Barriärer och Styrmedel för kommunal klimatanpassning

Sammanfattning: In the Swedish region of Västra Götaland, the risks induced by climate change are severe and the increased pace of municipal climate adaptation measures is paramount to meet the effects of climate change. This actualizes a discussion about policy instruments to incentivize increased climate change adaptation. By interviewing 13 civil servants in 11 municipalities in the region, this study maps the conditions for and organization of local climate change adaptation governance in the investigated municipalities as well as the attitude to a specific type of goal-oriented management in the form of voluntary commitments at the municipal level. The study shows diversity in how municipalities handle the issue of climate change adaptation, and the work is carried out to varying degrees collectively or integrated. Local action is limited by known barriers, the most prominent of which is a lack of resources. Likewise, barriers play a role in attitudes towards voluntary commitments. The percived advantages the respondents see are that the instrument can deal with institutional barriers. However, respondents raise concerns that commitments may exacerbate, be hindered by, or create new barriers, as well as not address key barriers. The respondents can also identify how the instrument should be designed. Among the respondents, the issue of scale also appears as a central issue that creates barriers. The results show that the respondents expect policy measures that can manage and respond to perceived central barriers and resistance to policy measures that are expected to have a negative effect on barriers. This suggests that climate adaptation decision- making at the local level must maneuver barriers to successfully engender local adaptation actions. Furthermore, it highlights the need to listen to municipal concerns and interests. Finally, the study suggests the need for further research in climate change adaptation and management tools to engender it.