Subprojects

SP0: Programme coordination and communication

Researchers in this subproject are responsible for overall program management of NAVIGATE, and for coordinating the interaction between the program’s subprojects SP1-6. Furthermore, SP0 will also be primarily responsible for internal and external communications, as well as for interactions with stakeholders and reference groups for the duration of the program.

For more information about this subproject and the entire NAVIGATE program, contact program manager Professor Simon Matti, Department of Political Science, Luleå University of Technology.

SP1a: Mapping the Strategy Landscape, and SP1b: Synthesis

SP1 is divided into part a, initiating the program, and part b, finalising it.

SP1a, Mapping the strategy landscape, aims to:

1. Provide an overview of present climate and biodiversity strategies, including an description of related governance systems,
2. develop a analytical framework for further characterisation of the strategies and potential overlaps or conflicts between strategies, and
3. identify a limited set of key strategies of particular relevance for Sweden to explore further in SP2-6.

SP1b, Synthesis

Brings together the results from SP1a-SP6 and aims to draw conclusions on how to develop strategies and improve their implementation in order to simultaneously promote public policy goals on climate change and biodiversity. The main result will be a synthesis report with recommendations for policy-makers.

SP2: The Legal Framework

There is broad recognition that legal and associated procedural and administrative frameworks can pose a significant challenge for the transition to an environmentally sustainable society and thus for the achievement of climate and biodiversity objectives.

Against this backdrop, this SP aims to answer the following research questions:

1. Which legal and procedural mechanisms have a direct impact on the implementation of the strategies identified in SP 1a and how can they be characterised and mapped to support the negotiation of goal conflicts and handling of implementation barriers?
2. Which are the most significant legal and procedural obstacles to the effective and coordinated implementation of the identified strategies at different levels?
3. Which legal best practices can be identified for strategy development and implementation to support effective and coordinated achievement of the objectives of existing and future strategies?

SP2 will generate a conceptual map of legal and procedural barriers to the coordinated operationalization of climate and biodiversity related strategies that enable systemic understanding and support remedial action both on a systems level and in relation to specific cases, including the identification and use of implementation synergies. It will furthermore provide detailed analysis of the most significant barriers, together with accessible guidance for how such barriers can be avoided or minimized in the design of policies and policy measures as well as actionable recommendations for how existing, important barriers can best be handled.

SP3: Political Institutions and Administration

Political institutions and administration are key to governing sustainability transitions. Since both climate change and biodiversity loss span different fields and many levels of governance, they involve a range of actors, which adds to the complexity of governing these challenges. This subproject aims to map and analyse the roles of different political institutions and public agencies in advancing the selected strategies from SP1a. The focus will be on their responsibilities and competencies, the governance instruments that are employed, and the complex interactions between political institutions and public agencies.

SP3 will answer the following research questions:

1. For the identified strategies, which are the key political institutions and agencies that address climate and biodiversity goals in Sweden and what are their responsibilities and competencies?
2. How do key political institutions and agencies address climate and biodiversity goals in Sweden, in terms of: a) governance instruments employed; b) their interactions with other institutions?
3. Which institutional barriers exist in implementing the strategies and how can they be overcome?

Expected results include a deeper understanding of how the functional and strategic behaviour of political institutions and public agencies that deal with issues of climate change and biological diversity affects the way in which these topics are addressed. By studying interactions between different institutions, it can be expected that some relations will be synergistic while others are more conflictive. Through this analysis, potential gaps, conflicts and roadblocks will be identified in order to better understand the institutional barriers that exist in realising climate and biological diversity strategies, thereby enabling an investigation into how to potentially overcome these.

SP4: Business and Industry

Business and industry will have a central role in supporting societal adaptation to the physical impacts of climate change, particularly in more directly affected sectors such as agriculture, forestry, construction or transport. However, business has repeatedly been criticised for its lack of commitment to both climate and biodiversity issues across the value chain. In fact, biodiversity loss is now widely recognised as one of the biggest business risks at the macro scale. The goods and services that impact biodiversity are predominantly produced, procured or delivered by businesses, so business actions are central to determining society’s impact on nature and the future of the biosphere.

SP4 explores how different climate and biodiversity strategies, which target corporate actions and activities, are supported by Swedish companies and the impact of these on the development of companies’ own environmental strategies. The aim of this sub-project is thus to (1) understand the barriers that affect companies’ incentives and design of strategies to adapt to climate and biodiversity policies, (2) highlight potential strategies that could be used to overcome these barriers, and (3) understand companies’ approaches to integrating climate and biodiversity into their strategies and action plans for sustainable development. The following research questions are studied:

• What are companies’ reactions and attitudes to different strategies and instruments for climate change and biodiversity?
• What are the main obstacles to the implementation of climate and biodiversity policies that companies face and how can these obstacles be overcome?
• How do interactions between companies and stakeholders affect companies’ implementation of climate and biodiversity policies?

SP4 contributes to raising awareness of how companies’ climate and biodiversity activities and actions can be transformed into an integrated corporate strategy rather than a liability. The expected outcomes relate to an increased understanding of the strategic behavior of for-profit organizations and how they can manage climate change and biodiversity strategies, as well as how to address and implement the surrounding policy landscape. In this way, we can bridge the corporate policy gap and understand the pathways to climate change and biodiversity among businesses.

SP5: Civil Society

The relevance of civil society organizations (CSOs) is recognized in climate and environmental policy research. For example, CSOs can foster social capital, create incentive structures, and help overcome problems with collective action. Furthermore, environmental and climate movements have played a crucial role in mobilizing society and spreading environmental awareness, and there is evidence of a correlation between a vibrant civil society and climate policy outcomes.

SP5 highlights and analyses the role of civil society in policy-making and policy implementation, as well as the methods used by civil society organizations for policy influence and engagement. The general objectives are (1) to understand how CSOs can help navigate and overcome implementation and acceptance barriers to achieving climate and biodiversity goals, and (2) to explore and develop models of CSO participation that can be applied by policymakers. The following three questions will guide the research:

• What are CSO responses and attitudes to different policies and policy instruments targeting climate change and biodiversity?
• What types of CSO engagement methods are used by policymakers and how do they affect CSO support for climate and biodiversity policies?
• What types of methods are used by civil society organizations to influence, advocate for and engage in policy-making and policy implementation, and to what extent do these contribute to achieving climate and biodiversity goals?

SP5 thus contributes to helping relevant governing authorities to understand the benefits, limitations and challenges of CSO engagement, and to increasing theoretical knowledge about the value of polycentric governance models. For CSOs, the results can be valuable from several perspectives and help them understand which instruments for political influence, advocacy and mobilization are considered effective, and how they can be improved. It can allow for mutual learning and help CSOs to recognize the approaches, perspectives and activities of others.

SP6: Social Acceptance

A key barrier that potentially hinders or slows down future important environmental policy initiatives is public opinion. Attitudes towards different policy proposals and decisions can be manifested both directly and indirectly, e.g. through voters voting out parties proposing certain policies and policy instruments, or through strong opposition expressed through protests and demonstrations (cf. the French "yellow vests"), but also through decision-makers simply fearing that public opinion will vote or react strongly against certain policy proposals, effectively holding back the level of political ambition.

It is therefore crucial to measure public opinion and the public's propensity to accept or support different policies and policy instruments related to climate and biodiversity. However, in order to provide useful policy advice, research efforts must not stop at simply "taking the pulse" of public opinion. It is also important to determine why the public tends to accept or not accept proposed policy instruments. This enables innovation of feasible policy instruments, that is, the study of how policy instruments can be designed and combined to respond to overall strategies and goals while meeting the preferences of the Swedish public.

SP 6 therefore aims to:

• Measure public opinion regarding different policy instruments that are focused on the policy areas studied by the program
• Identify the most important factors that generate the (positive or negative) public opinion
• Based on the results from the above, test policy instruments or combinations of instruments (policy packages) that can increase levels of public acceptance

SP 6 will identify a set of feasible policy combinations and provide concrete suggestions on how seemingly unpopular and inconvenient policy instruments can/could be implemented while minimizing the risk that they will be met with significant public resistance, but also provide more general food for thought regarding the future development of feasible policy instruments within Swedish environmental policy.