Climate change, community response and multilevel governance

The CIRCLE ERA-Net project established a Nordic research network to examine local climate adaptation and mitigation through three workshops held in Norway, Sweden, and Finland between 2008 and 2009. The project identified that local adaptive capacity is historically linked to national policy and that adaptation and mitigation are often integrated in local discussions. Findings suggest that while national initiatives are necessary, they are insufficient on their own, and that local capacity in peripheral regions often depends on market-based competitiveness. The project resulted in two joint peer-reviewed articles and a proposal for a follow-up network, NORDCLAD-Net, to further interdisciplinary research and communication on adaptation.

• Local climate adaptation capacity is best understood through the historical development of national and local energy, environment, and climate policies. While vulnerability and adaptation are now more prominent in local debates than previous focuses on Agenda 21 and sustainable development, adaptation and mitigation typically remain part of the same local discussion.
• National and international policy initiatives define the framework for local actors, but horizontal networks—such as municipalities that lead in adaptation planning serving as inspiration for others—are increasingly important.
• In Finland, research on adaptation has historically been sector-oriented and linked to ministries, lacking cross-disciplinarity and a comprehensive understanding of regional or local realities.
• The project concluded that the global emphasis on mitigation delayed the focus on adaptation, and that national policies alone are insufficient to trigger local responses; instead, networks spanning multiple governance levels are required.
• In the peripheral regions of the Nordic countries, the ability to adapt locally is frequently tied to economic resources, infrastructure, technology, and the capacity to compete within market-based systems.

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

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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} }