Authorities
In Sweden, there are about 400 central government agencies and public administrations. The agencies must apply the laws and carry out the activities decided by the Riksdag and Government.
State authorities with designated responsibility for climate adaptation must support and help within their respective area or sector. The Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Swedish Forest Agency must, for example, support climate adaptation in the agricultural and forestry sectors, respectively. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency must increase society's preparedness for climate-related incidents and crises such as forest fires and floods, while the Public Health Agency looks at how climate change affects people's health.
The authorities' action plans for climate change adaptation
According to the Ordinance (2018:1428) on government agencies' climate adaptation work, 32 national agencies and all county administrative boards are required to carry out climate and vulnerability analyses. They also need to set agency goals for their work on climate change adaptation and create an action plan to reach these goals.
The Ordinance (2018:1428) on government agencies' climate adaptation work (in Swedish)
The action plan guides the ongoing work, and its progress is monitored and assessed to ensure continuous improvement. It is updated if there are significant changes in the business or, at the very least, every five years. The action plan is required to specify the resources, procedures, time frames, and division of responsibilities governing the work.
Reporting
The Climate Adaptation Ordinance applies to 32 national authorities and 21 county administrative boards. Annually, they report their work in compliance with the ordinance to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). On April 15, SMHI provides the government with a complete analysis. You can see all of these reports, which date back to the beginning of the regulation in 2018.
Government assignments
A lot of efforts are actively underway to produce data that facilitate climate adaptation. Here, you'll find a collection of government assignments related to climate adaptation that have been assigned to Swedish authorities.
County Administrative Boards
For the year 2023, the county administrative boards don't have a specific government mandate for climate adaptation in their regulation letter. The responsibilities and tasks related to climate adaptation for county administrations are defined in the Ordinance (2018:1428) on public authorities' climate adaptation work, particularly in Section 4 and Section 5. Additionally, there are tasks outlined in Ordinance (2017:868) that emphasize the county administrative board's role in coordinating regional efforts to adapt to a changing climate.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) is tasked with providing a comprehensive overview of society's collective ability to prevent fires, accidents, and effectively carry out rescue operations. The report includes an analysis of how climate change impacts the occurrence of fires and natural disasters.
MSB is assigned the responsibility of conducting surveys, impact assessments, and risk management plans for climate-related events such as floods, landslides, heatwaves, and forest fires. Additionally, MSB plays an important role in developing the field of civil protection and preparedness with regard to climate change.
Furthermore, MSB is tasked in distributing government grants to municipalities for preventive measures against natural disasters, that are designed to be implemented or planned, contributing to Sweden's adaptation to the effects of climate change.
One specific task assigned to MSB is the development of a standardized method for mapping cloudburst in urban areas. This task includes applying the method to existing urban rainfall mappings and presenting the results for comparison on a national perspective. The task should be completed by December 15, 2023.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
On January 28, 2021, the government set two interim goals for stormwater management. As a result, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has been assigned the responsibility of collaborating with several authorities and engaging in a dialogue with the municipal sector to develop national guidance on sustainable stormwater management.
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) is responsible for reporting on measures related to climate change adaptation.
The report should specifically include an assessment of the effects of these measures:
- Activities within the Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, and the Secretariat for the National Expert Council for Climate Adaptation.
- An evaluation of the impact of SMHI's efforts in implementing preventive and knowledge-enhancing measures for climate adaptation.
- Collaborations with other authorities, including county administrative boards and municipalities.