information is a prerequisite for increasing awareness and knowledge for politicians, officials and residents at a local level. Climate services, in this study include interpretation and synthesis. By separating the knowledge itself with climate services that make such knowledge available, the results in this study reveal that most needed is not new knowledge, it’s a synthesis and translation of existing knowledge. Climate services play an important role when it comes to translate the knowledge into a language which is easier to understand, and increase the availability of the knowledge base that already exists. Climate services are not useful for the municipalities today. The representatives miss a consensus in this question. There is a strong need for information due to the awareness and knowledge of the climate change, its impacts and the need for climate adaptation needs to be strengthened, especially among politicians and citizens, but also among officials in Swedish municipalities. There is a clear knowledge gap between researchers at the national level and politicians, officials and residents at the local level. A common perception among municipal officials is that it is the government responsibility to sort out and compile reliable information about climate change impacts. The study reveals that there is a lack of knowledge, since the politicians and municipal officials is asking for example more detailed climate scenarios with less uncertainty. The interviews also give an indication of ignorance and skepticism among local politicians, as some of them are not aware of what climate change adaptation means. The municipalities in this study show a varying competence and enthusiasm. Some are progressive in their climate adaptation work, some are not. Previous experience of extreme weather events, policy (in this aspect power and influence), financial resources and knowledge appear to be the main factors that influence the development of adaptation measures and actions at the local level. If municipalities should be able to take long-term, good and sustainable decisions about climate change adaptation and do a successful work at a local level, knowledge is required. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4222018
- author
- Håkansson, Matilda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MVEM30 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Kommuner, Kunskap, Klimatanpassning, Klimattjänster
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4222018
- date added to LUP
- 2014-01-21 09:03:38
- date last changed
- 2014-01-21 09:03:38
@misc{4222018,
abstract = {{Climate adaptation is necessary to address the impacts of the climate change which is already unavoidable due to past emissions. There is a strong need for knowledge building, for which climate-related knowledge and information needs to be made available through different types of climate services. The aim with this study is to examine how useful climate services are, as a knowledge base for decision-making on climate change adaptation at a local level. In this study, five municipalities in Sweden are studied and focus have been (i) which climate services Swedish municipalities are using today, (ii) what kind of climate services they need, and (iii) what affect decision making about climate change adaptation.
The study indicates that knowledge and competence greatly influence decisions regarding issues relating to climate adaptation. Knowledge is a precondition for municipalities to be able to make long-term and informed decisions on climate adaptation. In municipalities with officials and politicians with a lot of knowledge and awareness about climate change adaptation, the adaptation work is progressive. In municipalities where officials and politicians have low skills in the field the work with climate adaptation is not often prioritized. The results show that the rich supply of information combined with poor accessibility limits the usefulness and complicate the reading of the essence, at the local level. Knowledge is necessary but it also requires competent officials in municipalities which receive the knowledge and forward it within the municipal organization. It is important that issues regarding climate change are included in the planning process and that politicians are involved in the early stages of the working process.
Swedish municipalities in this case study mainly base their knowledge on reports about adaptation, by national and local authorities. The majority of the information in these reports is based on SMHI’s data and scenarios of future precipitation changes. The result shows that there is currently too much information, on the other hand there is a need for information. This means that the knowledge that exists today need to be synthesized. Too much information and poor availability of data and knowledge has contributed to the fact that the knowledge hasn’t been useful. Access to knowledge and information is a prerequisite for increasing awareness and knowledge for politicians, officials and residents at a local level. Climate services, in this study include interpretation and synthesis. By separating the knowledge itself with climate services that make such knowledge available, the results in this study reveal that most needed is not new knowledge, it’s a synthesis and translation of existing knowledge. Climate services play an important role when it comes to translate the knowledge into a language which is easier to understand, and increase the availability of the knowledge base that already exists. Climate services are not useful for the municipalities today. The representatives miss a consensus in this question. There is a strong need for information due to the awareness and knowledge of the climate change, its impacts and the need for climate adaptation needs to be strengthened, especially among politicians and citizens, but also among officials in Swedish municipalities. There is a clear knowledge gap between researchers at the national level and politicians, officials and residents at the local level. A common perception among municipal officials is that it is the government responsibility to sort out and compile reliable information about climate change impacts. The study reveals that there is a lack of knowledge, since the politicians and municipal officials is asking for example more detailed climate scenarios with less uncertainty. The interviews also give an indication of ignorance and skepticism among local politicians, as some of them are not aware of what climate change adaptation means. The municipalities in this study show a varying competence and enthusiasm. Some are progressive in their climate adaptation work, some are not. Previous experience of extreme weather events, policy (in this aspect power and influence), financial resources and knowledge appear to be the main factors that influence the development of adaptation measures and actions at the local level. If municipalities should be able to take long-term, good and sustainable decisions about climate change adaptation and do a successful work at a local level, knowledge is required.}},
author = {{Håkansson, Matilda}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Klimattjänster - användbarhet för beslutsfattande om klimatanpassning på lokal nivå?}},
year = {{2013}},
}