Aspects of Strategic Climate Work in Nordic Municipalities


Book Description

Nordic municipalities can have a significant impact on creating a more climate-friendly Nordic region. This study gathers valuable information about climate change management in Nordic municipalities and gives a general view to the local climate work in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The study aims at recognising the success factors and needs for support in Nordic local climate change work. It is based on a web survey conducted between October 2011 and February 2012, with an overall response rate of 37 %. The study shows that Nordic municipalities are actively working for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Commonalities in the success factors and challenges are found in the study; however, there is no 'one size fits all' solution, because the countries differ in many respects - the national framework conditions being the most crucial difference.




Aspects of Strategic Climate Work in Nordic Municipalities


Book Description

Nordic municipalities can have a significant impact on creating a more climate-friendly Nordic region. This study gathers valuable information about climate change management in Nordic municipalities and gives a general view to the local climate work in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The study aims at recognising the success factors and needs for support in Nordic local climate change work. It is based on a web survey conducted between October 2011 and February 2012, with an overall response rate of 37 %. The study shows that Nordic municipalities are actively working for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Commonalities in the success factors and challenges are found in the study, however, there is no "one size fits all" solution, because the countries differ in many respects - the national framework conditions being the most crucial difference




Collaborative Innovation in the Public Sector


Book Description

Public sector innovation is important because the pressures of growing expectations from citizens, budget crunches, and a surge of complex governance problems cannot be solved by standard government solutions or increased funding. In order to innovate, government increasingly needs to collaborate with networks of partners across agency boundaries and especially with the nonprofit and private sectors to find new solutions. This interaction within a network can enhance creative and effective governance solutions. In this book, Jacob Torfing closely examines the link between network-based collaborative governance and innovation, proposes a framework for the study of collaborative innovation, and discusses this approach in light of theoretical insights from other disciplines and from examples of public innovation drawn from the United States, Europe, and Australia. This book will move scholars closer to being able to develop a theory of collaborative innovation.




Sustainable Cities


Book Description

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Two trends come together in the world’s cities to make urban sustainability a critical issue today. First, greater and greater numbers of people are living in urban areas—and are projected to do so for the foreseeable future. Additionally, cities contribute to climate change in a significant way and must make systemic changes to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects. Urban planners face serious challenges in enhancing sustainability but also have an important set of tools available for creating innovative solutions. This book adds to the conversation about the place of urban planning in the creation and maintenance of sustainable cities.




Sustainable Development Action – the Nordic Way


Book Description

The 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, outlines an ambitious and universal plan of action for people, planet and prosperity as it seeks to strengthen universal peace and freedom. This report presents national and Nordic action on Agenda 2030 with the aim to inform and support the Nordic Council of Ministers in formulating a new Nordic Sustainable Development Programme. All Nordic countries are engaged and strongly committed to implementing Agenda 2030 and there is a broad societal interest in joint Nordic action. The existing Nordic Strategy for Sustainable Development and several other key initiatives within Nordic cooperation already contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030. A new Nordic Sustainable Development Programme can build upon a strong foundation and add further value to the national and international work done by the Nordic countries.




Nordic Action on Climate Change


Book Description

This booklet presents actions taken by the Nordic countries to speed the transition to a sustainable low-carbon society. It shows how sustainable development is possible, with strong climate policies contributing to economic growth and job creation as well as environmental improvements. The Nordic countries successfully demonstrate how ambitious climate change mitigation targets and policies can be combined with high levels of human development.




Climate Accounting in Public Procurements: Status in the Nordic Countries


Book Description

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-544/ Public procurement is increasingly being used to implement political goals, often related to sustainability. A prioritised goal at present is reducing the climate emissions caused by our consumption of goods and services. For contracting authorities (CA), taking climate aspects into account when procuring requires effort and can increase costs. They need data to be able to select which procurements, products and suppliers can give most climate effect. At present relevant, comparable climate data is not readily available. This report analyses the needs for CAs and the current status in the Nordic countries as a basis for planning actions to better the availability of product-related climate data.




Strategies and methods for implementing CE in construction activities in the Nordic countries: supporting cases


Book Description

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-508/ The national strategies for a circular economy set the overall targets for implementation of circular economy in the country. Putting theory into practice via local strategies can be a good means for the transition towards a circular economy in the construction sector. Municipalities can set demands for CE solutions by requiring, e.g. the use of recycled and/or recyclable construction materials, the application of design for disassembly principles in construction and requiring resource mapping, and reuse and recycling in the demolition phase. The study identifies and presents cases and experiences from the implementation of CE concepts at the local level in the Nordic communities with a focus on construction, renovation and demolition. Barriers and drivers for the uptake of CE solutions are analysed, and enabling factors that could support the implementation of circular economy concepts and identified barriers in norms, legislation and guidelines are described. As part of the project, the project group gave 10 policy recommendations.




A review of the Nordic implementation of the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan


Book Description

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2024-521/ This report reviews the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Gender Action Plan (UNFCCC GAP) in the Nordic countries. The UNFCCC GAP aims at advancing knowledge and understanding of gender responsive climate action, and includes activities for gender mainstreaming the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The report finds that the Nordic region demonstrates commitment to integrating gender equality perspectives into climate policies, and summarises best case examples on local and national level. It also suggests that by prioritising capacity building of mainstreaming in climate policies, utilising available sex-disaggregated data for gender analysis, and by enhancing coherence in relevant policy frameworks, the Nordic countries can improve their implementation of the UNFCCC GAP and further pave the way for a just transition to a green economy.




Planning for Climate Change


Book Description

Climate change is changing the context of spatial planning and shaping its priorities. It has strengthened its environmental dimension and has become a new rationale for coordinating actions and integrating different policy priorities. This book sets out the economic, social and environmental challenges that climate change raises for urban and regional planners and explores current and potential responses. These are set within the context of recent research and scholarly works on the role of spatial planning in combating climate change. Addressing both mitigation measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to the effects of climate change, the book provides an overview of emerging practice, with analysis of the drivers of policy change and practical implementation of measures. It scopes planning issues and opportunities at different spatial scales, drawing on both the UK and international experiences and highlighting the need to link global and local responses to shared risks and opportunities.