Knowledge centres for climate information

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

This Agency works on behalf of the Swedish Govern- ment and is the authority in Sweden with an overview of the state of the environment and progress in envir- onmental management. The Agency also has the func- tion of coordinating, monitoring and evaluating Sweden’s progress towards its environmental objec- tives and, above all, supporting other stakeholders in their environmental efforts, by developing and dis- seminating knowledge, formulating requirements and aspirations, and engaging in monitoring and evalua- tion. Since February 2013, the Agency has had a new website (www.naturvardsverket.se) with extensive in- formation about climate change.

Since 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency has also been holding the annual ‘Climate Forum’, a seminar at which various themes with a bearing on cli- mate change are discussed. The Forum brings together agencies, organisations, municipalities, businesses and politicians.

Swedish Energy Agency

As the central government authority for energy issues, the Swedish Energy Agency is responsible for giving both citizens and businesses information and advice on more efficient energy use. The Agency’s website, www. energimyndigheten.se, contains extensive information (mainly in Swedish) about households’ energy use and what can be done to reduce it. Along with these energy- saving tips for the public, there is a special website for schools (in Swedish), www.energikunskap.se, addressed to teachers and pupils alike. The Agency’s Testlab tests the energy consumption and functioning of various products, and publishes the results on the website.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Science and technology ■ Policy-making ■ Economic and energy interests ■ Ecology / meteorological ■ Culture ■ Civil society

Figure 9.2 Aggregated distribution (spread) of news, by subject area.

The Energy Agency arranges, funds and takes part in a range of activities at local or regional level. There are, for example, development programmes like Sustainable

Municipality; support for information and education projects; and support, in various forms, for municipal advisory services on energy and the climate, and for regional energy offices. Advice on energy and climate change, addressing the public, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and organisations, is available in most Swedish municipalities.

Swedish Consumer Agency

The Swedish Consumer Agency, the country’s central administrative authority for consumer affairs, bears primary responsibility for implementing government consumer policy. The Agency’s remit includes inte- grated responsibility for consumer-related environ- mental and sustainability issues, and also special respon- sibility for progress towards environmental objectives within its own sphere of activities. The Agency’s web- site, www.konsumentverket.se, serves as a portal for its own and other authorities’ consumer information. Its publicity aimed at the public includes information about climate and environmental labels, such as the Nordic Ecolabel, Good Environmental Choice and the EU Ecolabel.

The Consumer Agency also provides Bilsvar, an online service offering an overview of vehicles’ fuel consump- tion, CO2 emissions, economy and safety.

Swedish Forest Agency

In the years 2009–12, the Swedish Forest Agency re- ceived special funds to inform forest owners and for- est officers about climate change. Information and ad- vice about the climate have been provided at special seminars or conferences in the various forest districts. The Agency’s website, www.skogsstyrelsen.se, and the magazine Skogseko (‘Forest Echo’) have also been im- portant channels.

Swedish Board of Agriculture

Agriculture influences the environment in many dif- ferent ways. The Swedish Board of Agriculture web- site, www.jordbruksverket.se, reports both on global aspects of climate change and on matters relating to biodiversity and individual farmers.

Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) develops and distributes information about the weather, water and the climate for the purpose of pro- viding knowledge and high-quality decision support for the public and business sectors and for citizens.

The website www.smhi.se contains abundant mate- rial (including maps) concerning various climate sce- narios for users to download. Information on climate change, in Swedish, has been compiled on the Klimat

i förändring (‘Changing climate’) theme page at www. smhi.se/tema/Klimat-i-forandring. Since 2012, SMHI has also run a National Knowledge Centre for Climate

Change Adaptation to compile, summarise and make available relevant knowledge. In managing the Centre, SMHI collaborates on a broad front with stakeholders involved in climate change adaptation.

The Centre also runs the Swedish Portal for Climate

Change Adaptation, a collaborative undertaking involv- ing 13 government agencies. This website, www.kli- matanpassning.se, serves to support those engaged in adapting society to climate change.

Swedish Transport Administration

The Swedish Transport Administration is a central government agency tasked with ensuring that the sys- tems for road and rail transport, shipping and aviation are of a high standard, economically efficient and uni- versally available.

The Administration is in charge of environmental issues associated with the state road and rail networks. It works to reduce emissions that affect climate, by promoting attractive, accessible towns and cities char- acterised by reduced car dependence, energy-efficient goods transport chains, more energy-efficient road vehicles and railway rolling stock on a sustainable energy basis, and energy-efficient infrastructure main- tenance.

The website www.trafikverket.se contains general information about the environmental impact of road and rail transport, and about how individuals can reduce emissions by, for example, choosing low-emission modes of transport, driving economically and selecting fuel- saving vehicles.

Swedish Defence Research Agency

The Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) is a re- search institute in the area of defence and security that is helping society to adapt to a changing climate by developing methods and tools. The Agency also conducts research with the aim of understanding conditions for adaptation both in Sweden and abroad.

In the Climatools research programme, funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, adap- tation tools have been developed in cooperation with stakeholders that include a few municipalities. The intention is for these tools to make it easier for spatial planners and decision makers to adapt society to the repercussions of climate change. Researchers from

FOI, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the National Institute of Economic Research and Umeå University have taken part in the various projects concerning these tools. Information about Climatools is available at www.climatools.se.