Local Governance and Climate Change: Reflections on the Swedish Experience

Abstract

The focus of this article is the Swedish experience of local governance and climate change, including mitigation and adaptation. The municipal response to these two challenges is set within a broader policy context that acknowledges Sweden as a pioneer in environmental governance, including its comparatively high ambitions with regard to the reduction of greenhouse ga emissions. Central–local relations in climate policy are analysed, and climate change mitigation and adaptation are exemplified by some snapshots of municipal initiatives, including the popular habit of networking between municipalities within as well as across national borders. In conclusion we briefly evaluate the Swedish local governance experience of climate change mitigation and adaptation to date as characterized by radical rhetoric and ambitious goals combined with a lot of promising initiatives, although still with fairly modest results in terms of tangible outcomes. Finally, we reflect upon what we consider to be the most important questions for future research on local governance and climate change.     

Comprehensive Study Regarding Greenhouse Gas Emission from Iron Ore Based Production at the Integrated Steel Plant SSAB Tunnplåt AB

During the years 2001–2002, a comprehensive study regarding CO₂ emissions related to the steel production for the integrated steel making production route, was carried out. The study was financed by SSAB and carried out by a research group with members from SSAB, MEFOS and LTU. The aim was to study the emissions from the existing system and how these could be influenced by process changes and by process modifications. The calculations were made using a global spreadsheet model for calculating the CO₂ emissions, developed from an existing Energy and Process Integration model of the same system. The calculated cases included the existing BF/BOF route as well as integration of other processes, e.g., an electric arc furnace, DR processes, COREX and a new future smelting reduction process concept (Sidcomet). All new existing alternative ore based process technologies would increase the specific CO₂ emission from the system. A technology transfer to scrap based metallurgy would significantly decrease the emission level, but is not feasible for SSAB, due to the future product mix and the structure of scrap availability. In a 5–20 year perspective, the existing steel making process route with the use of magnetite ore for pellet production has the lowest specific CO₂ emission. In a long-term perspective, 20–50 years, alternative process routes, e.g., based on H₂ and DRI, could be of interest. Studies on such changes are, however, big projects and should be carried out as joint European and/or international efforts.     

Flexibility in daily travel routines causes regional variation in bird migration speed

We used novel Global Positioning System-based satellite telemetry to reconstruct daily time budgets on travelling days of a long-distance migrant, the Osprey Pandion haliaetus, to reveal how landscape affects migratory performance. We compared daily travel routines between the Ospreys’ passage of Europe and the Sahara. In Europe, where feeding habitat is abundant, Ospreys fed both before–after flights and during interruptions, thus, combining migration with foraging. This resulted in a 2.7-h shorter daily flight period in Europe than in the Sahara. A calculated energy budget indicated that a ‘fly-and-forage migration strategy’ is favourable in Europe because associated benefits (energy intake) more than outweigh costs (reduced flight time). The much shorter flight time in Europe was the main explanation why Ospreys covered on average 78 km less distance on a travelling day in Europe than in the Sahara. In addition, there were regional differences in hourly flight speeds that are most probably the result of variation in thermal soaring conditions. We conclude that landscape properties have a profound effect on migration through regional variation in daily routines.     

Lifestyle: suggesting mechanisms and a definition from a cognitive science perspective

The concept of lifestyle is rather difficult to pin down. It is used in a variety of disciplines and related to many different problems. In our highly modern society, lifestyle is more often mentioned as something we need to change in order to achieve a sustainable development. Our main interest then is how we create and change a lifestyle. How can we understand why it is sometimes difficult to achieve change? In relation to terms like beliefs, desires, intentions, habits and artefacts six factors will be suggested. Within these factors we may have a foundation for a mechanism underlying the creation and change of lifestyle. A definition of the concept of lifestyle from a cognitive science perspective will also be suggested, as derived from the same foundation and terms related to it.     

Dams,Floodplain Land Use,and Riparian Forest Conservation in the Semiarid Upper Colorado River Basin,USA

Land and water resource development can independently eliminate riparian plant communities, including Fremont cottonwood forest (CF), a major contributor to ecosystem structure and functioning in semiarid portions of the American Southwest. We tested whether floodplain development was linked to river regulation in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) by relating the extent of five developed land-cover categories as well as CF and other natural vegetation to catchment reservoir capacity, changes in total annual and annual peak discharge, and overall level of mainstem hydrologic alteration (small, moderate, or large) in 26 fourth-order subbasins. We also asked whether CF appeared to be in jeopardy at a regional level. We classified 51% of the 57,000 ha of alluvial floodplain examined along >2600 km of mainstem rivers as CF and 36% as developed. The proportion developed was unrelated to the level of mainstem hydrologic alteration. The proportion classified as CF was also independent of the level of hydrologic alteration, a result we attribute to confounding effects from development, the presence of time lags, and contrasting effects from flow alteration in different subbasins. Most CF (68% by area) had a sparse canopy (50% canopy cover occupied <1% of the floodplain in 15 subbasins. We suggest that CF extent in the UCRB will decline markedly in the future, when the old trees on floodplains now disconnected from the river die and large areas change from CF to non-CF categories. Attention at a basinwide scale to the multiple factors affecting cottonwood patch dynamics is needed to assure conservation of these riparian forests.     

Sexual dimorphism and the mating ecology of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard

We assessed the role of size, mass, and age in mating and non-mating polar bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard, Norway, during the spring breeding season. The ratio of male to female mass, in male-female pairs, ranged from 1.00 to 3.02 ([`(x)] = 1.99 \overline x = 1.99 ) indicating that mating males were larger than mating females but with substantial variation. Paired males were older than unpaired males and male mass was related to age. However, males paired with females were not significantly different in body mass from those males caught alone. Wounds and scars resulting from fights between males began at about 6 years of age and peaked at about 17 and 20 years of age, respectively. The frequency of broken canines in males, presumably due to increased male-male conflicts, increased with age but showed little increase in females. The wide range of male size in male-female pairs and the age-related signs of injury suggest that male polar bears engage in both scramble competition and contest competition for access to breeding females. The mating system of polar bears is variable but is best described as female defense polygyny or serial monogamy.     

Induction of trypsinogen secretion in herring larvae (Clupea harengus)

Mechanisms initiating trypsinogen secretion were studied in laboratory reared herring larvae (Clupea harengus L.) exposed to physical and chemical stimuli. Pancreatic secretion of trypsinogen was quantified for each stimulus type as the increase above pre-stimulus level of intestinal trypsin content. Larval prey types were: nauplii, copepodites or adult Acartia tonsa, small polystyrene spheres (diameter 94 m), small (diameter 79 m) or large (diameter 170 m) polystyrene-latex spheres. Intestinal trypsin content can be expressed as a function of two variables: meal size and content of pancreatic trypsinogen. Trypsinogen secretion increases with different prey items in the order: small spheres, nauplii and copepodites. Larvae which eat large spheres secrete more enzyme than if fed small spheres but trypsinogen secretion is similar in fish larvae fed copepodites and large spheres. The fact that the size of non-biodegradable particles exerts a major control over trypsinogen secretion suggests neural — as opposed to chemically mediated — initiation of secretion. A cephalic phase of secretory stimulation could not be demonstrated during swallowing of copepods or exposure for 2 to 3 h to compounds which leak from live copepodites. As cephalic and gastric phases of secretory stimulation are absent, initiation of trypsinogen secretion must take place in the intestine. Larval herring retain trypsin in the intestine. Ca. 4.5 h after a meal, 3/4 of the enzyme is located in the intestinal fluid, presumably available for hydrolysis of subsequent meals, and the high proportion (ca. 25%) of the pancreatic trypsinogen content which is secreted for copepodite prey may thus not be energetically wasteful for the larvae.     

How honeybees perceive communication dances,studied by means of a mechanical model

Summary A mechanical model of a dancing honeybee was used to investigate the role of various components of the wagging dance in the transfer of information to follower bees. The model simulates the dance, carries a scent, and has an acoustic near-field similar to that of live dancers. The movements of the model are controlled by a computer, and selected components of the dance can be manipulated independently of others. The number of bees approaching scented baits at various distances and directions from the hive was observed, both during simulated normal dances and dances in which different components provided potentially conflicting information about the location of the food. The results indicate that the wagging run is the master component of the dance. The figure-of-eight dance path does not seem to convey information. Both sound and wagging must be present in the dance, but no specific roles were found for these components. Both sound and wagging convey information about distance and direction, and they appear to be largely redundant. Offprint requests to: A. Michelsen     

Stress interactions and mycorrhizal plant response: understanding carbon allocation priorities

In this paper, a framework is presented for studying responses of mycorrhiza to external stresses, including possible feedback effects which are likely to occur. The authors review recent literature linking carbon allocation and host/fungal response under natural and anthropogenic stress, and present a conceptual model to discuss how carbon may be involved in singular and multiple stress interactions of mycorrhizal seedlings. Due to an integral integral role in metabollic processes, characterizing carbon allocation in controlled laboratory environments could be useful for understanding host/fungal responses to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stresses. Carbon allocation at the whole-plant level reflects an integrated response which links photosynthesis to growth and maintenance processes. A root-mycocosm system is described which permits spatial separation of a portion of extramatrical hyphae growing in association with seedling roots. Using this system, it is shown that root/hyphal respiratory release of pulse-labeled 14C follows a sigmoidal pattern, with typical lag, exponential and saturation phases. Total respiratory release of 14C per mg root and the fraction respired of total 14C allocated to the root is greater in ponderosa pine inoculated with Hebeloma crustuliniforme than in noninoculated controls. Results illustrate the nature of information than can be obtained using this system. Current projects using the mycocosms include characterizing the dynamics of carbon allocation under ozone stress, and following the fate of organic pollutants. The authors believe that the system could be used to differentiate fungal- and host-mediated responses to a large number of other stresses and to study a variety of physiological processes in mycorrhizal plants.     

Emission of Volatiles from Polymers — A New Approach for Understanding Polymer Degradation

Emission of low molar mass compounds from different polymeric materials was determined and the results from the volatile analysis were applied to predict the degree of degradation and long-term properties, to determine degradation rates and mechanisms, to differentiate between biotic and abiotic degradation and for quality control work. Solid-phase microextraction and solid-phase extraction together with GC-MS were applied to identify and quantify the low molar mass compounds. Volatiles were released and monitored at early stages of degradation before any matrix changes were observed by e.g. SEC, DSC and tensile testing. The analysis of volatiles can thus also be applied to detect small differences between polymeric materials and their susceptibility to degradation. The formation of certain degradation products correlated with the changes taking place in the polymer matrix, these indicator products could, thus, be analysed to rapidly predict the degree of degradation in the polymer matrix and further to predict the long-term properties and remaining lifetime of the product.