In addition to the Government and the Parliament, there is also the Swedish National Expert Council for Climate Adaptation, which advises the Government, and the Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, which has been tasked with gathering and disseminating information.
The Government and the Parliament
The Government and the Parliament are the highest decision-making bodies at national level, and deal with the following:
Laws: The Government decides on ordinances and the Parliament decides on laws. A large number of laws directly and indirectly affect climate change adaptation work in Sweden. The main – and most direct – law is the Swedish Planning and Building Act (PBL 2010:900). One key piece of legislation with indirect control in this area is the Swedish Environmental Code (SFS 1998:808).
Ordinances: The Government has decided on the Ordinance (2018:1428) on Agencies’ Climate Change Adaptation. This ordinance regulates the climate change adaptation work of 32 agencies and all 21 county administrative boards. The ordinance also states that all agencies covered by the Ordinance must report on their work to SMHI each year, and that SMHI must analyse these reports and compile a report for the Government each year.
Ordinance on climate adaptation work of government agencies (Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation)
The Government has also specifically tasked the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning with coordinating the national climate change adaptation work for the built environment.
Climate change adaptation strategy
In March 2018, the Government presented a national climate change adaptation strategy. The strategy includes Sweden’s climate change adaptation goals, guiding principles for the work, organisation and distribution of responsibilities, monitoring, financing principles and knowledge-boosting initiatives. The national climate change adaptation strategy will be updated every five years.
Climate change adaptation strategy (Swedish National Knowledge Center for Climate Change Adaptation)
The Swedish National Expert Council for Climate Adaptation
The Swedish National Expert Council for Climate Adaptation is affiliated with SMHI, and has been tasked with presenting a report to the Government every five years. The report should include proposals for the direction of the national climate change adaptation work, a prioritisation of adaptation measures based on an assessment of risk, cost and benefit, a summary analysis of the effects of climate change on society, and a follow-up and evaluation of the national climate change adaptation work. SMHI has a secretariat that has been tasked with supporting the council.
Government agencies
Various agencies are responsible for providing support and assistance within different sectoral issues. One example of a sector is agriculture and forestry, within which the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Swedish Forest Agency are responsible for climate change adaptation support. The National Veterinary Institute provides support concerning knowledge and science on animal production and health. Other examples include the emergency management sector, where the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency has responsibility, the marine environment sector, where the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has responsibility, and human health, where the Public Health Agency of Sweden has responsibility.
The authority of the agencies varies from simply providing support to being prescriptive.
The Ordinance (2018:1428) on Agencies’ Climate Change Adaptation lists the agencies with designated responsibility for working with climate change adaptation.
The National Network for Adaptation
A number of national and regional agencies are part of a network that aims to strengthen society’s ability to deal with the positive and negative effects of climate change. This involves working together to produce data and knowledge, or arranging joint courses, for example. The work is carried out in thematic working groups. The network cooperates on Klimatanpassning.se and issues a newsletter.
The Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation
The Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation is a hub for knowledge about climate change adaptation. SMHI has been commissioned by the Government to run this centre. Its task is to facilitate adaptation throughout society, by making it easier to understand what climate change adaptation is and the importance of working with this issue, to find relevant information from government agencies and research within the field, and to obtain knowledge about how to work with climate change adaptation.
Klimatanpassning.se is the online portal for this combined information. The portal is operated by the Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, but the information is provided by the National Network for Adaptation, which is made up of Swedish government agencies.