This thesis examines the justice priorities found in the national climate transition governance proposed by the eight political parties represented in the Swedish parliamentary. Building on previous research on how justice perspectives are integrated in Sweden’s national climate transition policy discourse, this thesis contributes by identifying prioritized areas and actors/groups in each of the political parties’ climate transition proposals and comparing justice priorities that emerge in these policy proposals.  Just transition is used as a theoretical framework to analyze the political parties’ perspectives on global climate justice, the economy and labor market, environmental justice, and transportation and energy.  The findings show that while explicit justice priorities do not make up a major part of the motions, all political parties consider various social goals alongside emission reductions in their national climate policy. The Swedish political parties all offer different climate transition governance proposals, but a lot of justice priorities are shared. An overall focus on job creation, lowering energy costs for households, and lowering emissions from the transportation sector without limiting mobility is present across the board.

Climate change has been recognised as one of the biggest challenges of our time. To prevent further climate change impacts, nations at COP21 further stressed the need to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions enough to prevent dangerous temperature rise and to adapt societies to become more resilient. Municipals have been found important actors in this transition due to their power to inflict change on a local level. However, there is a lack of methods to assess how transition is made due to the fact that transition is a fairly new approach to managing climate change combined with a lack of completed transitions in municipalities. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of indicators as a method to assess municipal transition processes. Focusing on two Swedish municipalities that have been deemed vulnerable but at the same time apt to combat climate change, this study uses a triangulation of methods that are divided into two phases. The first phase uses a literature review in order to create a scientifically based list of transition indicators. The second phase uses document analyses and interviews in order to test the indicators and analyse transition process on a local level. The study revealed that there are multiple barriers and triggers for transition such as conflicting interests, economic factors, political steering, knowledge building- and awareness and long term perspectives, but that there also exist important tools for municipal transition in the form of networks through multi-level collaborations and plans/objectives. The findings in this study also suggests that the use of indicators as a method to assess transition could be viable, but that it is limited due to its contextual nature and lack of successful transitions to compare with. / Klimatförändringar har ansetts vara en av de viktigaste utmaningarna i vår tid. För att förhindra att vidare skador av klimatförändringarna kom nationer som deltog i COP21 överens om att minska sina växthusgaser tillräckligt mycket för att förhindra farliga temperaturförhöjningar och att anpassa sina samhällen till resilienta enheter. Kommuner anses vara viktiga aktörer i denna omställning då de har makt att påverka förändringar på en lokal nivå. Dock saknas metoder för att bedöma hur omställning utförs då omställning är ett nytt angreppssätt kombinerat med en brist på genomförda omställningar. Syftet med denna uppsats är att utforska användningen av indikatorer som metod för att bedöma omställningsprocesser. Genom att använda en triangulering av metoder som delats upp i två faser fokuserar studien på två svenska kommuner som har fastställts som känsliga inför klimatförändringarna men även att ha förmågan att hantera dem. Den första fasen består av en litteraturstudie som skapade en vetenskaplig grund som berörde en global och nationell nivå. Den andra fasen bestod av en dokumentsanalys och intervjuer för att utforska omställningsprocesser på en lokal nivå. Studien visar på att det finns flera barriärer och drivkrafter för omställning som konkurrerande intressen, ekonomiska faktorer, politisk styrning, kunskaps byggande- och medvetenhet och långsiktighet men även att det fanns verktyg som var viktiga för kommunal omställning som nätverk genom samarbeten på olika nivåer och planer/mål. Slutligen visar även studien på att användningen av indikatorer som metod för att bedömma omställning skulle kunna vara möjligt men att begränsningar finns då metoden dels är kontextberoende men även att det är svårt att göra jämförelser då ingen fullförd omställning har skett.

Syftet med studien är att identifiera hinder och möjligheter för kommuner att arbeta med klimatomställning genom att analysera hur medborgare förstår, uppfattar och ställer sig till olika klimatrelaterade risker och åtgärder. Kvalitativa individuella intervjuer, samt fokusgruppsintervjuer med invånare i Lagerlunda, Norrköping har genomförts för att studera vad invånarna prioriterar och värdesätter, samt hur de ser på klimatrisker och klimatomställning i Norrköping och i sitt eget bostadsområde. För att identifiera hinder och möjligheter för en lyckad omställning har materialet analyserats med hjälp av Burch et al (2014) faktorer för en lyckad omställning. Studien visar att det största hindret för omställning ur detta perspektiv är en underskattning av klimatriskernas betydelse hos invånarna. Detta visar sig genom invånarnas låga prioritering av klimatrisker, samt svårigheter att få medborgare att ändra sitt beteende för att minska klimatrelaterade risker. Andra hinder som uppkom var bristande information från kommunen om den planerade utvecklingen i Norrköping, möjliga åtgärder för klimatanpassning och utsläppsminskning, samt en bristande kommunikation mellan kommun och invånare. De möjligheter för en lyckad omställning som framkom av studien var invånarnas positiva inställning till att öka cykelmöjligheterna, att prioritera utvecklingen av grönområden och att minska biltrafiken, samt att det finns en vilja att kunna bidra med åsikter i kommunens planeringsprocess. För att lyckas med en hållbar omställning bör Norrköpings kommun fokusera på att informera invånare kring miljö- och klimatfrågor, bakomliggande tankar kring stadens utveckling och öka medborgardeltagandet i planeringsprocesser. / The purpose of this study is to identify difficulties and opportunities for municipalities to work with climate transition by analyzing how citizens understand, perceive and position their selves towards climate-related risks and measures. Qualitative individual interviews and focus group interviews with residents in Lagerlunda, Norrköping has been conducted to study what residents prioritize and values, and how they view climate risks and climate adaptation in Norrköping and in their own neighborhood. In order to identify difficulties and opportunities for transition Burch et al (2014) factors for a successful transition are applied. The study shows that the biggest difficulty toward climate transition is an underestimation of the importance of climate risks among residents. This is manifested by the residents’ low prioritization of climate risks, and in difficulties to get people to change their behavior to reduce climate-related risks. Other identified difficulties are the lack of information from the municipality about the planned development of the city and possible measures for climate adaptation and mitigation, as well as a lack of communication between the municipality and citizens. The opportunities for a successful transition that emerged from the study was the residents' positive attitudes to increase cycling, to prioritize the development of green areas and to reduce car traffic, and that there is a desire to be able to contribute in the municipal planning process. To succeed in a sustainable transition Norrköping, the municipality should focus on informing people about environment and climate issues, underlying thoughts about the development of the city and increase citizen participation in planning processes.

This work introduces diagnostic methods for land surface model (LSM) evaluation that enable developers to identify structural shortcomings in model parameterizations by evaluating model 'signatures' (characteristic temporal and spatial patterns of behavior) in feature, cost-function, and parameter spaces. The ensemble-based methods allow researchers to draw conclusions about hypotheses and model realism that are independent of parameter choice. I compare the performance and physical realism of three versions of Noah LSM (a benchmark standard version [STD], a dynamic-vegetation enhanced version [DV], and a groundwater-enabled one [GW]) in simulating high-frequency near-surface states and land-to-atmosphere fluxes in-situ and over a catchment at high-resolution in the U.S. Southern Great Plains, a transition zone between humid and arid climates. Only at more humid sites do the more conceptually realistic, hydrologically enhanced LSMs (DV and GW) ameliorate biases in the estimation of root-zone moisture change and evaporative fraction. Although the improved simulations support the hypothesis that groundwater and vegetation processes shape fluxes in transition zones, further assessment of the timing and partitioning of the energy and water cycles indicates improvements to the movement of water within the soil column are needed. Distributed STD and GW underestimate the contribution of baseflow and simulate too-flashy streamflow. This work challenges common practices and assumptions in LSM development and offers researchers more stringent model evaluation methods. I show that, because of equifinality, ad-hoc evaluation using single parameter sets provides insufficient information for choosing among competing parameterizations, for addressing hypotheses under uncertainty, or for guiding model development. Posterior distributions of physically meaningful parameters differ between models and sites, and relationships between parameters themselves change. 'Plug and play' of modules and partial calibration likely introduce error and should be re-examined. Even though LSMs are 'physically based,' model parameters are effective and scale-, site- and model-dependent. Parameters are not functions of soil or vegetation type alone: they likely depend in part on climate and cannot be assumed to be transferable between sites with similar physical characteristics. By helping bridge the gap between the model identification and model development, this research contributes to the continued improvement of our understanding and modeling of environmental processes. / text

I have in this thesis problematized the Swedish climate transition potentially making Sweden one of the first fossil free welfare states in the world. The forest industry has been designated as one of the central components of climate transition in that it will help replace fossil fuels and other unsustainable materials. One group being affected by the increased forestry is that of the Sámi reindeer herders. Not only are they already affected by the effects of climate change to a great extent, but the forest industry in turn causes problems for reindeer husbandry and is a direct source of reduced quality in forests which provide lichen, the primary food source for reindeer. I have conducted interviews with five reindeer herders in the Malå forest Sámi village, in Västerbotten, in northern Sweden, to gain a keener understanding of the effects of climate change and the forest industry on reindeer herding, from a security perspective. The results show that the interviewees perceive climate change and large-scale forestry as a threat to their livelihood connected to reindeer husbandry and, in turn, a significant part of Sámi culture and existence, and that the two exacerbate the effects of each other. Among the effects, are the loss of forest that provides shelter and sustenance for reindeer, as well as the wellbeing and spirituality of the reindeer herders. Using theories drawn from Anthropocene and postcolonial literature, I hereby problematize the climate transition in Sweden in that it is based on a particular way of viewing the relationship between humans and nature. This causes problems for reindeer husbandry, and ultimately a reduction in security for reindeer herders that is reminiscent of and upholding the frictional and colonial bonds between Sweden and Sápmi (the region inhabited by Sámi people).

Introduction. This thesis focuses on the concept of green libraries with the aim to understand how the public library can promote climate action. Since green libraries for long have been absent in Sweden, the study’s objective is to examine green libraries in an international context to address what features four German public libraries show that green libraries can fulfill; and in a national context to investigate how green libraries can apply to the Swedish public library’s role in society. Method. Semi-structured interviews with librarians at four German green libraries were conducted. The interviews were recorded, and the transcripts was analyzed thematically. In addition to the interviews, the material also consists of documents of different genres used to analyze the Swedish perspective. Analysis. The analytical framework uses a theoretical model specially designed to be used in the analysis, called the re-intermediary-model. The model demonstrates the potential of the public library as a social infrastructure in addressing societal issues, such as the issue of climate change. The analysis maps the empirical material and previous research about green libraries to show which library features it fits into. Additionally, the mapped empirical material helps identify the opportunities for green libraries in Sweden. Results. The analysis identifies several areas of interest. The results show that the German green libraries fit into the features of the theoretical model. The libraries’ green activities and services function as local meeting places; they inspire users to act with more environmental awareness; green libraries educate about climate change and ways to promote climate action in daily life; and they offer creative spaces to let the users experience sustainability. The results also show that there are many opportunities for green libraries to be applied in Sweden. Many aspects of green libraries and climate action conform to the Swedish Library Act, foremost the legislation requiring municipalities and county councils to adopt library plans which enables politicians to include climate strategies in the plans and public libraries in local climate strategies. Swedish libraries could devote themselves to conveying knowledge and information about climate change in several ways, for example through urban gardening, media and information literacy, repair cafés and lectures. Conclusion. Findings reveal that the public library can support civic abilities to participate in climate action. The view of the public library as a space for living and not only a place of books enables the library to convey information and knowledge through various activities and services. The public library’s local connection and inclusive target group give capacity to bring people closer to complex information about climate change, which could benefit climate action and promote community resilience. The thesis also show that Swedish public libraries have a potential site for addressing the issue of climate change and promote climate action.  This is a two-year master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.