Contending with a changing climate presents a necessary push for planning. Although climate change is considered a global environmental problem requiring a global commitment and trans-national action, more and more, policymakers are recognizing the vital need for action at the local level. In the US, especially in the absence of national climate legislation, many local governments have begun developing strategic plans, or climate action plans (CAPs), to address adapting to impacts of climate change and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis involves case studies of Portland, OR and Chicago, IL, cities with recently adopted CAPs and with considerable recognition in the field. The analysis involves an evaluation each city’s CAP and an evaluation of its implementation. The studies help elicit an understanding of the measures cites are employing to mitigate climate change and determine ways the planning profession can better assist communities in climate policy development and its prompt implementation.

À travers l'analyse de la politique climatique à l'échelle intercommunale, la question est aujourd'hui de savoir si le cadre règlementaire apparaît à la fois juridiquement efficace et effectif dans la réalisation des objectifs intercommunaux d'atténuation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre et d'adaptation au changement climatique. Cette analyse prend pour objet d'étude la constitution du plan climat de la Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, institution concernée par un ensemble des réformes territoriales, et ce notamment dans la construction de sa politique climatique métropolitaine / Through the analysis of the legal components of the climate action at an intercommunal scale, the question is whether the legal framework built in order to reach the objectives of GHG emissions mitigation and climate change adaptation appears suitable in terms of efficacy and implementation. We explore the establishment of the climate planning document of Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, an institution affected by numerous structural changes in link with territorial reforms

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This study explored how social aspects for stakeholder engagement are being addressed and incorporated in climate action plans (CAPs). This focus was chosen to address the knowledge gap in research on social conditions for climate action which has been found to provide barriers to achieving deep decarbonisation. The thesis conducted a case study of two cities, Copenhagen (Denmark) and Stockholm (Sweden). Each city’s CAP was analysed through a thematic document analysis that explored through what measures each city aim to achieve stakeholder engagement for local climate action.    Five overarching themes were identified through a literature review and used as an analysis framework: citizen engagement, private sector engagement, stakeholder collaboration, awareness development and advocacy. For both CAPs, the results showed an extensive variation for measures that contributed to each theme. The main findings were that measures should focus on developing collaborations, partnerships, networks, knowledge, awareness, skills, green procurement policies and stricter environmental regulations to support the level of stakeholder engagement needed for deep decarbonisation. Also, to focus on advocation measures, as well as measures aimed at developing knowledge and support to accelerate systematic change. In addition, it was found that cities need to focus on ensuring higher levels of equity and formalize extended citizen involvement for more inclusive and fair transitions. Findings also highlighted similarities and differences between the two CAPs, what lessons could be learned from these and connected these findings to how climate action could be further developed.

The urgent issue of climate change has led to companies increasingly taking climate action by setting science-based emission reduction targets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Swedish companies are working to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through science-based targets. The study was performed through a survey to the Swedish companies committed to the Science Based Targets initiative, and by an assessment of progress against targets using public emission data. The results showed that science-based targets as a tool for climate action raises the climate ambition of companies and provides a good basis for climate strategy. Benefits of committing to science-based targets were primarily that it builds credibility and a good reputation. The main drivers were to improve company climate action, reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as to gain market advantages. Most companies reported climate results annually, but reporting practices were often insufficient or lacked transparency. Most science-based targets were on track to be achieved, though the results showed more limited progress against targets covering scope 3 emissions. The key activities for progress were primarily linked to energy, transportation and fuel, and product development. Overall, the study shows that science-based targets can play a significant role in companies’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and serve as a useful climate action tool. However, increased transparency is needed to strengthen the integrity of the targets.

This thesis project explores the evolving relationship between Applied Theatre and youth-led environmental activism in Canada. It uses Ottawa-based 100 Watt Productions as its primary case-study, locating the company's performance history, creation methodologies, and pedagogy within English Canada's recent Applied Theatre and Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) landscapes. This analysis is accomplished through a mixture of textual analysis, performance analysis, and interviews with the company's founder, Kristina Watt Villegas. Particular focus is placed on Watt's approach to collaborating with young people on 12, the company's most recent theatrical production and most urgent call for climate action to date, having toured theatres, schools, board rooms, and government offices across Canada’s capital region. 12 is composed of a mixture of brief vignettes, poetic compositions, and verbatim excerpts regarding climate crises, described as a "cross-generation love story - a playful theatrical invitation [...] to stop, listen, and to consider what it actually means to take action at this point" (Watt, "Creations: 12"). This thesis project proposes that productions such as these demand a new subcategorization of Applied Theatre, formulated here as Youth Theatre for Adult Audiences (YTAA). This YTAA terminology describes Applied Theatre that has been specifically created by young people for adults, a performance dynamic that has proven to be particularly well suited to the unprecedented political challenges faced by our youngest generations, not only in its compatibility with the platforming of climate appeals, but also in its unique capacity to elevate those young voices through a reframing of the aesthetic experience, often incorporating the participants' own creation process into the audience's overall consideration of aesthetic experience. In this sense, 12 acts as a microcosm for YTAA's escalating significance as an Applied Theatre subcategory, pointing towards an urgent need for increased attention, both in Canadian theatre criticism and scholarship more broadly.

Narratives on the climate crisis are becoming more and more prominent in mainstream media today, with the genre of climate podcasts emerging and growing in the past years. With storytelling opening the potential of engaging audiences in taking climate action, this thesis gives insights into the storytelling of three climate podcast hosts and theor potential to encourage individual and/or collective action through storytelling in the listener. Through analytical listening, storytelling elements were found in all three podcasts that denote a deep focus on the climate crisis as a crisis that calls for collective solutions.

The adoptation of environmentally friendly behaviour is rather slow, although the climate crisis is pressing. This thesis aims to understand the slow adoption of environmentally friendly behaviour, specifically focusing on vegetarianism and veganism, by employing social network analysis. By simulating interactions within an agent-based model, the study explores different mechanisms that hinder the diffusion of these behaviours. The research findings highlight the significance of the complexity of the contagion in shaping the speed and extent of the diffusion process. While minimally complex contagions are able to infect half of the network on average, vegetarianism and veganism do not spread, due to their complexity. Additionally, the initial number of vegetarians/ vegans was found to be the main driver of infection speed, besides inter-connectedness. The study also explores the possibility of a social tipping point, a critical threshold at which the diffusion process accelerates or reaches a critical mass. However, the research did not observe a tipping point in the adoption of vegetarianism and veganism. By examining the slow adoption of vegetarianism and veganism as a complex contagion, this research contributes to the comprehension of concrete network effect. The findings provide valuable insights for designing interventions and strategies to promote the widespread adoption of vegetarianism, veganism, and other environmentally friendly practices.

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This thesis examines the climate role conceptions and climate role positions of Iceland and Sweden respectively, as they are portrayed in their climate action plans. This study compliments the current trend to examine climate leadership within International Relations, with an additional focus on the Nordic countries. Not only is the Nordic identity enmeshed with ideas of environmentalism, but the Nordic countries also have a reputation of being environmental leaders. Despite this reputation, the Nordic countries vary considerably between themselves when it comes to climate performance, thus inspiring the study of the highest and lowest Nordic emitters of greenhouse gases. The study is carried out from a constructivist role theory perspective, which is complemented with a novel climate role analytical framework. A content analysis is conducted on Iceland‘s and Sweden‘s countries‘ climate action plans, and climate role indicators are coded and analyzed. The study reveals that both Iceland and Sweden depict themselves as climate leaders in their climate action plans. However, while both countries refer to themselves as climate leaders, the leadership indicators are manifested distinctively, resulting in the countries projecting different climate leadership role positions. By evaluating Iceland’s and Sweden’s portrayal of global climate leadership, it is assessed that Iceland assumes the climate role position of a pioneer, with aspirations for setting an example for other countries through its climate transition, and that Sweden assumes the climate role position of a constructive pusher, with aspirations to lead the domestic and global climate transition through ambitious actions. The analysis thus reveals how Sweden’s internationally ascribed roles as a climate leader and Iceland’s internationally ascribed role as an environmental leader is legitimated and reverberated throughout their respective climate action plans, in accordance with their role conceptions and identities.