Climate change, community response and multilevel governance

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of the CIRCLE ERA-Net project, which aimed to establish a Nordic research network focused on local climate adaptation and mitigation within a multilevel governance framework. Through three workshops held in Norway, Sweden, and Finland between 2008 and 2009, the project explored the determinants of adaptive capacity, the role of national and international policies, and the importance of communication and stakeholder engagement in local contexts.

• The project concluded that while national and international policy initiatives are essential for defining the environment for local actors, they are not sufficient on their own to drive local adaptation responses. Additionally, horizontal networks are becoming increasingly important, as seen in Sogn og Fjordane where municipalities leading in adaptation planning inspire others.
• Local climate adaptation capacity is best understood through the historical development of national and local energy, environment, and climate policies. While previous local debates focused on sustainable development and Agenda 21, there is now a greater focus on vulnerability and adaptation, though mitigation and adaptation often remain part of the same local discussion.
• In the Nordic peripheral regions, the ability of a community to adapt is frequently tied to its capacity to compete within market-based systems, specifically regarding infrastructure, technology, and economic resources.
• Research on adaptation in Finland has historically been sector-oriented and linked to ministries, which has resulted in a lack of cross-disciplinarity and a failure to incorporate regional or local realities. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of adaptation in Finland is still missing, highlighting a need for comparative studies and improved communication to translate climate science into socially robust knowledge.
• The project identified that the global emphasis on climate mitigation has delayed the focus on adaptation, although actual experiences of vulnerability have created a policy window to begin these discussions.

APA

Nilsson, A. E. (n.d.). Climate change, community response and multilevel governance. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Final_report_for_CIRCLE_ERA.pdf

Chicago

Nilsson, Annika E. Climate change, community response and multilevel governance. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Final_report_for_CIRCLE_ERA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nilsson |first1=Annika E. |title=Climate change, community response and multilevel governance |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Final_report_for_CIRCLE_ERA.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nilssonndclimate, author = {Nilsson, Annika E.}, title = {{Climate change, community response and multilevel governance}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/Final_report_for_CIRCLE_ERA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }