Planning to transform : Exploring the role of climate and energy action plans in municipal low-carbon transformation

Abstract

The point of departure of the present thesis is to understand local efforts towards low-carbon societies from the point of view of municipalities. Both the theoretical and empirical focus is placed on the municipality as an actor of change, exploring possibilities and constraints to transformation at the local level. Cities are increasingly put forward as key actors in efforts to combat human made climate changes, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation. A majority of emissions stem from activities, consumption and production in cities, and half the world’s population reside in cities and the number is increasing. However, cities, as municipal entities are part of governance hierarchies, each are unique in their materiality, political, social, historical and cultural contexts – in other words: their possibilities, constraints and willingness to transform into low-carbon societies vary greatly. Within this multifaceted scenery of municipal planning and politics, cities have become the most ambitious actors in climate change governance. In municipalities, the main tool to steer and influence the future is planning, and climate change has entered the planning realm.

The main research question in this PhD project is: What role does a climate and energy action plan play in municipal transformation to a low-carbon society?

In the Norwegian context it is obligatory to make a Climate and Energy Action Plans (CAP) (or incorporate climate change in the social element of the master plan), and these CAPs have developed very differently in the many municipalities of the country. The place of CAPs in the planning hierarchy, and how these plans are made, revised and implemented vary greatly. In this thesis my aim is the examine the role of these CAPs in the municipal efforts to transform societies.

The process of revising and passing the CAP in three Norwegian cities are studied, through extensive fieldwork. Participant observation, field conversations, document analysis, interviews and media coverage make up the core of the empirical data. The study is inspired by situational analysis and grounded theory, and the idea of analysis starting as soon as data production starts has been guiding. Some key nodes of particular interest are identified: a) the need for and the work to break institutional silos inhibiting effective climate governance; b) the particular importance of place-based context in shaping what is conceived as possible and desirable; c) the many conflicting goals, stemming from lock-ins, scalar differences in priorities, sectoral divisions, discourses and different material interests.