ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Climate card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 48 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEnvironment & resources
  • Centre of gravityThe EU
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionEuropean Parliament election
Environment & resources

Climate

Climate, seasons, rainfall & temperatures

Climate policy decides how you travel, live and heat your home for the coming decades. Most of the framework is set far from your municipality (kommun): the EU sets the emissions targets and puts a price on emissions, the Riksdag legislates and the municipality plans. Anyone who wants to make a difference needs to know which level holds which lever.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · planning, energy & transport · approx 15 %
  • Region · public transport & development · approx 5 %
  • State · climate law, targets & policy tools · approx 35 %
  • EU · emissions targets & emissions trading · approx 45 %

The EU is the biggest power factor: the emissions targets and emissions trading are decided there. Of the Swedish levels, the central government weighs the most, so the European Parliament election and the general election decide the most.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe planner
The regionTransport & development
Central governmentThe framework
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the building committee (byggnadsnämnden) and the municipal energy companies.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the public transport committee.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) and the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten). The Climate Policy Council reviews it.
What do they decide?
The comprehensive plan (översiktsplan), district heating, energy advice, and how easy it becomes to travel without a car in your municipality.
The expansion and electrification of public transport, and the regional development strategy.
The Climate Act, the national targets, taxes and policy tools, and support for industry and households.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipal council and the committees. The comprehensive plan always goes out for public consultation (samråd).
In the regional council, often in consultation with municipalities and the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen).
In the Riksdag and in the Government's climate policy action plan, one per term of office.
Who pays?
Municipal tax and charges, plus central government grants for climate measures.
Regional tax plus ticket revenue.
The central government budget: policy tools, support and agencies. Energy and carbon taxes bring in money.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Consultation on the comprehensive plan, a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) for charging points or cycle paths.
Regional election Consultation on the public transport programme, an email to the committee's politicians.
General election The general election steers the Climate Act and the action plan. The referrals are open to everyone.
EU · centre of gravityThe EU decides the emissions targets and runs the emissions trading that prices carbon across the whole union. The European Parliament election is in many ways the climate election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A climate target becomes reality
  1. EU

    The EU sets the target and the price

    The EU's climate law establishes that the union shall become climate neutral, and emissions trading puts a price on carbon for industry, electricity and aviation. This is the frame within which all Swedish climate policy operates.

    Point of influence

    The European Parliament election decides who tightens or slows the targets. Few elections affect climate policy more.

  2. State

    The Riksdag legislates

    The Climate Act forces every government to drive policy toward the Riksdag's climate targets and to report the results. The Climate Policy Council, an independent expert body, reviews each year whether the policy is enough.

  3. State

    The Government draws up the action plan

    Each term of office, the Government is to present a climate policy action plan: taxes, support and rules. The agencies then translate it into regulations and grants.

    Point of influence

    The proposals are sent out as referrals before a decision. Private individuals and associations can respond too.

  4. Municipality

    The municipality draws everyday life

    The comprehensive plan decides where housing, roads and wind power end up. The municipality also steers district heating, parking and cycle paths, the kind of thing that shapes the emissions in your everyday life.

    Point of influence

    The comprehensive plan goes out for public consultation. That is where you can have your say on how your municipality should look.

  5. Your everyday life

    The bus runs on electricity

    The charging point on the street, the bus that has gone electric, the building heated by district heating. Climate policy is not abstract, it shows up in the details, and every detail was a decision.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which decision in your municipality would make the biggest difference for the climate?

  2. What is fair: that all countries, all municipalities or all individuals cut their emissions by the same amount?

  3. How much of climate policy should be decided in Brussels and how much at home?

  4. Which climate decisions do you notice in your own everyday life, for better or worse?

  5. Who should pay for the transition: the taxpayers, the consumers or the companies that emit?

Glossary

Utsläppshandel
The EU's system where companies buy and sell the right to emit carbon, with the cap lowered over time.
Klimatlagen
Swedish law that forces every government to drive policy toward the Riksdag's climate targets.
Klimatpolitiska rådet
An independent expert council that reviews each year whether the government's policy is enough to reach the targets.
Översiktsplan
The municipality's long-term plan for land and building, decided after public consultation.
Remiss
When a proposal is sent out so that agencies, organisations and individuals can have their say.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.