Climate Adaptation Governance Systems

The research examines the framing of climate adaptation in Sweden through a securitization lens, analyzing whether it is treated as a security threat, a risk, or as part of normal politics. The findings indicate that while some threat- and risk-oriented securitizations exist, climate adaptation is primarily managed as a standard policy domain characterized by centralized decision-making and municipal autonomy.

• While there are examples of climate adaptation being framed through threat- and risk-oriented securitization, the majority of evidence shows that it is handled via discourses and practices of 'normal politics' across different levels of governance.
• At the national level, climate adaptation is treated as a typical policy domain where goals are set through centralized decision-making and tracked via accountability mechanisms across national, subregional, and local levels, with the national government retaining financial and monitoring control.
• Swedish municipalities have substantial autonomy in choosing the methods to meet adaptation goals, and the overall prevalence of normal policymaking over securitization is driven by expert influence, limited resources, and organizational fragmentation.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2024). Climate Adaptation Governance Systems. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-adaptation-governance-systems/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Climate Adaptation Governance Systems. 2024. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-adaptation-governance-systems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Climate Adaptation Governance Systems |date=10 December 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-adaptation-governance-systems/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2024climate, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Climate Adaptation Governance Systems}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-adaptation-governance-systems/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }