Municipal Climate Target Work

Many Swedish municipalities are deeply committed to climate issues and participate in various collaborative efforts to streamline strategic climate work. Some of these collaborations have been initiated by external organizations with a regional and global perspective.

The starting point for municipal climate goals work is often the international agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions established in the Paris Agreement. Based on these, national and regional climate targets have been set. However, these targets need to be specified according to different system boundaries, target images, and target levels.

A crucial tool in this work is the development of a carbon budget. Many municipalities have developed their own carbon budgets, with some using a method that breaks down the global carbon budget at the local and regional levels. This method helps municipalities and regions calculate and regularly update their carbon budgets.

Municipal environmental programs are often concretized through various guiding documents. For procurement, this often involves a purchasing policy. It is common for municipalities to establish climate goals related to procurement, particularly for fossil fuel-free vehicles, transport services, and food products. The procurement criteria used are often descriptive in nature.