Climate adaptation in Sweden relevant for health and safety

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1 Climate adaptation in Sweden relevant for health and safety Work at the local level is difficult to overview (e.g. adapted planning and building, changes in drinking water production) Investments at hospitals and in care institutions (e.g. cooling) or training activities are not reported The probably most well known measure is a heat warning system (2014 record breaking warm) this year critisised for lack of action plan or guidelines A follow-up report on climate adaptation in Sweden after The Swedish Commission on Climate and Vulnerability (2007) was published this spring with a lot of recommendations

2 Organisation The 2015 follow-up report concludes that roles and responsibilities should be made clearer The report also says that it need to be outlined how costs of adaptation should be distributed among actors The municipalities (290) are responsible for many important activities in which adaptation should be integrated (e.g. planning, drinking water, sewage, care homes, social care, emergency management) Most health care centres and hospitals are run by county councils The state county administative boards are responsible for climate adaptation at regional level (e.g. planning) and to support the municipalities

3 National level No national agency currently has the overall responsibility for climate change adaptation The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) is a national knowledge centre for adaptation and operates an adaptation portal as a tool for disseminating information The important target groups for the portal are municipalities and state county administrative boards Almost 20 governmental agencies are involved in the portal, everyone responsible for their area of expertise

4 National activities Climate change adaptation in Sweden is an annual (Sept 23), inter-sectorial conference open for all stake-holders within climate adaptation. Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning and others are working on New guidelines for green infrastructure (October 2015), and on Environment and climate motivated rules for planning and building The Public Health Agency of Sweden has 2015 started a project on Heatwave action plans and advice on preventive measures by municipalities, care givers and the public.

5 National activities (2) Swedish Board of Agriculture will during the autumn 2015 publish a number of reports on how extreme weather events, in particular floods, may affect food production The National Land Survey (Lantmäteriet) runs a project to create a web based presentation (2015) of hydrological data (lakes, water flows) This agency also presents a new elevation model service important for planning and adaptation in order to analyse the effects of rising sea level, extreme river flows and the risk of floods The National Food Agency is involved as an expert agency in the National Drinking water assessment with a focus on the changing climate (2015)

6 National activities (3) The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) runs or funds several projects on climate change and natural disasters MSB has 2015 published a report on how heatwaves affects the local level e.g. health care, energy, drinking water and food distribution MSB also conducts an inventory to identify the need for guidelines and support to handle extreme rainfall events. The government has asked MSB to improve the societal preparedness based on experiences from the large wild fire in 2014, and in particular consider how a changing climate motivates a better capacity (report in January 2016)

7 National activities (4) SMHI develops new regional (down scaled) climate scenarios (Nov 2015), calculates sea level rise under different climate scenarios (Dec 2015), and conducts a study of extreme rainfall in Sweden The National Veterinary Institute runs a project around strategies for monitoring of vectors (mosquitos) and related diseases, and methods to fight invasive insects (report late 2015) The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) publish own reports on climate risks and adaptation to guide municipalities (new report autumn 2015), and arranges conferences on adaptation (Oct 8-9 and Nov 18, 2015)

8 Climate adaptation in Swedish municipalities IVL published in May 2015 a report on climate adaptation in municipalities, built on a survey where 165 out of 290 municipalities responded 96% of the municipalities expect to be affected by climate change, with increased precipitation, increased river flows and increased temperatures as the most important factors 67% of the municipalities have identified the sectors and areas that are most vulnerable, but only 44% have identified possible adaptation measures for these Measures taken mostly concern flood protection, prevention of erosion and improved drainage water systems

9 Climate adaptation in Swedish municipalities (2) 60% are planning actions and 80% have included climate adaptation in the regular physical planning process Three municipalities got the highest rankings for their work For Kristianstad at the South coast the sea level rise is critical. Walls have been built, coastal erosion is monitored and new drinking water sources have been established. Botkyrka in Stockholm county was first to start prevention of heat related health effects. Staff gets training and guidelines, and vulnerable areas and groups are identified. Botkyrka has also stopped building of houses in flood prone areas.

10 Climate adaptation in Swedish municipalities (3) Gothenburg at the West coast is crossed by the river Göta älv, and the city has worked a lot on modeling extreme flows and preventing flood risks along the river. The river is also the major raw water source, and the drinking water plants are being equipped with new barriers (UV and ultra filtration).

11 Climate adaptation in the health care sector Region Skåne (Scania) has developed their own heat plan with alarm chains, training of staff, check lists and advice The Scania model has been copied by some other county councils New hospitals are built with cooling systems, and portable air conditioners became common during 2014 Seminars and lectures on CC and health risks are becoming more common