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A 'recipe' for municipal climate action?

Svensson, Gunilla LU (2018) STVK02 20181
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Given Sweden’s reputation as a frontrunner in sustainable development, its problems of implementing its own environmental strategy is somewhat surprising. In any attempt to mitigate climate change, involving the local level will be absolutely crucial – both in Swedish efforts to achieve its climate policy, and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. Swedish municipalities are central implementers of national environmental policy, and yet, they exhibit great variations in their level of climate engagement. For this reason, this comparative case study seeks to explore the ‘recipe’ of municipal climate action: by applying key endogenous factors assumed to shape climate mitigation efforts in the literature on interviews with public... (More)
Given Sweden’s reputation as a frontrunner in sustainable development, its problems of implementing its own environmental strategy is somewhat surprising. In any attempt to mitigate climate change, involving the local level will be absolutely crucial – both in Swedish efforts to achieve its climate policy, and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. Swedish municipalities are central implementers of national environmental policy, and yet, they exhibit great variations in their level of climate engagement. For this reason, this comparative case study seeks to explore the ‘recipe’ of municipal climate action: by applying key endogenous factors assumed to shape climate mitigation efforts in the literature on interviews with public officials in three Swedish municipalities, the purpose is to explain why some municipalities are more active in addressing GHG emissions than others. The findings suggest that a strong political support and leadership is the most critical ingredient in shaping local mitigation efforts, but that several other factors, such as the way the climate issue is framed, may be significant as well. Ultimately, more political boldness and national regulation is needed to meet the Swedish environmental objectives and to enable a local transition to sustainable development. For if not even Sweden is successful in reducing its GHG emissions, who will be? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Svensson, Gunilla LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A comparative study searching for the ‘ingredients’ by assessing the experiences of three Swedish municipalities in addressing climate change mitigation
course
STVK02 20181
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
climate action, climate change mitigation, greenhouse gas emissions, local climate governance, local government, municipalities, Sweden, Swedish environmental objectives
language
English
id
8940304
date added to LUP
2018-08-23 09:24:04
date last changed
2018-08-23 09:24:04
@misc{8940304,
  abstract     = {{Given Sweden’s reputation as a frontrunner in sustainable development, its problems of implementing its own environmental strategy is somewhat surprising. In any attempt to mitigate climate change, involving the local level will be absolutely crucial – both in Swedish efforts to achieve its climate policy, and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. Swedish municipalities are central implementers of national environmental policy, and yet, they exhibit great variations in their level of climate engagement. For this reason, this comparative case study seeks to explore the ‘recipe’ of municipal climate action: by applying key endogenous factors assumed to shape climate mitigation efforts in the literature on interviews with public officials in three Swedish municipalities, the purpose is to explain why some municipalities are more active in addressing GHG emissions than others. The findings suggest that a strong political support and leadership is the most critical ingredient in shaping local mitigation efforts, but that several other factors, such as the way the climate issue is framed, may be significant as well. Ultimately, more political boldness and national regulation is needed to meet the Swedish environmental objectives and to enable a local transition to sustainable development. For if not even Sweden is successful in reducing its GHG emissions, who will be?}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Gunilla}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{A 'recipe' for municipal climate action?}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}