There are many original ideas and useful system inputs embedded in the building of human settlements in Scandinavian regions, where the landscape and habitat are strongly interconnected. A cold climate and strong winds are the most prominent risks that affect habitats. The Longhouse is the foremost traditional habitat in the Scandinavian region, dating back to the Iron Age, 2000 BC. This study examines the influence of climate on the conformation of habitats. Climate had a solid impact on the conceptions of habitat form and internal space. Wind and extreme temperatures had firming consequences on the housing arrangements, layouts, orientations, and building materials used in the construction process. Habitats from this region were located in an optimal arrangement, and the south orientation was used effectively. This investigation will provide an evaluative interpretation and analysis of the real facts of vernacular habitats in the context of energy efficiency and ecological concepts, considering human settlement patterns, architectural creation and building material uses. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

För att kunna hantera framtida klimatrelaterade händelser behöver samhällets beredskap anpassas och sannolikt utökas. Kunskapsläget över vilken förmåga som behövs för att hantera risker i ett förändrat klimat behöver sammanställas och framtida behov behöver jämföras mot nuvarande beredskapsnivåer för att identifiera lämpliga åtgärder. En analys behöver göras kring eventuella brister, utifrån vilken åtgärder sedan kan prioriteras och vidtas avseende olika delar i förmågan att hantera händelser, bland annat avseende tillhandahållande av statliga förstärkningsresurser. Denna studie analyserar vilken systematik som kan vara aktuell för att möjliggöra sådana analyser och utredningar.Studiens övergripande syfte är att ge förslag kring hur bedömningar kan göras om framtidens behov av statliga förstärkningsresurser i syfte att möta framtidens klimatrelaterade risker. Detta inkluderar en sammanställning av kunskapsläget kring risker och scenarion avseende framtida naturhändelser utifrån ett klimatförändringsperspektiv, med information om var mer kunskap kan hittas. Det inkluderar också att titta på metoder för att dels analysera behov av förmåga på olika nivåer att hantera de klimatrelaterade riskerna och dels hur dimensionering av förmåga kan göras för att möta behovet.Studien består av två delar. I del 1 ges en sammanställning av kunskapsläget om riskbilder och scenarion i Sverige vad gäller framtida naturhändelser utifrån ett klimatförändringsperspektiv och tidsperioden fram till ca år 2100. I del 2 presenteras initialt ett konceptuellt ramverk för kartläggning av beredskap uppdelat i fyra huvuddomäner: Behov, Resurs, Styrning och Beroenden. Baserat på ramverket presenteras därefter en metodik för att analysera samhällets förmåga att hantera framtida händelser i ett förändrat klimat. För att kunna identifiera en lämplig framtida beredskapsnivå, behöver samhällets förmåga att hantera händelser gentemot en framtida riskbild analyseras. Del 2 fokuserar på hur relevanta myndigheter ska kunna gå tillväga för att göra en sådan analys som slutligen kan utgöra beslutsunderlag avseende framtida beredskap. Avslutningsvis ges ett exempel på hur metoden kan användas där händelsen skogsbrand, av omfattningen att nationella förstärkningsresurser i form av MSBs upphandlade helikoptrar och flygplan för skogsbrandbekämpning kan bli aktuella att nyttja, utgör själva händelsen.

According to climate change scenarios, Swedish summers will be drier, but in large parts of Sweden there will also be increased annual precipitation, more intensive precipitation and periods with increased water flows. In many areas the risk for landslides is expected to increase. In response to this the SGI, on commission of the Environmental ministry, has started a risk analysis for the Göta river valley. The results of the analysis will be used in the surveillance of the safety along the Göta river valley. The valley is one of the most frequent landslide valleys in Sweden. The area has a long history of anthropogenic activities such as settlements, shipping, industry, contaminated soil and infrastructure including large roads and railroads. A number of landslides occur every year. The landslide risk analysis of Göta river valley is performed by traditional technical risk analysis, i.e. a function of hazard probability and consequences of the hazard. Elements at risk in the valley include for example, human life, transport and other infrastructure, properties and industrial activities, contaminated land, agriculture and forestry, and intangibles such as biodiversity. Exposure, vulnerability and the monetary value related to the landslide are used to describe the consequence of the landslide. This paper shows the process and structure of this consequence analysis for natural hazards. The consequence analysis methodology can be applied generic both nationally and internationally and for several types of natural hazards such as landslides and flooding.

The urban environment is a complex structure with interlinked social, ecological and technical structures. Global warming is expected to have a broad variety of impacts, which will add to the complexity. Climate changes will force adaptation, to reduce climate-related risks. Adaptation measures can address one aspect at the time, or aim for a holistic approach to avoid maladaptation. This paper presents a systematic, integrated approach for assessing alternatives for reducing the risks of heat waves, flooding and air pollution in urban settings, with the aim of reducing the risk of maladaptation. The study includes strategies covering different spatial scales, and both the current climate situation and the climate predicted under climate change scenarios. The adaptation strategies investigated included increasing vegetation; selecting density, height and colour of buildings; and retreat or resist (defend) against sea-level rise. Their effectiveness was assessed with regard to not only flooding, heat stress and air quality but also with regard to resource use, emissions to air (incl. GHG), soil and water, and people’s perceptions and vulnerability. The effectiveness of the strategies were ranked on a common scale (from -3 to 3) in an integrated assessment. Integrated assessments are recommended, as they help identify the most sustainable solutions, but to reduce the risk of maladaptation they require experts from a variety of disciplines. The most generally applicable recommendation, derived from the integrated assessment here, taking into account both expertise from different municipal departments, literature surveys, life cycle assessments and publics perceptions, is to increase the urban greenery, as it contributes to several positive aspects such as heat stress mitigation, air quality improvement, effective storm-water and flood-risk management, and it has several positive social impacts. The most favourable alternative was compact, mid-rise, light coloured building design with large parks/green areas and trees near buildings. © 2015 The Authors.

Further increasing the production of processed biofuel also increases the demands on drying capacity. With the aim of increasing the heat capacity flow, experimental tests have been performed on the process of drying sawdust in a continuous spouted bed dryer with nine different draft tube designs. The results showed that a draft tube with an increased length and an increased disengagement height decreased the dry substances' flow rate throughout the dryer. The results also showed that the mass of the material in the dryer was approximately the same in all the tests. This means that the draft tubes, no matter their size, do not influence the amount of material in the dryer.

Efter en mycket regnrik höst kulminerade vattennivån i Glafsfjorden den 29 november 2000 på drygt 3 m över normalnivån. De strandnära områdena i det värmländska Arvika sattes under vatten, vägnätet hotades, många mindre vägar fick stängas av och järnvägstrafiken ställdes in i över tre veckor. Samhällets krafter mobiliserades för att skydda fastigheter och infrastruktur. Många högt uppsatta besökare kom till Arvika för att se översvämningen med egna ögon. Läget var skarpt i en och en halv månad.

Boken ger en inblick i den meteorologiska och hydrologiska bakgrunden av händelsen. Den beskriver händelseförloppet och skadorna som översvämningen orsakade. I en samhällsekonomisk genomgång summeras de direkta skadekostnaderna till 315 Mkr i 2009 års prisläge. Översvämningen följdes upp i ett stort antal utredningar och boken skildrar hur planerna till ett översvämningsskydd för staden växte fram. Den mänskliga dimensionen av händelsen förtydligas med berättelser av översvämningsdrabbade privatpersoner och intervjuer med kommunanställda.

This paper presents case studies where disasters provided a window of opportunity for change that included social action with (potentially) positive effects on the environment. The research literature was screened for empirical cases in support of societal changes with a focus on environmental issues, and a more in-depth case study of the extensive tree felling after the storm Gudrun in Sweden 2005 was also conducted. The case study is explored through available research as well as “grey” literature to identify societal actions taken after the storm that had – or not – an effect on environmental conditions. With the help of the framework presented by Birkmann et al. (2010), the study aims to characterise the nature of these anthropic changes. The framework was modified to focus specifically on societal actions implemented because of an “open window”, and the environmental effects of the actions. This enabled identifying changes with a positive/negative and intended/unintended effect on the environment, as well as determining if a change was based on formal or informal decisions. Several cases identified in the literature provide empirical support for the theory that disasters can generate a window of opportunity for positive environmental change. However, open windows are not always exploited, as is apparent in the case of the storm Gudrun.

Subsidies of energy and material from the riparian zone have large impacts on recipient stream habitats. Human-induced changes, such as deforestation, may profoundly affect these pathways. However, the strength of individual factors on stream ecosystems is poorly understood since the factors involved often interact in complex ways. We isolated two of these factors, manipulating the flux of terrestrial input and the intensity of light in a 2 x 2 factorial design, where we followed the growth and diet of two size-classes of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and the development of periphyton, grazer macroinvertebrates, terrestrial invertebrate inputs, and drift in twelve 20 m long enclosed stream reaches in a five-monthlong experiment in a boreal coniferous forest stream. We found that light intensity, which was artificially increased 2.5 times above ambient levels, had an effect on grazer density, but no detectable effect on chlorophyll a biomass. We also found a seasonal effect on the amount of drift and that the reduction of terrestrial prey input, accomplished by covering enclosures with transparent plastic, had a negative impact on the amount of terrestrial invertebrates in the drift. Further, trout growth was strongly seasonal and followed the same pattern as drift biomass, and the reduction of terrestrial prey input had a negative effect on trout growth. Diet analysis was consistent with growth differences, showing that trout in open enclosures consumed relatively more terrestrial prey in summer than trout living in covered enclosures. We also predicted ontogenetic differences in the diet and growth of old and young trout, where we expected old fish to be more affected by the terrestrial prey reduction, but we found little evidence of ontogenetic differences. Overall, our results showed that reduced terrestrial prey inputs, as would be expected from forest harvesting, shaped differences in the growth and diet of the top predator, brown trout.

Flood Risk Management (FRM) is a topic of growing importance. This is signiicantly illustrated by the European Directive on Flood Risk Management, which entered into force in 2007. FRM in general but also the Directive require integrated and interdisciplinary approaches and skills. Against this background the International Master Course "Integrated lood risk management" was developed and implemented under the EU project "Strategic Alliance for Water Management Actions" (SAWA). Six universities and 12 non-academic partners from ive European countries participated in the course. The paper describes the background and requirements of such an education ofer as well as its content and its pedagogical and organizational format. Furthermore, the implementation of the course and evaluation results are presented.

This study uses insurance claims as a proxy for property damage to analyse flood damage in Sweden between the years 1987 and 2013. The number of compensated insurance claims per year has risen rapidly during this period. As much as 70% of the claims are caused by flood damage occurring during the summer months June, July, and August, when intense rain with low predictability is common. To explore the damage trend a time series cross sectional analysis using four different fixed effect models was applied to the data set. Due to data scarcity, the time series had to be limited to 16years and contain a total of 304 damage observations. The potentially explanatory climate related factor extreme rain, defined as >6 mm/15min, and the socioeconomic factors gross regional product (GRP) per capita and housing stock were tested as explanatory factors. The GRP per capita and housing stock were found to be significant in two regression models. The estimated effect of extreme rainfall events exceeded the effects of GRP per capita and housing stock in the models. Extreme rain was robust to model specification and was found to have a highly significant impact on Swedish flood damage.

Denna rapport är slutrapporten från forskningsprojektet “Minskadeklimatrisker i framtidens bebyggelse och boende lärande från tidigarehändelser och samhällsplanering” som genomförts på Centrum förklimat och säkerhet mellan 2014 – 2018 och finansierats av StiftelsenLänsförsäkringsgruppens Forsknings- och Utvecklingsfond.Projektet har bestått av fem delstudier kring klimatriskhantering ochklimatanpassning i flera olika geografiska kontexter runt om i Sverige.Den studie av Göteborgsregionen som presenteras i denna rapport ärett sätt att skapa en syntes av de olika teoretiska och empiriskaingångarna i detta projekt genom en studie av den aktuellaproblematiken på en specifik plats.

Mikael Granberg som står som redaktör för rapporten är professor istatsvetenskap och föreståndare för Centrum för klimat och säkerhet.

Policy and practice at the local level is central in relating global standards and knowledge, national and regional climate change scenarios and policy decisions into particular climate action in a specific context (Bulkeley and Betsill, 2003; Elander et al., 2003; Lundqvist and Biel, 2007; Storbjörk, 2007; Storbjörk, 2010; Castán Broto and Bulkeley, 2012; van den Berg and Coenen, 2012; Romero-Lankao, 2012; Bulkeley et al., 2015). This means that cities, and their local governments, are central to understanding the implementation of international agreements (regimes), national and regional climate change policy. It needs to be stressed, however, that local governments are not just implementers of policy decision taken at higher levels of government. Local governments can, and perhaps have to, be forerunners in climate change policy and practice, as the sources and impacts of climate change are always local, national policy and international negotiations are not always successful, and national governments are not necessarily taking the lead (Gore and Robinson, 2009; Bulkeley et al., 2015; Bulkeley and Betsill, 2003). Local government action on climate change takes place in a specific local setting. It also takes place in a policy environment characterized by cross-cutting issues and cross pressure from government actors on international, national and regional levels, unfolding public sector reform, continuous policy development, and demands from businesses and citizens (Granberg et al., 2016). Accordingly, why and how cities act on climate change challenges is by no means a straightforward matter (Bulkeley et al., 2015) but, certainly, one that warrants critical research. This chapter focuses on local government low carbon action within the field of alternative energy production, zooming in on the organizational modes and on intermediary functions and actors in efforts aiming at low carbon transitions (cf. Bulkeley and Betsill, 2013; Hodson et al., 2013). In the Swedish context, low carbon transitions are of course connected to the ecological need to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, mitigating future risks and impacts. But they are also increasingly connected to the more economic arguments connected to the concept of a carbon or fossil bubble (Schoenmaker et al., 2015; Rubin, 2015). That is, the idea that any investments made in fossil fuel-based companies are investments that will add to GHC emissions and, perhaps even more important from this perspective, fail to produce any long-term economic profits. According to this perspective, all viable investments need to be directed towards no-carbon solutions, businesses and markets or there will be serious negative economic impacts when the carbon bubble eventually bursts. The central questions of this chapter are how capacity-building for low carbon transitions evolves at the interface between state and market and what specific role local governments take in this interface. As already indicated above, this perspective is guided by the concept of intermediation through institutional experimentation (cf. Luque-Ayala et al., Chapter 2, this volume; also, Hodson and Marvin, 2009, 2012; Hodson et al., 2013). Intermediaries here are defined as entities that connect, translate and facilitate flows between different parties. The focus of the chapter is, more precisely, on systemic intermediation on a network level involving more than two parties (Hodson and Marvin, 2009). The intermediary role can be divided into facilitating, configuring and brokering (Stewart and Hyysalo, 2008). Accordingly, the aim of this chapter is to study local government efforts to build low carbon capacity by describing, critically examining and analysing local government climate action. In the case studied here, we can see the local government organization intermediating indirectly by trying to facilitate flows of both experience and capital between public and private actors but also directly as a market actor through a boundary hybrid organization facilitating connections between local government and market actors. A hybrid organization (cf. Koppell, 2006) is an organization that mixes value systems and logics of various spheres such as the state and the market (cf. Erlingsson et al., 2014; Montin, 2016). More precisely, the local government uses a 'green' investment fund, facilitating public-private networking and a municipal company in their efforts to advance a low carbon transition. The case studied follows the development of local government climate change action over the last decade in the Swedish city of Örebro. The city profiles itself as a forerunner in environmental issues and has formulated ambitious reduction targets. Sweden is often considered a pioneer in environmental governance (Lidskog and Elander, 2012), combining high ambitions at a national level, strong local government and robust policy guided by ecological modernization (Lundqvist, 2000; Zannakis, 2015). It has been stated that if Sweden still holds on to a leading international position in environmental governance it is probably due to activities at the local level (Granberg and Elander, 2007; Uggla and Elander, 2009; Hjerpe et al., 2014). Accordingly, Sweden provides an interesting context for studies of local government climate change action via market mechanisms, given its combination of strong local government with high (national and local) environmental ambitions. Arguably, drawing from this, if Sweden is to be perceived as a 'least likely' case for utilizing market mechanisms due to its strong and resourceful local government (cf. Flyvbjerg, 2006), then local government action in Sweden becomes a critical case worthy of critical inquiry. In the sections that follow, this chapter elaborates aspects integral to the case studied. First, it briefiy presents the Swedish local government system and its development, highlighting the presence of strong local governments and their central role in the Swedish government system. This is followed by a presentation of Swedish policy development within the fields of climate change, energy generation and GHG mitigation, again highlighting the central role given to Swedish local government. The chapter ends with a set of conclusions aimed at an integrated analysis of the Swedish government system, national policy developments and the local component of the case study showing how these three components are, in fact, one integrated multilevel case. It is clear that the local government uses a form of institutional experimentation that mixes value systems and logics of both state and market in its strive to becoming a 'climate smart' city.

This book analyzes climate change from a societal risk perspective, considering IPCC data, harm reduction, and global impact. Climate change is a globalised agent of social disruption whose impacts will worsen societal inequities and inequalities around the world. For some unfortunate societies already precariously exposed, climate change will tip them into societal collapse. Devastation will also occur to many ecological values in which all societies are embedded. But effective social action can limit the extent of these costs and losses. Ultimately, only social transformation can limit the social and environmental harms of climate change. But what does this mean? To what extent is society at risk? Are such risks particularized and restricted to specific segments and localities? Or is society at risk in a more universal way? Climate risks are re-shaping the practices of households, communities, governments and businesses. In this way, climate risks are a dynamic element in social change and social processes. Risk holds a mirror to society, revealing who and what is prioritized, recognized and valued. It also provides a reckoning of our perceived strengths, vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This volume examines how we understand the societal risks of contemporary and forecast climate change impacts—and those risks inherent in dealing with these impacts. We know that society is fashioning a new global climate—but climate change is also re-fashioning society; this book explores this dynamic process and considers its implications for future society.

This paper examines the emerging phenomenon of climate emergency declarations. We focus on the case of Victoria Australia and the 30 councils who have declared a climate emergency with a particular focus on three councils. We explore the drivers, meanings, and implications and to what extent the subsequent plans reflect a reframing of local government roles and actions. We find the emergency declaration movement is catalysing councils beyond symbolic declarations potentially opening up space for change and disruption. Of interest in this paper is also the principal and theoretical implications for citizens, local government, and for research that is connected with this emerging trend. We highlight conclusions, ideas, and perspectives that can be drawn from this study of the Australian practice of climate emergency declarations.

The Swedish tourism sector is constantly growing, with new trends as ”vacation at home” and increasing numbers of international tourists visiting the Swedish nature. Investments in nature tourism and the right of access to private land have added to many international tourists in the Swedish countryside. Nature tourism is in many ways unique, meaning that visitors are not part of an organized activity. This coincides with increased societal risks and vulnerabilities owing to a changed climate, like large forest fires or extreme weather (storms, rain, flooding, heat etc.). What will happen when a risk event occur in the countryside? How prepared is the society, and how prepared are the visitors?The conditions for crisis communication is changing with social media, apps and digitalization of information. This can increase the possibility to reach nature tourists in the countryside, who are not reached by domestic information/news updates (TV and radio). Crisis management and communication is an established field in tourism research. However, obstacles and possibilities for digitalization in the tourism sector in relation to the specific conditions of nature-based tourism needs more attention.The aim of this study is to generate new knowledge and methods for incorporating the Swedish countryside tourism sector in crisis management and communication. Crisis management and risk preparedness and awareness, and collaborations and relations between the tourism sector and other crisis management actors (municipalities and public authorities) are in focus, as well as the nature tourists themselves.

Our changing climate foretells a future with continued large forest fires and extreme weather events, such as devastating storms, heavy rainfall, flooding, heat and drought. This project focuses on preparedness for this kind of events taking place while large, spread-out, and often uncertain, numbers of visitors are roaming the Swedish countryside – not seldom voluntarily or involuntarily of the grid. The conditions for crisis communication is changing with social media, apps and digitalization of information. Obstacles and possibilities for digitalization in the tourism sector in relation to the specific conditions of nature-based tourism needs more attention.

Tourists are a vulnerable group in crisis situations, since they are not acquainted with neither the place nor how to find information about the crisis and how to keep themselves safe. In parallel, the Swedish tourism sector is constantly growing, with new trends as ”vacation at home” and increasing numbers of international tourists visiting Swedish nature, and nature-based tourism is believed to see a significant increase in post-pandemic travel, as more visitors seek uncrowded destinations. A crisis can be devastating in nature tourist areas. Despite this, the tourism sector is often viewed as peripheral and is in some cases not even included in crisis preparedness planning.  

The aim of this study is to generate new knowledge and methods for incorporating the Swedish countryside tourism sector in crisis management and communication. Crisis management and risk preparedness and awareness, and collaborations and relations between the tourism sector and other crisis management actors (municipalities and public authorities) are in focus, as well as the nature tourists themselves.

Denna rapport, som redovisar del 2 av projektet Social sårbarhet för klimatrelaterade hot, syftar till att ta fram ett generellt sårbarhetsindex för Sverige, men också specifika index för tre olika naturhot: översvämning (älv respektive kust), skogsbrand och ras/skred/erosion. För dessa specifika index har sårbarheten kombinerats med en bedömd exponering för de tre olika hoten. Analysen är gjord på kommun- och RegSO-nivå.

A sustainable procedure can be described as a political conversation about desirable futures informed by scientific knowledge from a broad range of disciplines that are effectively integrated, and by the knowledge and perspectives of the concerned actors. A theoretical framework that defines what an integrated and participatory procedure implies has been successfully applied in the fields of strategic natural resources and disaster risk management (NRM and DRM). With a focus already on disciplinary integration, value integration, participation and democracy, the framework is here developed further with respect to organizational issues, such as coordination and collaboration among organizations of different types at different scales and with different mandates and incentives. The study thus establishes a new integrated approach to systematized scientific knowledge in relation to the concept of sustainable development, via the sustainability principles of integration and participation – a theoretical baseline for the trans-disciplinary development of sustainable NRM and DRM procedures.

This study analyses the implementation of the EU Floods Directive in Sweden. The question here centres on the possibilities promoted by the directive for sustainable flood risk management, with an emphasis on integrated and participatory management forms. Key persons are interviewed, using a set of criteria for sustainable river basin management as a theoretical framework. The study shows that work in this area is guided by a wide array of values, and that the involved experts provide a broad knowledge basis for this work. The need for better coordination between authorities, pieces of legislation and policy fields however remains critical while the merits of participatory planning approaches are not yet sufficiently utilised. One of the primary tasks here is to develop a shared understanding of the formal context and roles of the process while also developing forms for effective collaboration both within the new administration and between the administration and other key actors, most importantly the municipalities. The case of Sweden can provide useful insights into this process for other member states.

This study examines how the EU Floods Directive - an extensive and innovative legislative instrument for integrated and participatory flood risk planning in all EU member states - influences local flood risk management in one member state, Sweden. The study identifies that: many municipalities have received new knowledge; crosssectoral organisational structures for water and flood risk issues at the local level are being formed or strengthened; and the flood risk issue has been elevated up the political agenda. There are also however clear signs that a number of other fundamental issues are not being adequately addressed in the complex institutional setting that results from the directive's implementation. These issues are undoubtedly obstructing the development of a more integrated and participatory flood risk management system. Of key importance here are questions relating to how roles and mandates are communicated and adopted, the lack of coordination between the Floods Directive and the Water Framework Directive, and the inadequate involvement of the municipal level and other stakeholders. Practical recommendations on how to redirect development towards more positive outcomes in these areas are thus formulated.

Food is widely consumed and in 2011 an average American devoured approximately one ton of food. The production of these goods requires large amounts of energy and contributes to 22-31 % of all greenhouse gas emissions occurring in Europe. More than one third of the produced food is discarded instead of consumed, and food waste make up about 30 % of the waste generated by households. 60 % of this food waste could be avoided if the eatables were handled in a better way.

Avoidable food waste arises partly because residues from food are not taken care of, and because the food is not stored in a way that optimise its durability. Residues arises part- ly because of the contradictory and complex demands of everyday life and are, because of our busy lifestyle, difficult to avoid. To reduce the environmental impact of food con- sumption the focus should be on managing residues in the most environmentally friend- ly way, rather than to prevent residues from arising.

To prolong the shelf life of food residues freezing it is an alternative method. The free- zer is one of the most energy consuming appliances in the household. Therefore this method requires energy consumption, which contributes to the generation of greenhouse gases. The food must also be thawed if this method is used, which may require additio- nal energy. The residues may also be disposed and used as a feedstock for biogas pro- duction. Biogas is an energy rich gas that can be used as vehicle fuel, as a replacement for fossil fuels. This handling of residues therefore has the potential for both energy gain and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

This report examines which management method of residues that is the most energy ef- ficient one, and which method that generates the least GHG emissions. The survey was carried out for residues of beef, rice, bread, tomato, carrot and apple. Energy consump- tion for production, freezing and thawing of food were weighed against potential energy gain from biogas production. The same calculation was used for greenhouse gas emis- sions from the described activities.

The result shows that the method which is the most energy efficient, and causes the least greenhouse gas emissions, is dependent on several factors, including the source of the food, the residence in the freezer and packing at the time of the freezing. Knowledge regarding the specific food, and the handling of it, must be possessed to answer how food residues should be handled. It is clear that there are cases when it could be more energy efficient, and produce less greenhouse gas emissions, to dispose food residues to produce biogas than to freeze them for later consumption. 

In 2018, forest fires occurred in Sweden, which put high pressure on rescue services and society. Several parts of the country were subject to a fire ban.

The purpose of the document study is to investigate whether forest fires could become a continuous danger for municipalities and their inhabitants in the future. The study also strives to investigate measures to combat forest fires and whether these measures are adequate. In order to work in the right direction and not lose course, three questions were asked, "What patterns do we see overtime regarding forest fires?", "What measures have been taken to combat forest fires?" and "Are measures against forest fires sufficient?". These issues helped to select research evidence and the right empirical material.With critical realism as a scientific approach, the problems with forest fires were highlighted and research work started. By applying applied geography / forest geography, its causes and risks could be studied. With the mapping / mapping, the potential forest fire risk could be mapped in the future. Following a survey of potential forest fire risk in the future, it turned out that Skåne risks being most affected by forest fires due to changing climate in the region. This made the study limited to Skåne. The County Administrative Board of Skåne's risk and vulnerability analysis for 2014 and the Land use plan for Östra Göinge became the documents that were analyzed in this document study. By analyzing the risk and vulnerability analysis, it explains what risks are considered to be a potential danger, how the danger is mitigated and how resources and measures are prioritized. In the overview plan we can see if the forest fire risk was taken into account and if so how.

This study shows that the risk of forest fires will increase in the future due to. changing weather conditions. It also shows that risk and vulnerability analysis do not take into account the change, the increased risk and lack a long-term perspective on risk and vulnerability. The study also shows that information on what are forest fire influencing factors such as weather, vegetation and topography are not taken into account. Land use plans need to pay more attention to forest fire risk and report measures to combat it.

Keywords: Forest fire, Risk, Fire risk, Physical planning, Risk analysis

Air travel accounts for a major share of individual greenhouse gas emissions, particularly for people in high-income countries. Until recently, few have reduced flying because of climate concerns, but currently, a movement for staying on the ground is rising. Sweden has been a focal point for this movement, particularly during 2018–2019, when a flight tax was introduced, and air travel reduction was intensely discussed in the media. We performed semi-structured interviews with Swedish residents, focusing primarily on individuals who have reduced flying because of its climate impact. We explore how such individual transformation of air travel behavior comes about, and the phases and components of this process. Applying a framework of sustainability transformation, we identify incentives and barriers in personal and political spheres. We show that internalized knowledge about climate change and the impact of air travel is crucial for instigating behavioral change. Awareness evokes negative emotions leading to a personal tipping point where a decision to reduce or quit flying is made. However, the process is often counteracted by both personal values and political structures promoting air travel. Even individuals with a strong drive to reduce flying feel trapped in social practices, norms and infrastructures. Hence, we argue that personal and political spheres interact complexly and to reduce flying at larger scales, interventions are needed across spheres, e.g., change of norms, effective policy instruments and better alternatives to air travel. 

Most countries collect loss and damage data after disasters for learning purposes and in support of future preventive work. The lack of international standards and sharing principles implies heterogeneous data sets, thus presenting a challenge to the development of indicators intended to assess progress within the UN agreement Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR). In this study, data on mortality, affected people and direct economic losses are extracted from two national databases in Sweden for the years 1996-2015. Pre-SFDRR terminology, definitions and different inclusion criteria are used to exemplify and identify challenges when global "proxy" data inquiry clashes with sub-national demands for data quality. Different test methods on how to estimate affected people are used and in comparison with the term 'directly affected people', as proposed in the SFDRR indicator establishment process, it is concluded that methods for more disaggregated data are needed. In a Swedish context, the SFDRR call for a reference period 2005-2015 is found to be a time too short for providing a fair picture of disaster risks within Sweden's borders. The nationally developed strategy in Sweden, as in many other countries, to learn in-depth after each new disaster and use the experience to remedy weaknesses in safety systems, generates solid data supporting the development of SFDRR indicators, but the national benefits and the relevance of statistics from disasters re-occurring on longer time scales are limited.

Risk assessment methods form corner stones in the striving to reduce risks and threats to human life and society. Proposed actions can be physical or non-physical and adopted or declined after political evaluation, with consideration taken to available resources and estimated effect on risk. To optimize and avoid regrettable actions, decision-makers are in need of well-founded analyses of how efficient different options might be. Analytically, there are several possible steps that can contribute. Firstly, the correlation between a measure and its effect should be based on causality, which often is difficult to establish quantitatively. High frequent accidents (e.g. traffic) can normally be treated statistically , while low frequent accidents with severe consequences (e.g. natural hazards) are more restricted to qualitative descriptions of correlation. Systematic monitoring of injury and damage data and gathering into databases, are a crucial activity for causality valuation. Secondly, economic valuation of effect is an important contribution in a cost-benefit perspective. Thirdly, a measure often brings several different effects and some may fall outside the actual purpose. An additional problem is how to handle effects that exert varied influence on different stakeholders or social groups in society. Fourthly, certain criteria are required for final prioritization. For instance, in analysis of goal fulfillment, effects are compared with politically decided quantified goals. In cases where basic data from steps 1-3 are incomplete, alternative criteria like “acceptable risk” might be necessary to agree about politically. To use similar approaches on how to describe and quantify effect correlations, promote gathered efforts at local level where risk reducing measures are decided upon by different actors and with regard to diverse local conditions. Tests of suitable methods and approaches to measure efficiency of planned or accomplished actions in gain for risk prevention, are described and discussed.

The potential of linking the preventive phase of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) with the adaptation in human society to forecasted consequences from climate change, has received growing acceptance internationally, but the integration of both fields is still at an embryonic stage. Integration in this case implies transdisciplinary approaches in complex fields where liabilities and stakeholders normally are found in different sectors and levels in society. For integration to be successful, a first step is to create platforms and contexts where participants may generate raised awareness about each other’s roles and evolve a shared problem identification. Social learning is a concept that has been used in many different contexts where uncertainty and change are crucial and challenging. It has earlier been linked as a suitable approach to issues such as public participation, governance or natural resource management. Here it is used in education, gathering among others stakeholders working within the fields of Flood Risk Management, DRR and Climate Change Adaptation at local or regional level around the two Swedish lakes Vänern and Mälaren. Teaching arrangements and didactic elements are described for the two pilot-courses that were held 2009-2010. The academic institutional arrangements favoured an open exchange and knowledge building, with local examples of management and strategies repeatedly in focus during several study visits in different cities along the shoreline. The elements of social learning facilitated the build-up of shared holistic perspectives, identified areas in need of development or research efforts and contributed to informal as well as formal relationships among participants.

Plants associated with the historical agricultural landscape are threatened. Land-use changes causing loss, fragmentation and degradation of semi-natural grassland habitats have resulted in many species becoming Red Listed. In addition, climate change favours generalist species, which risk outcompeting the specialist semi-natural grassland species. Conservation of small remnants of historical meadows and pastures left in landscapes has, on the other hand, proved to be of great importance for conservation of these species. A better understanding of how thespecies are affected by climate and land-use changes is essential for long-term and effective conservation plans and restoration measures. With this large-scale study, covering the whole of southern and central Sweden (ca 210000 km2), I investigated spatial variations in the number of retained semi-natural grassland species, and whether the proportion of retained distribution varies between species in different Red-List categories. Recently digitized data on the historical distribution of Swedish vascular plants made it possible to compare the historical and contemporary distributions of species on a large scale. Historical and current data of species distribution, climate and land use, and the presence of valuable grasslands were used to investigate the effects of changes in land use and climate on the species. Over 200 semi-natural grassland species were included in the analysis. The results showed that 34% of the seminatural grassland species in the study were Red Listed. There were spatial variations in retained distribution of species and the proportion of retained distribution varied between different Red-List categories. Species in the most critical category, CR had the lowestproportion retained distribution (median=0.39) and not Red Listed species the highest (median=0.95). The proportion of valuable semi-natural grasslands had a positive effect on retained distribution of species, while retention of open habitats had a negative effect, the lattercontradicting previous studies. Retention of species turned out not to be affected by climate change, which previous studies have suggested, but it was positively affected by a historically colder climate. The results of the study show the importance of preserving and restoring seminatural grasslands to reduce negative effects from other influencing factors, and that spatial differences in the effects are important to consider. The study underscores the need for more knowledge to understand the full impact of the threats that land-use change and climate change pose to these species.

Studien har tagit fram ett sårbarhetsindex på kommunal nivå i Sverige, baserat på 37 socio-ekonomiska variabler. Metoden som utvecklats i USA bygger på statistisk analys (PCA) och visualisering i ett GIS. Resultaten visar på tydliga regionala skillnader för social sårbarhet. Metoden behöver fortsatt utveckling, med studier för att öka förståelsen för vad som skapar sårbarhet i en svensk kontext.

In Europe, flash floods are one of the most significant natural hazards, causing serious risk to life and destruction of buildings and infrastructure. The intense rain causing those floods has a few different names, however, with very similar meaning. The term chosen in this study, ‘cloudburst’, was introduced by Woolley (1946) as “…a torrential downpour of rain which by its spottiness and relatively high intensity suggests the bursting and discharge of the whole cloud at once”. While these events play an important role in the ongoing flood risk management discussion, they are under-represented among flood models.

The main aim of this study is to demonstrate an approach by showing how methods and techniques can be integrated together to construct a catastrophe model for flash flooding of Jönköping municipality in Sweden. The model is developed in the framework of the ‘Oasis Loss Modelling Framework’ platform, jointly with end-users from the public sector and the insurance industry. Calibration and validation of the model were conducted by comparisons against three historical cloudburst events and corresponding insurance-claim data.

The analysis has shown that it is possible to get acceptable results from a cloudburst catastrophe model using only rainfall data, and not surface-water level as driving variable. The approach presented opens up for such loss modelling in places where complex hydraulic modelling cannot be done because of lacking data or skill of responsible staff. The Swedish case study indicates that the framework presented can be considered as an important decision making tool, by establishing an area for collaboration between academia; insurance businesses; and local authorities, to reduce long-term disaster risk in Sweden.

The development of disaster risk management (DRM) policies has gained attention in recent years but the processes leading to changes in DRM policies is still rather under-researched topic. One country where DRM has gained momentum over the last few years is Mozambique where recurrent natural disasters negatively impacts on the country’s development efforts. Drawing on policy process literature this paper scrutinises the DRM policy changes in Mozambique and the role of disasters in this process. The data for this qualitative case study was collected in early 2013 in Maputo, Mozambique mainly by interviewing a number of actors actively participating in DRM policy process. The results reveal that while disasters can play a role policy process, they alone do not explain any policy changes. While international agreements and cooperation where seen as the main drivers for change, disasters have made incremental changes possible by serving as "wake-up calls", through lessons learned and by keeping the issue high in agenda. The short return period of natural disasters directs focus and resources on disaster response and recovery, thereby overshadowing DRM, although its importance is well acknowledged in the country. The findings suggest that the Post 2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction could be a useful tool for Mozambique, in particular if it provides platforms for information exchange between the countries.

This study aims to understand and assess the diffusion and adoption of RES forenhanced societal wellbeing in developing countries. Furthermore, the purpose is tocontribute to a deeper understanding of the drivers and barriers (D&B) to the diffusionand adoption of RES among smallholders in rural Tanzania. The study onlyinvestigated solar energy lamps and not all products within the scope of RE. This wasto draw a more accurate and relevant conclusion from the empirical study.

The study took place in Handeni, Tanzania, from March to May 2022. The primarydata for the study was collected through observations and twenty semi-structuredinterviews in four different villages in Handeni's Rural district. The data sets wereanalyzed through a thematic analysis to identify which D&B the smallholders werefacing regarding the adoption of solar energy lamps. These D&B were later furtheranalyzed with the help of the secondary data from literature studies, where theDiffusion of innovations theory and the Sustainable livelihoods approach were themain theories used.

Barriers to adopting solar energy lamps were identified as; knowledge, trust, economy,and accessibility. Driving forces for wanting a solar energy lamp were; the reduced riskof health problems, reduced risk for accidents, portability, facilitating householdactivities, no variable costs, and the possibility to study and work at night. Otherfindings were the need for payment plans, charging on cloudy days, and batteriesthrown in nature.

By connecting the drivers with elements from DOI, it was concluded that adoptiononly occurred in households where the driving forces were stronger than the barriers.Furthermore, an assessment of smallholders' wellbeing through the five capitals ofSLA discovered that financial, human, and physical capital were considered low in thestudied area. By bridging the gap between barriers and end-user, an increased diffusionand adoption of RES could occur, raising the capital assets identified as low. This risein the smallholders' low capital assets could push the transformation towardsustainability and enhance societal wellbeing in developing countries.

The contribution from this study can hopefully be used for future research on howorganizations in practice can implement presented solutions. Furthermore, the study'sfindings can also provide guidelines on how the diffusion and adoption of RES can beincreased in rural areas of other developing countries. 

Most species encounter large variations in abiotic conditions along their distribution range. The physiological responses of most terrestrial ectotherms (such as insects and spiders) to clinal gradients of climate, and in particular gradients of temperature, can be the product of both phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation. This study aimed to determine how the biogeographic position of populations and the body size of individuals set the limits of cold (freezing) resistance of Dolomedes fimbriatus. We compared D. fimbriatus to its sister species Dolomedes plantarius under harsher climatic conditions in their distribution range. Using an ad hoc design, we sampled individuals from four populations of Dolomedes fimbriatus originating from contrasting climatic areas (temperate and continental climate) and one population of the sister species D. plantarius from continental climate, and compared their supercooling ability as an indicator of cold resistance. Results for D. fimbriatus indicated that spiders from northern (continental) populations had higher cold resistance than spiders from southern (temperate) populations. Larger spiders had a lower supercooling ability in northern populations. The red-listed and rarest D. plantarius was slightly less cold tolerant than the more common D. fimbriatus, and this might be of importance in a context of climate change that could imply colder overwintering habitats in the north due to reduced snow cover protection. The lowest cold resistance might put D. plantarius at risk of extinction in the future, and this should be considered in conservation plan.

Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, are affected by the rapid urban growth and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this context, intra-urban malaria risk maps act as a key decision-making tool for targeting malaria control interventions, especially in resource-limited settings. The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provide a consistent malaria data source for mapping malaria risk at the national scale, but their use is limited at the intra-urban scale because survey cluster coordinates are randomly displaced for ethical reasons. In this research, we focus on predicting intra-urban malaria risk in SSA cities-Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Ouagadougou-and investigate the use of spatial optimization methods to overcome the effect of DHS spatial displacement. We modeled malaria risk using a random forest regressor and remotely sensed covariates depicting the urban climate, the land cover and the land use, and we tested several spatial optimization approaches. The use of spatial optimization mitigated the effects of DHS spatial displacement on predictive performance. However, this comes at a higher computational cost, and the percentage of variance explained in our models remained low (around 30%-40%), which suggests that these methods cannot entirely overcome the limited quality of epidemiological data. Building on our results, we highlight potential adaptations to the DHS sampling strategy that would make them more reliable for predicting malaria risk at the intra-urban scale. Global climate change and rapid urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are likely to affect the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases such as malaria in urban and peri-urban areas. In this context, a better understanding of intra-urban malaria risk and its determinants has become even more urgent. Malaria risk has often been modeled at the national scale from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), which are periodically conducted in more than 90 developing countries. However, survey cluster coordinates in DHS are randomly displaced by up to 2 km in urban areas to protect respondent privacy, which reduces the accuracy of malaria models and risk maps at the intra-urban scale. In this study, we tested the potential of spatial optimization methods to overcome the effect of DHS displacement. We found that spatial optimization methods improved the performance of malaria models, but the improvement in performance is small for a higher computational cost. With these methods, we predicted malaria risk in several SSA cities (Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Ouagadougou). We expect the quality and quantity of available data on malaria and other vector-borne diseases to improve in the future, which will certainly make these methods extremely useful in the fight against these diseases. We tested spatial optimization approaches to overcome the effect of cluster spatial displacement in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)Spatial optimization reduced the effect of displacement, but the percentage of variance explained in malaria models remained lowWe proposed potential adaptations to the DHS sampling strategy to better support the study of malaria risk at the intra-urban scale.

Floods are one of the most destructive disasters worldwide and although they largely happen in rural, ruther than in urban areas, it is in the urban areas that substantial destruction of infrastructures is observed. Thus, cost effective methods to monitor flood damage and extent are required. In this paper, we investigate the implementation of U-Net on satellite and drone image dataset such as xBD and EDDA for building damage assessment in Mozambique. The recently published dataset EDDA was created by the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD) and comprises drone imagery of Beira, in Mozambique. Using them, we obtained a dice score of 0.76 on building localization (BL) and mean intersection over the union (mIoU) of 0.54 on damage classification (DC). These are promising results considering that many datasets lack detailed information on African buildings. We also use some pre-trained models models such as ResNet for BL and DC. 

It is well established that continuous development of local-level mitigation policy plans and actions increases the chances of effective responses to natural hazards. What is less well known is how and why policy development, including the scope and pace of changes in municipality crisis mitigation programs, varies across local-level crisis mitigation systems. Using survey data on municipality hazard mitigation policy in Sweden, this study documents patterns of policy development and explores candidate explanations. Special attention is devoted to floods, which present local managers with opportunities to learn and adjust local mitigation policies. To investigate floods along with other hazards as potential drivers for local mitigation policy, the study examines three approaches to policy development: external shocks, transformation without disruption, and regional diffusion. Overall, in this case, the transformation without disruption model and the regional diffusion model do better than the external shocks model. Important precursors of policy development include collaboration, learning and diffusion effects from events and policy adoption in nearby municipalities. The study demonstrates the value of a broader analytical approach to policy development, which takes into account the interplay between events, collaborative management, and learning.

Aspects of sustainable development are crucial for Flood Risk Management (FRM). These aspects are relevant for the flood risk analysis, risk evaluation and risk-reduction. Two case studies are used to identify potential conflicts between different values: Lake Vanern and Gota alv River in Sweden and Elbe River in Germany. In both cases there are diverging interests of how to manage the systems, e.g. how to regulate water levels and use floodplains. The conclusion is that the relevant sustainability aspects must be identified, addressed and valued in the risk management process, especially for different risk-reducing measure options.

There is an ongoing debate in the research literature on whether the neoliberal economic rationalities permeating public administration, policy, and governance across much of the world provide the means necessary for promoting sustainable development. Parallel to this debate, it has been suggested that resilience thinking, a notion with growing policy importance, could either reproduce the neoliberal mainstream or challenge it at its core, depending on the modes of resilience thinking emerging from practice. Taking the position that new economic rationalities are needed, this study examines how transformative modes of resilience thinking that emerge from practice create tensions that can support a transformation toward the economic rationalities of the so-called doughnut economics, an alternative economic model that outlines a vision and a path toward ecological and social sustainability.

Safely achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement requires a worldwide transformation to carbon-neutral societies within the next 30 y. Accelerated technological progress and policy implementations are required to deliver emissions reductions at rates sufficiently fast to avoid crossing dangerous tipping points in the Earth's climate system. Here, we discuss and evaluate the potential of social tipping interventions (STIs) that can activate contagious processes of rapidly spreading technologies, behaviors, social norms, and structural reorganization within their functional domains that we refer to as social tipping elements (STE5). STE5 are subdomains of the planetary socioeconomic system where the required disruptive change may take place and lead to a sufficiently fast reduction in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The results are based on online expert elicitation, a subsequent expert workshop, and a literature review. The STIs that could trigger the tipping of STE subsystems include 1) removing fossil-fuel subsidies and incentivizing decentralized energy generation (STE1, energy production and storage systems), 2) building carbon-neutral cities (STE2, human settlements), 3) divesting from assets linked to fossil fuels (STE3, financial markets), 4) revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels (STE4, norms and value systems), 5) strengthening climate education and engagement (STE5, education system), and 6) disclosing information on greenhouse gas emissions (STE6, information feedbacks). Our research reveals important areas of focus for larger-scale empirical and modeling efforts to better understand the potentials of harnessing social tipping dynamics for climate change mitigation.

The objective of this comparative case study was to investigate and compare how Swedish municipalities gather and use warning information from official and unofficial sources at the municipal level, as well as the circumstances under which that process has a chance to succeed. The overall conclusions of the study are that official and unofficial warnings have the potential to play complementary roles for municipalities making decisions about flood response, giving the municipalities a wider perspective and better opportunity to assess risk and to act appropriately. The required resources for using official warnings and getting access to unofficial warning sources are not evenly distributed among municipalities, and a lack of systematization of access to warning information hinders the flood response potential.

Att förstå och sätta mått på sårbarheter hos människor och samhälle är centralt för att reducera risker. I denna rapport utforskas social sårbarhet för olika klimathot i Norden i tre delar: en litteraturstudie av den vetenskapliga kunskapen i en nordisk kontext, en sammanställning av grå litteratur inom området, och ett speciellt fokuskapitel som belyser rättvisedimensionen kopplat till social sårbarhet.