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Pressrelease | 2021-06-09
Bebyggelse i Lomma, Skåne. Foto Christian Almström, Lomma kommun.

Photo: Christian Almström, Lomma municipality.

New survey about climate adaptation in Sweden

Lomma, situated in the south of Sweden is the best climate adaptation municipality of the year. This is shown by the latest survey of the municipalities' climate adaptation work carried out by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Insurance Sweden. Almost all municipalities state that they have been affected by climate change and extreme weather events, but less than half have set aside resources for climate adaptation measures, the survey shows.

– Swedish society needs to be better equipped to handle extreme weather and climate change. All municipalities need to analyze how they will be affected by a changing climate and implement measures to reduce their vulnerability, says Hanna Matschke Ekholm at IVL.

Most municipalities that have responded to the survey (160 out of 180) state that they currently work with climate adaptation. But there is a big difference in how far the municipalities have come. Every other municipality does not reach 16.5, which is half of the points, and 47 municipalities have received less than 10 points in the survey. This shows that there are still relatively many municipalities that have barely begun their climate adaptation work.

Another figure that stands out is that only 43 municipalities have produced information or communication material about their climate adaptation work.

– Knowledge and information about climate adaptation is needed to increase awareness and understanding, both within one's own business, among municipal residents and among other stakeholders. It is gratifying that the municipalities' strategic climate work is slowly progressing, but the pace needs to increase, says Staffan Moberg at Insurance Sweden.

Smaller cities and municipalities in rural areas have generally not come as far in climate adaptation work as larger municipalities. Many municipalities express that they need more support and increased resources.

– It is positive that the municipalities carry out broad analyzes of climate risks in several sectors. On the other hand, they should take a longer perspective on the risks and start from the worst-case scenario of emissions, as we currently cannot state that the emissions curve has turned downwards. There is every reason to take a cautious stance to protect society, says Staffan Moberg.

This year's climate adaptation municipalities

The municipalities that have placed at the top in this year's survey are Lomma, which comes in first place in the ranking, Norrköping in second place and in shared third place: Ängelholm, Söderhamn, Skövde, Kristianstad and Arvika. What the municipalities have in common is that they have made a political decision to work with climate adaptation. They have also integrated climate adaptation into their regular operations and allocated resources to coordinate the work.

Hanna Matschke Ekholm believes that more municipalities need to work in this way. Still, just over half of the municipalities have made a political decision to work with climate adaptation and even fewer have set goals for the work.

– Getting a mandate, that climate adaptation is prioritized and that someone coordinates the work, as well as that the municipality allocates resources are important keys - it provides conditions for being able to conduct long-term and systematic climate adaptation work, says Hanna Matschke Ekholm.

Here is a short version of the report with the ranking Pdf, 4.7 MB, opens in new window. and the complete report (in Swedish):
Climate adaptation 2021 - so far the municipalities have come Pdf, 2.9 MB, opens in new window..

The location of the municipalities in each county. Pdf, 800.2 kB, opens in new window.

For more information, please contact:
Hanna Matschke Ekholm, +46 (0)10-788 65 42, hanna.matschkeekholm@ivl.se
Sara Malmheden, press officer at IVL, +46 (0)10-788 65 10, sara.malmheden@ivl.se
Martin Kling, press officer at Insurance Sweden, +46 (0)76-100 94 10, martin.kling@insurancesweden.se

Information about the survey

  • IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Insurance Sweden have for the fifth time conducted a survey to map Sweden's municipalities' work with climate adaptation.
  • The questionnaire was sent to all of Sweden's municipalities and was answered by 180 municipalities.
  • The questions in the survey are based on the European Commission's tool for climate adaptation, the Adaptation Support Tool.
  • The results have also formed the basis for a comparison and ranking of the municipalities' work. The purpose of the municipal ranking is, among other things, to get more municipalities to work systematically with climate adaptation.
  • In the ranking, the municipalities' answers in the survey have been scored and summarized. The maximum score in the ranking is 33 points. How the questions have been scored and all municipalities' points are described in the report.

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