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Politics and policy processes for clean energy transition and climate neutrality

A close up photo on a hand in a glove building a house.
Photographer: sturti

We live in a climate emergency. In 2015, the UN adopted the goal of keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels. In 2021, the EU adopted a climate law that states that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 55% by 2030, and that the EU should be climate neutral by 2050. In Sweden, a climate law was adopted in 2017, with the goal that Sweden should be climate neutral by 2045. To achieve these goals, a just and clean energy and climate transition is needed. The transition must take place in all sectors of society. Both the EU and Sweden have adopted various climate policy instruments to realize this transition.

As part of the European Green Deal – the EU’s climate plan and strategy for green growth to 2050 – the European Commission presented in 2021 proposals for, among other things, the revision of the EU’s directives on energy efficiency, the energy performance of buildings and emissions trading.

In addition, a proposal for legislation to decarbonise maritime shipping was presented. The proposals can have a major impact on Swedish policy regarding the promotion of resource- and energy-efficient and climate-friendly buildings.

The proposals can also have a major impact on Swedish policy for energy efficiency and reduced climate impact from industry, infrastructure and the public sector, as well as for shipping. The overall aim of our research within this thematic area is to increase knowledge about the processes for decision-making and policy change at the EU level and Swedish level regarding policies and instruments for climate neutrality.

Increased knowledge - to influence EU policy for energy efficiency and reduced climate impact

An important issue in EU politics and policymaking is the principle of subsidiarity, where competence and decision-making is shared between the EU and national governments. The tendency over time is that the European Commission tries to increase its power through its legislative proposals. The EU’s decision-making in matters of energy efficiency and reduced climate impact is complex. Increasing the understanding of the policy process contributes to our theoretical understanding of how policies and policy instruments are developed. The knowledge is also useful for decision-makers within the EU institutions, member states, interest groups and companies active in the construction and administration industry, industry, the public sector and the shipping industry. The lessons learned could also be used for analyses in other policy areas.

Method

The research project uses text analysis and interviews to triangulate important aspects of the policy process and the Commission’s attempts to increase the EU’s power in climate policy, so-called European integration. Knowledge of how stakeholders contribute to policymaking helps us explain how and why policy instruments are designed the way they are. Using the theoretical frameworks Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) and discourse analysis, agenda-setting and the interactions between different stakeholders and the conflicts of interest that arise and how they are managed are mapped. The project also complements the limited social science research on energy efficiency, clean energy transition and reduced climate impact, and dives deeper into the process than previous political science research on lobbying, which mainly examines the degree to which stakeholder preferences coincide with the outcome. In connection with the latter, it is also analysed how so-called policy entrepreneurs influence democratic policy processes and democratic values such as accountability, transparency, legitimacy, openness and justice.

Facts

The project is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, Research programme Energy efficient buildings and housing (E2B2), Grant number P2021-00238.

Project start: December 2021
Project end: June 2024
Budget: 3 950 212 kr

Project leader

johno53

Johan Nordensvärd

Visiting Senior Lecturer, Docent

Climate declaration of buildings – a legitimate policy instrument?

To reach the climate targets, the clean energy and climate transition must have broad support in society and policies and instruments must be perceived as legitimate. The aim of this project is to create better knowledge about the policy process and the legitimacy of Swedish politics and instruments for the transition to a climate-neutral society. As a case, we analyse the new policy instrument climate declaration of buildings. It is an interesting case as it is the first Swedish policy instrument that explicitly intends to reduce the climate footprint of buildings. In addition, there is a connection to the EU energy performance of buildings directive, which has recently been renegotiated and includes climate performance requirements for new buildings from 2030 and existing buildings from 2050 (see the project "Increased knowledge" above). The issue of buildings’ energy use and climate impact affects many actors in society, both private and public, as well as several policy areas in addition to construction and housing policy and energy and climate policy: (i) economic and business policy, (ii) environmental policy, (iii) security policy, and ( iv) social policy. The project's results may be relevant for understanding the legitimacy of Swedish policy instruments in other policy areas.

Method

The research project uses qualitative text analysis and interviews to analyse important aspects of the policy process and the legitimacy of policy instruments. Knowledge of how different stakeholders contribute to policymaking helps us explain how and why policy instruments are designed the way they do. Using the theoretical framework Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), the interactions between the stakeholders are mapped. In particular, we analyse agenda-setting and the linking of problem description, policy proposals and politics. Such linking is done by so-called policy entrepreneurs if and when there is an open policy window, which leads to policy change. Regarding legitimacy, input, throughput and output in the policy process are analysed, i.e. compliance with established democratic rules, openness and an opportunity for citizens to participate in the process, as well as the ability of the governing body to fairly and efficiently solve collective problems. The project thereby complements the limited social science research on the legitimacy of policy instruments. Most legitimacy research focuses on political regimes and their performance, where the legitimacy of an instrument is assumed to follow from the legitimacy of a wider political system. The project also analyses how policy entrepreneurs influence democratic policy processes and other democratic values such as accountability, transparency, openness and justice.

Facts

The project is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, Research programme Energy efficient buildings and housing (E2B2), Grant number P2022-00877.

Project start: December 2022
Project end: February 2025
Budget: 1 810 230 kr

Project leader

frebu93

Fredrik von Malmborg

Adjunct Associate Professor

Publications

  1. von Malmborg, F. (2023) Är policyentreprenörer bra för demokratin? Magasinet Konkret, 25 December 2023. https://magasinetkonkret.se/ar-policyentreprenorer-bra-for-demokratin/
  2. Björklund, M., von Malmborg, F. & Nordensvärd, J. (2023) Lessons learnt from 20+ years of research on multi-level governance of energy efficient and zero-carbon buildings in the European Union, Energy Efficiency, 16,
  3. von Malmborg, F., Björklund, M. & Nordensvärd, J. (2023) Framing the benefits of European Union policy expansion on energy efficiency of buildings: A Swiss knife or a trojan horse? European Policy Analysis, 9(3), 219-243. https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.1184
  4. von Malmborg, F., Björklund, M. & Rohdin, P. (2023) Improving energy efficiency of buildings, In: Urban, F. & Nordensvärd, J., (eds.), Handbook on Climate Change and Technology, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp. 163-178.
  5. von Malmborg, F. & Strachan, P.A. (2023) Advocacy coalitions and paths to policy change for promoting energy efficiency in European industry, Energies, 16(9), 3785. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093785
  6. von Malmborg, F (2023) Tales of creation: Advocacy coalitions, beliefs and paths to policy change on the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle in EU, Energy Efficiency, 16, 10168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-023-10168-8
  7. von Malmborg, F. (2023) First and last and always: Politics of the ’energy efficiency first’ principle in EU energy and climate policy, Energy Research & Social Science, 101, 103126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103126
  8. von Malmborg, F. (2023) Combining the advocacy coalition framework and discourse analysis: The case of the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle in EU energy and climate policy, Politics & Policy, 51(2), 12525. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12525
  9. von Malmborg, F. (2023) Advocacy coalitions and policy change for decarbonisation of international maritime transport: The case of FuelEU Maritime, Maritime Transport Research, 4, 100091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.martra.2023.100091
  10. von Malmborg, F., Rohdin, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2023) Climate declarations for buildings as a new policy instrument in Sweden: A multiple streams perspective, Building Research & Information, 51, 2222320. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2023.2222320
  11. von Malmborg, F. (2023) Policyentreprenörer, klimatpolitik och demokrati, Magasinet Konkret, 13 oktober 2023. https://magasinetkonkret.se/helgessan-policyentreprenorer-klimatpolitik-och-demokrati/
  12. von Malmborg, F. (2022) Staten som lobbyist, Organisation & Samhälle, No. 2/2022, 10-15. https://org-sam.se/staten-som-lobbyist/
  13. von Malmborg, F. (2022) Theorising member state lobbying on European Union policy on energy efficiency, Energy Policy, 167, 113057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113057
  14. von Malmborg, F. (2021) Förändring av EU:s politik för energieffektivisering: Policyförändring genom intern chock och policy-orienterat lärande, Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift, 123(2), 267-294. https://journals.lub.lu.se/st/article/view/23518
  15. von Malmborg, F. (2021) Exploring advocacy coalitions for energy efficiency: Policy change through internal shock and learning in the European Union, Energy Research & Social Science, 80, 102248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102248

Research team

marbj02

Martin Björklund

PhD student

johno53

Johan Nordensvärd

Visiting Senior Lecturer, Docent

frebu93

Fredrik von Malmborg

Adjunct Associate Professor

eliwi01

Elin Wihlborg

Professor

patro23

Patrik Rohdin

Senior Associate Professor

patth52

Patrik Thollander

Professor, Head of Division

linlu23

Lina La Fleur

Postdoc

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