Regional Climate and Energy Strategies: Actors, Responsibilities, and Roles

Abstract

Since 2008, the Swedish regional authorities, i.e., the County Administrative Boards (CABs), have been exhorted to produce regional climate and energy strategies indicating how sustainable energy systems might develop in the future. I analyze the CAB role and mandate to coordinate and promote the development of regional climate and energy strategies. How do other regional and local actors perceive the CAB role, mandate, and legitimacy in relation to work on regional climate and energy strategies? Case studies were conducted in two counties where CAB representatives, municipal politicians, municipal climate and energy consultants, and Regional Energy Agency and Regional Cooperation Council representatives were interviewed in-depth. The results of the interviews indicate that it was difficult for interviewed actors to explain how the tasks and responsibilities differed between the CAB, Regional Energy Agency, and Regional Cooperation Council; the representatives of these three bodies also experienced this difficulty. The CAB’s leading role in the energy strategy work was accepted by the other stakeholders, but only because the other regional actors currently lacked the resources to take on such work. In the future, the Regional Cooperation Councils will be the main legitimate CAB competitors, willing to take over the strategic energy work.