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BALTIC 21 Draft Report: Background Paper on Climate Change
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Author(s):
Aslı Tepecik Diş, Anu Henriksson, Richard Langlais
Original date:
16 March 2010
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This update:
2017-06-24
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................... 1
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 5
2. Methodology .......................................................................................................... 6
3. Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region ................................................................ 7
3.1 What is Climate Change ? ..................................................................................... 7
3.2 Adaptation and mitigation measures to cope with climate change............................... 8
3.3 Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Basin ................................................................... 9
3.4 Major Global and Regional Organizational Processes ............................................... 10
4. Member Organizations and Countries .................................................................. 12
4.1 Member Countries .............................................................................................. 12
4.2 Baltic 21 Member Organizations ........................................................................... 15
4.3 Review of Baltic 21 Action Programmes ................................................................ 20
5. Results From Web Questionnaire ......................................................................... 22
6. Discussions and Recommendations ..................................................................... 29
7. Final Recommendations ....................................................................................... 31
8. References ........................................................................................................... 32
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is comprised of 3 pages
Context of the paper
This Background Paper on Climate Change has been produced as part of Baltic 21’s aim to
develop a new Strategic Action Plan for 2010 to 2015. The Action Plan will focus on four
strategic areas:




climate change;
innovation and education for sustainable development;
sustainable consumption and production; and
sustainable urban and rural development.
Accompanying the Strategic Action Plan for 2010 to 2015 will be a Portfolio of Actions. The
Portfolio will be viewed as a living document of actions that Baltic 21 members and Baltic 21
Lighthouse Projects will be committed to implement.
This background paper is the main source of input for both developing the draft Baltic 21
Strategic Action Plan 2010 to 2015 and the first version of the Climate Change actions to be
included in the Portfolio of Actions. It is also seen as a major policy input to the Eco-region
project funded under the EU BSR Programme 2007-2013. Given time and resource
constraints, the paper represents, at the time of writing, the best available survey of Baltic
21’s collective thinking on the issue of active response to climate change.
The goal of this background paper has been to collect a small number of specific
recommendations that are achievable within a few years. They have been collected from
among the Baltic 21 membership; and they have a high potential for leading to action,
especially at local levels. To verify this, surveys, desktop studies, telephone interviews, the
Växjö workshop (28 January 2010), and collaboration with the Baltic 21 secretariat were used
to search for ideas for action-based proposals from the Baltic 21 membership.
Executive Summary
Page 1 of 3
Climate change has always been a part of Baltic 21, but embedded as a “sub-concern” within
the broad variety of concerns represented in sustainability work. In the 1998 action plan for
Baltic 21, An Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region—Baltic 21, climate change is implicit in its
focus on sustainable development, but it does not have the same emphasis as it does in the
work of Baltic 21 today. At present, Baltic 21 has clearly included climate change in its scope
of action for the coming years.
Projected climate change in the Baltic Sea Region
It is projected that the warming trend in the region will continue, with a strong increase in
winter temperatures, especially in the north and east, along with a considerable reduction in
the average snow cover.
Projections for the future indicate that regional warming in the Baltic Sea Basin “exceeds the
global mean warming” dramatically, especially during winter months in the northern areas,
and in the summer months in the southern areas by approximately 1°C.
Criteria for selection of proposals

A proposal should appear often among the Baltic 21 membership;

it should have a clear local dimension

if its local character matches national goals in many countries, then that is advantageous,
but not necessarily a top priority;

proposals should not duplicate activities already underway by the membership;

a proposal is stronger when it has both mitigation and adaptation characteristics;

proposals that have a high likelihood of being achievable in 3-5 years are better;

proposals for action that are practical and focused on implementation are best;

most desirable is when the added value of cross-Baltic-21 cooperation is high.
Executive Summary
Page 2 of 3
Final short list of proposals for action
1. Promote climate-smart and “post-carbon” agriculture and forestry by supporting the
adaptation of those sectors to the impacts of climate change.
The entire cycle, from fertilizers, soil management, pest control, spatial arrangements
and logistics is considered. Multiple spin-offs can be developed, such as “waste as
fuel,” “forests as agriculture,” and consumer standards for “climate footprint labelling”
of products. Footprint labelling is inspired by the Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT)
standard, which was instrumental in creating a platform for market dominance by
northern European companies.
2. Organize educational activities in schools, for raising awareness about climate change,
by developing and using innovative, interactive learning tools.
The education of children, youth and even adults (when possible!), is an effective way
to change attitudes. There is a great wealth of both traditional and new knowledge in
the BSR, from everyday practice, cultural heritage and science. Finding ways to
communicate and spread these valuable forms of knowledge about climate change via
the school systems and into other institutional settings can be excellently served by
BSR cooperation.
3. Developing “smart logistics” for mitigating CO2 emissions and other pollution linked to
marine transportation
Marine transportation is an important arena for BSR cooperation. The common sea and
the complex routes crossing the BSR provide many opportunities for achieving climate
change added value. Concepts such as, for example, “having the focus on the cargo,
rather than the mode of transport,” “precision scheduling,” “green supply chain,”
“reduced carbon footprint,” “smart tagging,” and “sensor chip systems interactions”
are included.
4. Promoting the bio-energy potential in the Baltic Sea Region
All countries of the BSR have impressive potential for cooperation in bio-energy
production. Ideas such as developing a sustainability-labeling system for bio-energy
and biomass with an emphasis on biodiversity preservation, as well as finding intersectoral interfaces with “post-carbon” agriculture and forestry are possible avenues for
cooperation.
5. Developing a Baltic Sea Region Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Finding common approaches to local, sub-national and national adaptation strategies
can be a useful shared platform for developing other collaborations, such as those
above. By incorporating those commonalities into a shared strategy, efficiencies and
clearer overviews of potential collaboration areas can be gained. It would be useful for
rallying efforts and resources around major challenges that would otherwise be too
large for any single actor.
Executive Summary
Page 3 of 3
4
1. Introduction
This Background Paper on Climate Change has been produced as part of Baltic 21’s aim to
develop a new Strategic Action Plan for 2010 to 2015. The Action Plan will focus on four
strategic areas:




climate change;
innovation and education for sustainable development;
sustainable consumption and production; and
sustainable urban and rural development.
Accompanying the Strategic Action Plan for 2010 to 2015 will be a Portfolio of Actions. The
Portfolio will be viewed as a living document of actions that Baltic 21 members and Baltic 21
Lighthouse Projects will be committed to implement.
This background paper is the main source of input for both developing the draft Baltic 21
Strategic Action Plan 2010 to 2015 and the first version of the Climate Change actions to be
included in the Portfolio of Actions. It is also seen as a major policy input to the Eco-region
project funded under the EU BSR Programme 2007-2013.
As authors of this paper, we have been inspired by the mandate we have received from those
who have commissioned it. It has been clear all along that the primary goal of the work was,
and still is, to collect a small number of specific recommendations that possessed the quality
of being achievable within the span of a few years. Although this is described in more detail in
the concluding section of the paper, it can be reiterated here that whatever the
recommendations would eventually be, they must firstly be collected from among the Baltic
21 membership; and, secondly, they must have a high potential for leading to action,
especially at local levels.
Since we are researchers in the field of “society’s responses to climate change,” we
recognized those criteria as valid and appropriate, and appreciate that we have been
entrusted with this role. We have been encouraged to be as unrestrained as possible in
collecting the material that has served as the basis of the paper. Its intent is to be brief, but
provide a reliable overview, and show the process by which a select number of action
proposals would be the outcome of the paper. Given the time and resource constraints
imposed by the intersecting policy processes which have allowed its production, the paper
represents, at the time of writing, the best available survey of Baltic 21’s collective thinking
on the issue of active response to climate change.
At the same time as our autonomy from the Baltic 21 Secretariat was obvious, we also had
the benefit of being welcome to consult with its personnel in order to search out the best
available sources of material for the paper. Mia Crawford and her assistants (Project Officer
Alexandra Ronkina and intern Maria Erashova) with their comprehensive knowledge of Baltic
21’s history and current activities, were able to confirm for us that the theme of climate
change is, in its most precise sense, a more recent addition to Baltic 21’s portfolio of
concerns.
More generally, this is a situation reflected in that of most contemporary organizations, such
as Baltic 21, that have been working with the theme of sustainable development for any
number of years (and even decades); climate change has always been there, but embedded
as a “sub-concern” within the broad variety of concerns represented in sustainability work.
So, it is fair to say that, in the 1998 action plan for Baltic 21, An Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea
Region—Baltic 21, climate change is implicit in its focus on sustainable development, but it
does not have the same emphasis there as it does in the work of Baltic 21 today. This is
5
similar to the situation of its Bio-energy promotion project (The Baltic Sea Region Bio-energy
Promotion Project), where the aims of the project mesh perfectly with the concerns of climate
change, even though the latter is not its direct focus. Notwithstanding those qualifications, it
remains accurate to claim that Baltic 21 has clearly included climate change in its current
scope of action for the coming years.
Whatever the possible inadequacies of this Background Paper might be, in reflecting the
actual activities of each of the members of Baltic 21, it must be specified that the membership
has for the most part embraced climate change as another focus for their individual
organizations’ work. Whether analyzing the results of the surveys, poring over their websites,
or working with them in the Växjö workshop, we were impressed by the number of initiatives
that are underway. Although those initiatives have been in most cases designed with the
specific objectives of each organization in mind, our discussions and contacts with their
representatives have resulted in a small number of ideas that have the potential to benefit
greatly from the added-value of cooperation at the Baltic Sea regional level. Those
recommendations, as well as a selected listing of a number of the many other
recommendations that were proposed during the collection process, appear in the last parts of
this paper.
2. Methodology
The method for the preparation of this background paper has been to combine information
from several different sources. The intention was to be as exhaustive as possible, given the
resource constraints, in canvassing the membership for their views. In order to identify the
possible actions for climate change in the Baltic 21 membership, a desktop analysis together
with a web-based survey were carried out and complemented with selected telephone
interviews. Additionally, through a consultation process1 set up by the Baltic 21 Expert Group
on Sustainable Development, with the participation of various stakeholders and the Baltic 21
members, the possible actions were further evaluated.
Preliminary desktop study helped us to analyse the challenges in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR)
regarding climate change and identify the methods Baltic 21 member organizations utilize
while pursuing their respective climate policies. The background information on climate
change was based on literature studies while the data concerning member organizations’
concrete goals and strategies were acquired through their respective web portals as well as
their publications. Furthermore, two other Nordregio researchers, namely Stefanie Lange and
Lisa Van Well, provided information from their ongoing work in the BaltCICA (INTERREG IVB)
project for this background paper.
Subsequently, assessment of the policy documents such as the “EU BSR strategy” and the
Baltic 21 Series No 1/98: An Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region, was initiated, to reveal
whether there were any action points addressed that would be of relevance for the future
work of Baltic 21 or not. Member countries and organisations are planning to develop
adaptation strategies or are in the process of developing them while some have already
arrived at concrete policies. We especially placed emphasis on examples and activities
regarding the national administration and political barriers while briefly elaborating the
collaboration networks between member states and the agencies. Following the analysis, the
policies were described and the draft was submitted to the organisation in question to ensure
the integrity of the study. According to the feedback received, the work description of the
member organizations was formulated. Even though some organizations failed to respond to
our queries, we assume that those who wanted to clarify their climate change activities
provided their respective feedback.
1
EcoRegion Stakeholder Event on Baltic 21 Strategy took place in Växjö on 28 January 2010.
6
While the desktop analysis and related documents present examples of climate strategies,
they do not reveal concrete indications for the future cooperative actions; this is otherwise an
essential consideration for the overall sustainability goal of the BSR through the Baltic 21
membership.
Therefore, to determine the potentials for the future joint climate change actions in the BSR,
we distributed a questionnaire to 70 key personnel from among all, and each, of the Baltic 21
member organizations whose contact information had been provided by the Baltic 21 Expert
Group on Sustainable Development. The results from this questionnaire were employed
during the round table discussions at the EcoRegion Stakeholder Event on Baltic 21 Strategy,
which started with a list of potential joint project ideas derived from our analysis, based on
the methodological elements stated above. Furthermore, this process helped us to explore a
broad set of ideas and opinions represented through the Baltic 21 members; which in turn led
us to a satisfactory level of consensus on the most relevant, prominent and feasible joint
actions.
The process and the proposed actions collected at the Växjö meeting were further evaluated
in comparison with the results of the questionnaires, interviews and desktop analysis as well
as review of relevant policy documents. The outcome of the entire process is the short list of
selected, final recommendations in the final section of this paper.
3. Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region
3.1 What is climate change?
Our Earth is experiencing atmospheric warming mainly related to the increased release of
greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide
(N2O). These gases absorb heat from the sun and tend to warm the Earth’s surface while
scientific evidence indicates that the continuous accumulation of the GHGs in the atmosphere
has prevented the absorbed heat from leaving the atmosphere. Some of this heat is being
trapped, consequently creating the greenhouse effect. GHGs are only one source of climate
change; aerosols such as black carbon and land use changes such as deforestation and
agriculture also cause global warming.2
The definition of climate change is still under debate, concerning primarily whether it is due to
climate variability (natural processes) or anthropogenic actions (human induced).
Nevertheless, the scientific consensus is that, starting from the mid-19th Century, the
evaluation of global average temperature indicates that the distribution of human activities in
parallel with the Industrial Revolution have altered the atmospheric concentrations and
elevated the greenhouse effect.
The world´s most authoritative scientific body within the climate change discourse is the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established by the World Meteorological
Institute (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in 1988. IPCC
gathers more than 2000 climate scientists worldwide for the assessment of the most recent
scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to the current state of
atmospheric warming and presents the likely impacts of climate change every 5-6 years.
According to the IPCC´s latest assessment report; there is “an unequivocal warming of the
earth´s climate and this is very likely due to human actions.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) refers to the term
‘climate change’ as “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human
2
IPCC(2007), Synthesis Report
7
activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”3
IPCC uses a rather neutral term with respect to “any change in climate over time, whether
due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.”4
The scientific evidence states that climate change is likely to result in rapid and dramatic
changes to some of the major geophysical elements of the Earth if global average
temperatures continue to rise. Once climate tipping points are reached, catastrophic events
are projected to occur more frequently. Arid regions may become barren, rising sea levels
may flood coastal areas and melting glaciers may flood communities downstream; depleting
the future sources of water supplies. Up to 30% of animal species may become extinct.
However, new evidence5 has emerged since the last update of the climate science, showing
that ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctic are melting faster than projected. This fact threatens
the coastal cities and low-lying islands dramatically. IPCC’s scenarios are already being
anticipated as being too conservative as new research results are announced.
The definition of what constitutes dangerous human intervention is location-specific; however
since it is certain that the impacts are and will be witnessed globally, cooperation at different
levels is required to effectively address climate change.
3.2 Adaptation and mitigation measures to cope with climate change
The key strategies to be undertaken in order to respond to this global threat are described as
climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.6
The term mitigation refers to making plans to secure developments that would contribute to
reducing GHG emissions for stabilizing climate change and moving towards a low carbon
society, whereas adaptation refers to taking into account the unavoidable consequences.
While adaptation can be seen as direct prevention, mitigation can be viewed as indirect
prevention.7 In order to reduce vulnerability to climate change, adaptation efforts are
considered to be imperative. While climate change mitigation is mainly tied to top-down
approaches, whereby trade-offs between economic activity and emissions reduction are taken
into account, based on the technological and economic activities of the respective countries,
adaptation is considered to be place-based and therefore tied to bottom-up approaches.8
The IPCC emphasizes the synergy in linking adaptation and mitigation by stating that the
interaction between these measures can be greater if both measures are implemented
together, rather than separately.9 However, linking mitigation and adaptation at the national
and sectoral level can be challenging as the actions and policies involve different sectors. For
instance; while mitigation measures involve transport, industry and energy, adaptation
actions tend to focus on most vulnerable sectors such as agriculture, forestry, coastal zone
management and land use systems. On the other hand, promoting synergies between
mitigation and adaptation can be productive at the sectoral level, since adaptation measures
3
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Article 1
4
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4, 2007)
5
Synthesis Report from Climate Change Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions, Copenhagen, 10-12 March 2009
6
IPCC Working Group I (AR4, 2007)
Verheyen, R. (2005), Climate Change Damage and International Law: Prevention, Duties and State Responsibility,
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden, chapter 6, p. 348
7
8
IPCC Working Group II (AR4, 2007)
9
IPCC Working Group I (AR4, 2007)
8
in agriculture, including forestry and land-use, have implications for carbon sequestration and
reducing GHG emissions.10
3.3 Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Basin
The Baltic Sea and its entire water catchment constitute the region of the Baltic Sea Basin,
which is in the transition zone between continental and maritime climates, and has a fairly
young geological structure. It is herefore exposed to both continuing geological formations
and to the changes in climate caused by increased human activities in regional as well as
global processes.11
The Baltic Sea has been experiencing the effects of climate change due to changes in
greenhouse gases since the middle of last century. It may lose a great amount of its seasonal
ice cover during the 21st Century. The shrinking of winter periods and the decrease in their
severity, and the observed thinning of ice covers, are examples of the transformation that the
Baltic Sea is experiencing. A total increase of 3-to-5 °C is expected by the end of the century;
that would result in drier summers, decrease in the salinity of water between 8 and 50
percent, thinner icecaps and an increase in the annual precipitation both geographically and
seasonally.12 Due to this increase in the annual precipitation, hydrological cycles will be
intensified.13 With the increasing water temperature, the Baltic Sea might also face changes in
its habitat, with new species entering from other parts of the world.14
Eutrophication is a fact of the recent past in the Baltic Sea and still it has been documented to
change the biota and pose a direct threat to health with toxic algal blooms. Eutrophication
phenomena is expected to enhance the production and biodiversity in the ecosystem to a
marked extent and is projected to lead to a collapse due to chemical and biotic interactions. A
new ecological balance is expected with low biodiversity and high variability due to periodic
occurrences of dominant species.15
The Baltic Sea Region, with both industrialized and semi-industrialized countries contributing
to global GHG emissions to a considerable extent, is particularly vulnerable to the problems
posed by climate change due to its location in the northern hemisphere, where a significant
temperature rise has already been observed. Climate change is a common task for the 11
states16 of the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), due to the common problems the region will face.17
Engelman, R. et al. 2009. State of the World, Into a Warming World, A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress
Towards a Sustainable Society/W.W. Norton & Company, New York, London. 262 p.
10
Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Area, Helsinki Commission, Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission,
HELCOM Thematic Assessment in 2007, Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings No. 111
11
Barbir, J. et al.2009. An appraisal of measures to cope with climate change in the Baltic Sea, Management of
Environmental Quality: An International Journal Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 82-91
12
Jacob, D. and Lorenz, P. 2009. Future trends and variability of the hydrological cycle in different IPCC SRES
emission scenarios — a case study for the Baltic Sea region, Boreal Environment Research 14: 100–113
13
Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Area, Helsinki Commission, Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission,
HELCOM Thematic Assessment in 2007, Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings No. 111
14
The BACC (BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin) Author Team. 2008
Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin. Springer,p.30
15
The eleven states of the Baltic Sea Region are; Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
16
Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Area, Helsinki Commission, Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission,
HELCOM Thematic Assessment in 2007, Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings No. 111
17
9
This paper benefited from the BACC report 18, which provides an overview of observed and
simulated long-term changes for the Baltic Sea Basin. According to the global climate model
simulations studied in the report, all the regional climate change scenarios, in general, are
consistent with the global climate change scenarios; indicating a warming trend. This is also
true for the entire Baltic Sea Basin regarding all seasons where atmospheric temperatures will
continue to increase for every sub-region within.
During the late 20th century, this warming trend caused a decrease in the duration of the
winter period and a thinning of ice cover in all of the Baltic Sea catchment area, as stated
above. In the last decade, the precipitation has increased in the northern part of Europe and
the weather has become milder. The eastern part of the Baltic Sea, Sweden in particular,
witnessed the largest increase, especially regarding winter and spring seasons. 19 In the
southern parts of the Baltic Sea basin, the precipitation has decreased during summer, as
opposed to the northern parts.
In the southern part of Poland, for instance, a decrease in cloudiness and an increase in
sunshine duration have been observed, whereas in Estonia the opposite tendency has
occurred. Furthermore, decrease in the aerosol emissions to the atmosphere increased the
direct radiation and affected the air quality according to the observations made in Estonia.
It is projected that with the continuing warming trend, there will be a strong increase in
wintertime temperatures in the region, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the
Baltic Sea Basin, with a considerable reduction in the snow cover.
Recent climate change, with the warming trend from 1861 to 2000, has been recorded as
0.08 C/decade for the Baltic Sea, whereas the global warming trend has been 0.05 C/decade.
Based on this, the future projections indicate that regional warming over the Baltic Sea Basin
“exceeds the global mean warming” dramatically especially during winter months in the
northern areas, and in the summer months in the southern areas by 0.9 ˚C, or some 50 %
higher in relative terms.20
3.4 Major Global and Regional Organizational Processes
The European Union and the United Nations also have climate change strategies and actions
that affect the BSR.
European Union (EU)
The EU level policies and strategies related to climate change have two lines: firstly, the direct
climate change policies for all EU countries, and secondly, the regional approach, with the
Baltic Sea strategy launched in 2009. The common climate change policies include different
regulations, monitoring and reporting. Adaptation to climate change has been discussed in the
report, Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Europe in 2005; it was produced by
the European Environmental Agency.21 The Green Paper on Adaptation from 2007 had a fourpronged approach. The Commission's Green Paper Adapting to climate change in Europe –
options for EU action22, indicated that adaptation policies are emerging in nearly all member
The BACC (BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin) Author Team. 2008.
Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin. Springer. 490p.
18
19
Ibid.p.24
20
Ibid.p.25
21
EEA. 2005. Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Europe. EEA Technical report. No 7/2005.
Commission of the European Communities. 2007. Green paper: Adapting to climate change in Europe – options for
EU action. COM(2007) 354.
22
10
states and that sharing of experiences from early adaptation action and research are of
utmost importance. The paper highlighted that adaptation to climate change is likely to
benefit from experience gained in reaction to extreme climate events and implementation of
specific and proactive climate change risk management.
Other adaptation-related strategies concern coastal zones and areas by the water. The risk of
flooding and other natural hazards on coastal zones are discussed in different approaches,
namely coastal management (Integrated Coastal Zone Management), flood protection (Flood
Directive23) and maritime policy (Green paper on Maritime Policy24, 2006).
In 2009, the European Commission presented a Commission Staff Working Document
accompanying the White Paper on climate change adaptation25, setting out a European
framework for action to improve Europe's resilience to climate change; emphasising the need
to integrate climate adaptation into all key European policies; and enhancing co-operation at
all levels of governance. Another key issue is that the impacts of climate change vary by
region, which calls for regional adaptation strategies.
Mitigation-related activities include greenhouse gas monitoring and reporting, and the
European Climate Change Programme (ECCP), which produces reports on its working group
outcomes. The European Union greenhouse gas emission trading scheme (ETS) was launched
in 2005, and is now in the second period, which will expire in 2012. The third EU ETS trading
period will cover the period 2013–2020.
The EU also adopted an integrated energy and climate change policy 26 in December 2008,
with short-term but ambitious targets for 2020:
 cutting greenhouse gases by 20% (30% if international agreement is reached)
 reducing energy consumption by 20% through increased energy efficiency
 meeting 20% of our energy needs from renewable sources.
In addition, EU is funding research on adaptation in the 7th Framework programme. Also
regions affected by natural disasters get support (i.e. emergency funding) from the European
Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF).
The BSR regional approach was started in 2007 when EU started to develop the Baltic Sea
Strategy27 with main objectives being improvement of the environment, increasing economic
growth and making the area more attractive and accessible but also safe and secure. The
strategy, adopted in 2009, aims at coordinating actions between numerous actors in the area
to promote more balanced development of the region. The environmental issues stand high
on the list among innovativeness, accessibility, and safety and security. The integration is
supported by networks of different kinds.
Climate change is one priority area in the strategy. Climate change is further emphasised in
the EU BSR Strategy Action Plan.28 Climate change mitigation and adaptation is one of fifteen
23
Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and
management of flood risks Text with EEA relevance.
Commission of the European Communities. 2006. Green paper: Towards a future Maritime Policy for the union: a
European vision for the oceans and seas. COM(2006) 275.
24
Commission of the European Communities. 2009. White paper: Adapting to climate change: towards a European
framework for action. COM(2009) 147.
25
See for example information at EurActiv Network
Available at: http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/energy-climate-change-integrated-eu-policy/article-160957
26
27
Commission of the European Communities. 2009. European Union Strategy for Baltic Sea Region. COM(2009) 248.
Commission of the European Communities. 2009. European Union Strategy for Baltic Sea Region: Action Plan.
Commission staff working Document. COM(2009) 248.
28
11
points. The potential of the region to become a model region in the field of climate change is
identified, especially in the fields of energy efficiency, sustainable transport modes and
renewable energies. Practical approaches are for instance research activities, cooperation
between EU and Russia, and networking cities. Many other policies can also have indirect
influences. Examples of that kind of action include those towards better ecological balance,
and reducing risks posed to citizens, infrastructure and environment, by various hazards.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) set an international
treaty for confronting climate change in 1992. 192 countries around the world have joined the
treaty, recognizing the climate change reality. The convention’s goal is to stabilize GHG
emissions at a level that would make it possible for natural ecosystems, food production
systems, and economic systems to adapt by providing a platform for collective action,
emphasizing the differentiated responsibilities of developed and developing countries.
UNFCCC’s work is fortified by receiving commitments made through bilateral, regional and
multilateral forums such as the G8 and G20, the Major Economies Forum and by numerous
initiatives of development assistance organizations, multilateral agencies and civil society
organizations.
Given the intrinsically prolonged nature of the UNFCCC negotiations (as in the example of the
15th Conference of the Parties which had issues left unresolved) that require accord among all
participating countries, these harmonizing venues for promoting international cooperation
may have greater potential to meet the need for critical action on climate change.
4. Member Organizations and Countries
4.1 Member Countries
Denmark has described its national goals in climate change work in its National Climate
Change Adaptation Strategy 2008 and in the Agreement on Green Growth formulated by the
Danish Ministry of the Environment (2009). The main initiatives relate to renewal energy, i.e.
wind power, solar heating (for instance in Dronninglund) and bioethanol (for instance in
Bornholm). Regional actors are active in their climate change policies. Region Zealand has for
example created Zero Carbon network.29 The research initiatives have recently been studied
in the report Mapping of Climate Research in Denmark: Analysis and evaluation, (2009) by
the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Danish Coordination Unit for
Research in Climate Change Adaptation and the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy.30
Finland has started work on climate change adaptation relatively early and the first National
Strategy for Adaptation to climate change in Finland was launched 2005 31; the strategy was
evaluated in 2009 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.32 The Finnish Ministry of
29
http://www.zero-carbon.dk/
The publication can be found at: http://en.vtu.dk/publications/2009/mapping-of-climate-research-indenmark/mapping-of-climate-research-in-denmark.pdf
30
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2005. National Strategy for Adaptation to climate change. 1a/2005.
http://www.mmm.fi/attachments/ymparisto/5kghLfz0d/MMMjulkaisu2005_1a.pdf
www.mmm.fi/sopeutumisstrategia
31
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2009. Evaluation of the Implementation of Finland’s National Strategy for
Adaptation to Climate Change. 4a/2009.
http://www.mmm.fi/attachments/mmm/julkaisut/julkaisusarja/2009/5IEsngZYQ/Adaptation_Strategy_evaluation.pdf
32
12
Employment and the Economy launched the National Climate and Energy Strategy in 2008.33
The Finnish Prime Minister’s Office published its Government Foresight Report on Long-term
Climate and Energy Policy34 in 2009. There are several research programmes on climate
change: FINADAPT (2004-2005), the Finnish Climate Change Communications Programme
funded by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy (2002–2007), the Research
Programme for Global Change funded by the Finnish Environment Institute (2002–2009), the
Climate Change Adaptation Research Programme ISTO funded by the Ministry of Agriculture
and Forestry (2006-2010) and FICCA by the Academy of Finland (2011–2014).35
Germany adopted its National Adaptation Strategy “Combating Climate Change” in 2008.
Consequently the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) established the Centre for
Competence on Climate Change Consequences and Adaptation (KomPass 36). On the basis of
the National Climate Protection Programme (2005), the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF) launched a funding activity (KLIMZUG) in order to encourage innovative
approaches to climate change adaptation through regional networks between science,
companies, administration and public agencies. Two KLIMZUG projects concentrate
geographically on the German Baltic Sea Coast: RADOST - Regional Adaptation Strategies for
the German Baltic Sea Coast37 and KLIMZUG-NORD - Strategic Approaches to Climate Change
Adaptation in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.38 An example for a regional approach of
Integrated Coastal Zone Management is the Coastal Information System Oder estuary. 39
Iceland’s Climate Change Strategy was launched by the Ministry for the Environment in 2007.
It is a long-term vision for 2007-2050, which sets a framework for action and government
involvement in climate change issues. The climate change questions seem to be strongly
connected to weather and energy questions for natural reasons. The Icelandic Meteorological
Office has made a study of Icelandic perspectives on adaptation to climate change and
variability and the Hydrological Service at the National Energy Authority and the Icelandic
Meteorological Office (2007–2010) have a joint project on Climate and Energy Systems –
Risk, Potential and Adaptation. The latter project focuses on three main renewable energy
resources; hydropower, biofuels and wind power, and how future climate change within the
next 20–30 years can impact these resources.
All the Baltic States—Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia—support global climate policies. They have
also started their work with climate change adaptation. The Riga Spatial Plan for 2006-2018
includes a flood protection plan and there is as well a research programme on climate change
impact on water environment in Latvia. Climate change considerations are also included in the
national forest policy. Lithuania has also included climate change in the Forest Increase
Programme 2003-2020. The country has as well a Baltic Sea Coastal Adaptation strategy from
2001.
The government of Norway has published a report Adaptation in Norway - the government's
work on adaptation to climate change (2008)40, but they have not yet finalized an official
Valtioneuvoston kanslia, 2009. Valtioneuvoston tulevaisuusselonteko ilmasto- ja energiapolitiikasta: kohti
vähäpäästöistä Suomea. Valtioneuvoston kanslian julkaisusarja 28/2009. Summary in English
http://www.tem.fi/files/20587/Climate_Change_and_Energy_Strategy_2008_summary.pdf
33
34
Summary in English http://www.vnk.fi/yhteiset/tulevaisuusselonteko/pdf/Foorumien_aineisto/summary-en.pdf
35
Finnish Environmental Institute http://www.environment.fi/
36
http://www.anpassung.net/
37
http://www.klimzug-radost.de/
38
http://www.klimzug.de/en/185.php
39
http://www.ikzm-oder.de/en/startseite.html
Klimatilpasning i Norge. Regjeringens arbeid med tilpasning til klimaendringene.
http://193.88.185.141/Graphics/Klimatilpasning/Andet_materiale/Klimatilpasning_redegjorelse150508.pdf
40
13
strategy for climate change adaptation or mitigation. The first step was, however, taken in
2006, with a report on vulnerability and adaptation to climate changes within sectors in
Norway. After that, the Government launched a project, Cities of the Future (2008–2014) and
the Ministry of the Environment launched an Online Portal Climate Adaptation Norway, in
2009. Research related to climate change is funded by the Research Council of Norway, with
its research programme NORKLIMA (Climate Change and Its Impacts in Norway) 2008-2013.
An example of a project is NORDADAPT (Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in Norway),
undertaken by the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research 41 2007-2010.
Adaptation policies are strongly related to coastal management in Poland. A strategy for
coastal area protection was introduced in 2000 and an Act on national state of disaster 2002.
The city of Gdansk has prepared a flood protection programme.
Russia is the third biggest green house gas polluter after China and the US. Due to the
collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is not currently pledged to decrease green house gases
(they are now 34 % below 1990 level 42 and have a surplus of transferable emission quotas.43
Climate change as such is not a main issue on the national agenda, nor at the governmental,
economic or citizen levels. Instead, issues such as economic growth and living conditions, and
discussions about how climate change would impact upon the country, have hardly begun,
although it is considered that many climate change incentives would enhance economic
growth as well (such as more efficient use of energy and resources, which is a significant
problem in Russia). However, Russia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol 2005.44 According to
some NGOs (Bellona, Greenpeace Russia45), the Russian Government has published a Climate
Doctrine for the country, in 2009, that concentrates on climate change adaptation. The
climate-change-related negotiations are occasionally connected to other political issues.
Climate change policies in Sweden emphasise renewable energy, energy efficiency, and
reducing the use of fossil fuels. It is soon expected to produce a national climate change
adaptation strategy; its Commission on Climate and Vulnerability started its work and
published its final report in 2007, Sweden facing climate change – threats and opportunities.46
The government has a Coordinated Climate and Energy Policy to 2020.47 The local level has
been an active actor on climate change policy and the Swedish Network of Municipalities in
Climate Change was launched in 2003. The Swedish society for nature conservation published
a report, The Municipalities’ climate work – climate index for municipalities, in 2005. The
government funded research on climate change via a grant programme, Local Climate
Investment Programme, or KLIMP, 2003-2006. Other research programmes are SWECIA, on
Climate, Impacts and Adaptation, funded by the Foundation for Strategic Environmental
Research (2008-2011), and Climatools, funded by the Swedish Defence Research Agency and
the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (2006-2011).
41
http://www.cicero.uio.no
Moskvitch, Katia. 2009. Climate talks leave Russia cold. Story for BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//2/hi/europe/8415166.stm. Published 2009/12/16.
42
Perelet, Renat, Pegov, Serguey & Yulkin, Mikhail. 2007. Climate change. Russia Country Paper. Human
Development report 2007/2008. Occasional paper. Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world.
Human Development Report office, UNDP. 2007/12.
43
44
Ibid. 2007.
45
In addition, Moscow Times and BarentsObserver.com have written about the Doctrine.
Sweden facing climate change – threats and opportunities, 2007. Final report from the Swedish Commission of
Climate and vulnerability. Swedish Government Official Reports SOU 2007:60.
http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/09/60/02/56302ee7.pdf
46
En sammanhållen klimat- och energipolitik. Regeringens proposition 2008/09:162.
http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/12/27/78/4ce86514.pdf
47
14
According to the results of the ASTRA project (2007), the attitudes among the BSR
institutions it studied vary considerably at all administrative levels. The focus is often on
mitigation, but pressure is being put on governments to develop adequate adaptation policy
guidelines, which have often been missing. National, regional and local levels often have
shortcomings in formulating programs and policies on climate change, even though they
might have enough information on the issue. Successful adaptation processes are dependent
on socio-economic factors and political will.48
4.2 Baltic 21 Member Organisations
This section
groups: 1)
international
international
describes 26 Baltic 21 member organisations. They can be divided into five
intergovernmental organisations, 2) international financial institutions, 3)
sub-state and city networks, 4) international business networks, and 5)
non-governmental organisations.
This section introduces the climate-change-related initiatives, policies and reports that the
organisations have produced to date.
Intergovernmental organisations
The Baltic Sea Secretariat for Youth Affairs is an information and co-ordination platform for
governmental and non-governmental youth policy actors in the BSR. Information about the
organization’s climate change related policies could not be found for the production of this
paper.
The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) is an intergovernmental organisation that works for the
protection of the marine environment from all sources of pollution. HELCOM has a standing
cooperation with the BALTEX (Baltic Sea Experiment) programme and BACC, in particular with
BALTEX Assessment of Climate Change in the Baltic Sea basin, and as part of this cooperation
HELCOM adopted a HELCOM Thematic Assessment on “Climate Change in the Baltic Sea
Area.” By May 2010 HELCOM intends to adopt a holistic assessment of the status of the
marine environment of the Baltic Sea Area, also containing a sub-chapter on climate change
and related foreseen impacts in the Baltic Sea, as well as recommendations for additional
measures to protect the marine environment that may need to be taken as a result of impacts
of climate change, such as foreseen increased nutrient loads.49
A visible player, especially on the western side of the BSR, is the Nordic Council of Ministers
(NCM). It has created engagement on climate questions and a working group for climate
issues has been working since 1996. Its climate and air quality group will continue its work in
the future, together with its COP15 group, which is to work until the Mexico Climate
Conference. Last summer the prime ministers of the Nordic countries made a joint declaration
on climate-friendly energy solutions. Concrete projects include, for instance, a subprogramme, “Impact studies and adaptation to climate change,” but the institutes working
under the NCM50 have their own projects as well.51 A cooperation programme to mention is
the Nordic Climate Facility, together with NDF:n and NEFCO. Other important themes at the
moment are climate-friendly transportation, and building and environmental technology.52
Hilpert, K., Mannke, F., Schmidt-Thomé, P., 2007. Towards Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in the Baltic Sea
Region - Developing Policies and Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region, Espoo.
49
Commented by Anne Christine Brusendorff
48
50
For instance Nordic Energy Research, Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe), NordForsk, and Nordregio.
Norden 2009. Towards a green future. Nordic Climate Solutions. ANP 2009:762.
http://www.norden.org/da/publikationer/publikationer/2009-762
51
52
Commented by Mia Rahunen, NCM
15
The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has a committee on environmental policy,
but climate change, at time of writing, was not directly mentioned on their website. Joint
action on forests was found there, however, where UNECE describes, with regard to its role in
European Forest Week, 2008 how it is combating climate change, alongwith other
intergovernmental actors.
The aim of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), located in Norway, is to
communicate environmental information to policy-makers and facilitate environmental
decision-making for change. They have environmental information management and
assessment, capacity-building services, research and publications. In recent years, they have
produced several reports on climate change, (for instance, UN 2008 Greenhouse Gas
Footprint; Blue Carbon - The Role of Healthy Oceans in Binding Carbon; The Natural Fix? The
Role of Ecosystems in Climate Mitigation; and Climate in Peril: A Popular Guide to the Latest
IPCC Reports). The BSR is partly covered under the Polar programme, which produces
integrated monitoring and forecasting services. For instance, the project “Arctic Polar View Satellite-Based Monitoring in Adapting to Climate Change,” also includes the BSR.
The VASAB process (Vision and strategies around the Baltic Sea 2010) has been an important
process for the BSR countries, increasing cooperation in spatial planning, with a vision of
sustainable and balanced development. The VASAB Long-Term Perspective for the Territorial
Development of the Baltic Sea Region was presented at the seventh VASAB Ministerial
Conference. It is transnational, strategic, spatial planning document on territorial integration,
which aims to lead to wider territorial cohesion in the Baltic Sea Region. It highlights the
present territorial development trends and challenges (including progressing climate change
phenomena) that may endanger the sustainable development of the Baltic Sea Region, and
sets both a long-term perspective and an action plan. Neither climate change adaptation nor
mitigation are direct objectives for its climate change approach. The understanding we
received, however, is that they have limited tools for implementing concrete initiatives.
International financial institutions
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) supports the UN Convention
on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol by, for instance, its establishment, together with
the Dutch government, of one of Europe’s first carbon trading funds. The €32 million Carbon
Credit Fund invests in climate-friendly projects. The impact of projects on the global climate is
assessed in the EBRD-financed project, Assessing EBRD Methodology for Assessment of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances climate-change-related activities that reflect
the Bank’s mandate to implement EU and international policy and legislative initiatives, in
particular in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors—especially for SMEs and
municipalities, and in developing and middle-income countries. The Bank promotes actions in
five broad areas: mitigation, adaptation, research &development & innovation (RDI),
technology transfer & cooperation, and support for carbon markets. The sector-lending
policies incorporate an emphasis on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and several funds
deal even more directly with climate change questions: the 2020 European Fund for Energy,
Climate Change and Infrastructure, carbon funds and GEEREF – Global Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy Fund, to mention a few. The funded projects emphasise accelerated
development, commercialization and diffusion of cost-effective low-carbon technologies,
including technologies that allow for an environmentally-friendly use of fossil fuels, such as
carbon capture and storage, and efficient car engines. In addition, as of January 1 st, 2010, its
Climate Change has been included as a key-performance indicator in the EIB's Corporate
Operational Plan, meaning that the measurement and evaluation of all lending activities is
based on their contribution to combating climate change. 53
53
Commented by Giulia Macagno, EIB
16
The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) provides financing for projects that
generate positive environmental benefits, especially for energy-saving and effectivisation, and
technology transfer. They have approximately 350 small- and medium-sized projects that
directly or indirectly reduce harmful emissions, mostly in Eastern European countries: the
Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The NEFCO Carbon Fund is a climate-changerelated tool aimed at developing carbon market mechanisms and at providing carbon credits
for Nordic and German governments, as well as for private companies, to enable compliance
with the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
The share of environmental lending by the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) is 20 per cent of
total outstanding lending, that is, EUR 2.8 billion. Their overall goal is to finance projects that
strengthen competitiveness and enhance the environment. Examples of projects that have
received loans include the construction of wind parks in Lolland, Denmark, and the upgrading
of hydropower plants in Finland and Sweden. NIB has a lending facility, “Climate Change,
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,” (CLEERE) earmarked for financing “climatefriendly” projects.54
The World Bank has a climate change programme addressing especially global cooperation.
The method is to support developing countries and contribute to a global solution by
strengthening and building climate change partnerships. Examples of funding networks are
the Clean Energy Investment Framework (2005) and theStrategic Framework on
Development and Climate Change, from 2007. The latter takes a demand-based approach in
identifying and tapping new business opportunities for developing countries and in helping
them cope with new risks. Due to the focus on developing countries, the World Bank does not
have numerous projects around the BSR. However, there are some funded projects in Russia
and Poland.
International sub-state and city networks
Climate change questions are an integral part of the Baltic Local Agenda 21 Forum (BLA21F)
and Local Agenda 21 strategies, action plans and activities. BLA21F’s goal is to encourage
those at the local level to carry out sustainable development and to create an active cooperation network in the Baltic Sea Region. The methods are co-operation, experience
exchange and training, dissemination of methods and examples of good practice. 55
The Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) is a political network for
decentralised authorities (sub-regions) in the Baltic Sea Region. Acting as a regional partner
of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), BSSSC promotes interregional co-operation
and advocates the interests of the regions to national governments and EU institutions.
Climate Change and Sustainable Development is one of five top priorities in 2009-2010, and
this is shown for instance in its being a theme of the BSSSC Annual Conference 2009, with a
focus on how regions can cope with the challenge of climate change. 56
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) Baltic Sea Commission has
the aim of balanced territorial development and regional competitiveness. They work for a
sustainable society, the promotion of democracy, exchanges, co-operation and solidarity
between the coastal zones and islands of the Baltic Sea including the Regions of the nonEuropean Union Countries. The goal is to promote common regional interests, especially in
relations to the EU, national governments and the Baltic Sea organisations and neighbouring
regions. CPMR Baltic Sea Commission has a thematic work group entitled Energy & Climate
Change.
54
Commented by Johan Ljungberg, NIB
55
Commented by Bjarne Rasmussen
56
Commented by Anja Gargulla, BSSSC
17
The Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) is an association of local governments
dedicated to sustainability. Its working methods are manifold: Local Action 21 among local
governments and partners, providing information and tools, training, conferences, networking
and city-to-city exchanges. There is a particular focus on research and pilot projects, as well
as providing technical services and consultancy. ICLEI is active in different areas including: (i)
advocacy, acting as the Local Government Focal Point to the UNFCCC for cities and networks
worldwide, (ii) campaigns that address “protecting global common goods" such as climate and
air, water, soil and land, biodiversity and health, e.g. in the Cities for Climate Protection™
(CCP) Campaign; and in (iii) projects such as Sustainable NOW (local energy action plans),
MAKE-IT-BE (bio-energy focus), LG Action (local government role in energy and climate).57
The general goals of the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) are to promote and strengthen
cooperation and the exchange of experience among cities, to advocate for the interests of the
local authorities, and to act on behalf of the cities and local authorities in common matters of
interest. Its goal is democratic, economic, social, cultural and environmentally sustainable
development of the Baltic Sea Region. To support climate-change-related activities in member
cities, the UBC expresses in its Resolution on Climate Change that it will support its member
cities in playing an active role in taking necessary steps to reduce their contribution to the
effects of climate change, and to make plans for adaptation to effects that already are
foreseen. The UBC is implementing the “UBC Sustainability Action Programme 2010 – 2015,”
which includes climate change as one of the main challenges for the Baltic Sea Region. The
UBC also implements several climate-change-related development projects and was involved
in organising the Local Government Climate Change Leadership Summit 2009. The UBC has
also responded and commented on the Green Paper, Adapting to Climate Change in Europe –
Options for EU Action, as well as the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, which includes
several climate-change-related topics.58
International business networks
The goal of the Baltic Fishermen’s Association is to extend the cooperation between the
national fishery associations in the Baltic area. Information about climate change was not
visible on its internet site.
The Baltic Ports Organisation (BPO) has the goal of improving the competitiveness of
maritime transport in the Baltic region by increasing the efficiency of ports, marketing the
Baltic region as a strategic logistics centre, improving the infrastructure within the ports and
the connections to other modes. Their vision is to promote the Blue Maritime Highway in the
Baltic Sea. We could not find information about climate-change-related activities on their
homepage.
Sustainable and responsible tourism is one way for Baltic Sea Tourism Commission (BTC) to
promote the BSR as tourist destination. BTC's resources are very limited and for the time
being BTC's focus is the marketing of the Baltic Sea region as a tourism destination. However,
BTC is also part of the Agora 2.0 project (approved also by Baltic 21), which also focuses on
sustainable and responsible tourism.59
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) represents the global business community and
its key tasks are setting rules and standards, promoting growth and prosperity, spreading
business expertise and advocacy for international business. The ICC is also committed to
working with governments and civil society to deepen understanding of the risks and
vulnerabilities associated with climate change, and to identify, deploy and implement effective
solutions to climate change. The role of cooperation is emphasised and the ICC has already
participated in a wide range of environmental and sustainable development deliberations and
negotiations with UNCED, WSSD, CBD, SAICM, CSD, etc. They also produce climate-related
57
58
59
Commented by Maryke van Staden, ICLEI European Secretariat
Commented by Stella Aaltonen, UBC
Commented by Thomas Mielke, BTC
18
papers and organise activities, side events and outreach, and inform the business community.
The ICC has a Task Force on Climate Change, which monitors key issues and challenges
surrounding the international negotiations on the UN Framework Convention for Climate
Change and represents the policy positions of ICC member companies and associations.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) develops tools and
methodologies for business and industries to measure and reduce CO 2 emissions. These
include a technology roadmap that shows possible pathways to long-term carbon emission
reductions (see the Cement Technology Roadmap: Carbon Emission Reductions Up to 2050,
2009) and a series of greenhouse gas protocols to account for and report emissions. The
Council also runs specific sustainability initiatives and projects that concentrate on industry
CO2 emission issues, such as the Sustainable Forest Products Industry (SFPI) Project, the
Cement Sustainability Initiative, the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Project and the Electricity
Utilities Project. The WBCSD also works more globally on the business side of energy and
climate issues through its Energy & Climate and Business Role focus areas, as well as on
ecosystems and development issues, including sustainable mobility.60
International academic network
The goal of the Baltic University Programme (BUP) is to promote education that seeks to
empower people to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future. The BUP has
organised university course packages, worked for more sustainable campuses, trained faculty
staff and supported academic centres for sustainable solutions. The 2008 annual Students’
Conference had a theme on climate change and it resulted in a Declaration on Climate Change
in 2009, and a Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development.
International environmental non-governmental organisations
The Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) promotes the protection and improvement of the Baltic Sea
environment and natural resources, especially those related to hydrology. Their methods are
lobbying, information, environmental education and other activities for raising public
awareness, concrete co-operation projects in the field, and support to member organizations.
Climate change is not their main topic.
The main objectives of the European Union for Coastal Conservation (The Coastal Union
Baltic) Baltic States Office are to promote ICZM in the eastern Baltic area and to disseminate
information on EUCC activities in the region. At national levels, the office works to facilitate
national legislation on ICZM in the target countries. They are thus concentrating mostly on
climate change adaptation policies. Their current projects regarding climate protection are
CO2 sequestration in nature areas in central and eastern Europe, e.g., CoastLearn, CoPraNet
(Coastal Practice Network).
The organization, Keep Baltic Tidy (KBT), is an initiative of the organisations Håll Sverige Rent
(“Keep Sweden Tidy”), in Sweden, and Håll Skärgården Ren (“Keep the Archipelago Tidy”), in
Finland, which aims to initiate, implement and develop environmental projects for the general
public, to contribute to sustainable development in the Baltic Sea area. The KBT’s activities
focus, for instance, on environmental issues in guest harbours and marinas, Blue Flag
activities, ECO schools, and public awareness campaigns; it also participates in projects
initiated by other actors in the area. Its current activity is to produce material for energy and
climate projects targeted for teachers working with pupils in 8th and 9th grades, work that has
been commissioned by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Earlier activities
include, for instance, beach-cleaning-activities and campaigns against oil discharges and other
waste from ships and leisure craft. The network also has arranged conferences and education
seminars for target groups.61
60
Commented by Danielle Carpenter Sprungli, WBCSD
61
Commented by Henrik Alsén
19
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF International) has conservation projects around the
world and they have a visible concern about the climate change question, as well. The WWF
has offices in most of the BSR countries. The WWF has a number of research projects in the
BSR. A recent research project studied Effects of Climate Change on Eutrophication in the
Northern Baltic Sea. Presently, WWF does not work on targeted, Baltic-level climate change
projects; their work is mainly focused on global climate policy and technology.
4.3 Review of Baltic 21 Action Programmes
The main document62 of the Baltic 21 provides extensive background on the implications of
regional cooperation for sustainable development in the BSR, and defines the overall aim of
the Baltic 21 initiative as working towards concrete policies and actions in this respect.
The document emphasizes a long-term strategy to keep development within the limits of
ecosystems and the resource base. Regarding this overall strategy, 30 actions are addressed,
based on selected proposals from Baltic 21 sectors. These actions are divided into three parts,
such as concentrating on the transition to sustainable development in the BSR through sector
specific actions, spatial planning actions and joint actions.
In the document, climate change is mentioned three times in an abstract
mainly tied to energy-specific concerns. In fact, this document incorporates
into the broader concept of sustainable development. Accordingly, it can be
majority of the actions mentioned in the document are directly relevant as a
potential cooperation on the climate change theme.
manner and is
climate change
stated that the
background for
Some of the action programmes that can still be considered as highly relevant background for
the future actions are as follows:
Agricultural sector:

Elaborate and implement agro-environmental legislation and policies.
Energy sector:

Strengthening co-operation between authorities.

Increasing renewable energy and promoting increased energy efficiency and energy
savings.
Fisheries sector:

Restoration of habitats important to fish and fisheries in inland waters.

Achieving sustainable aquaculture.
Forestry sector:
Baltic 21 Series No 1/98: An Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region adopted at the 7 th Ministerial Session of the
Council of the Baltic Sea States in 1998 in Nyborg.
62
20

Promotion of sustainable forest management and efficiency in private forestry within
the Baltic Sea region through: existing organisational structures or networks of forest
owners and leasers of forests; exchange of information on ways and means of advisory
services between organisations and authorities that advise forest owners and
managers.

Promotion of the use of wood, and wood based products, as natural renewable
resource and environmentally friendly material, and changing of consumption patterns
in a more sustainable direction.
Industry sector:

Implement eco-efficiency in industry in the following respects; development of ecoefficiency tools for different industries; implementation of Environmental Management
Systems (EMS) with consideration of the special circumstances for small and medium
sized enterprises; consideration of environmental factors in all activities and reporting,
especially encouraging voluntary initiatives with regard to financial reporting of
enterprises; promotion of pilot projects aiming at sustainable development.

Extended and improved co-operation on research and development, knowledge and
technology transfer in the BSR.
Transport sector:

Establish and strengthen collaboration among the governments with regard to
measures for more efficient goods transportation in particular by improving railway
and ship connection.

Development of regional strategies to support sustainable sea transport.
Joint actions:

Increased production and use of bioenergy and other renewable energy.

City co-operation and sustainable development issues in cities and communities.

Procurement of technologies for sustainable development.

Information for sustainable development.
Spatial planning actions:

Further Development of Integrated Coastal Zone Management.
Nevertheless, as outlined in Section 3 of this paper, climate change carries severe
implications for the sustainability of the region´s ecosystem, therefore, considering the
multitude of impacts observed, urgent joint actions that are pragmatic (and most probably
cross-sectoral) in their nature are required, rather than sector-specific approaches.
In order to achieve sustainable development goals within the BSR, while tackling the threat
imposed by climate change on the existing management systems, any opportunity for
fostering innovations through a cross-sectoral approach towards action-oriented strategies
should not be overlooked.
5. Results from Web Questionnaire
21
Baltic 21 Survey
The main goal with the questionnaire exercise was to analyze if the Baltic 21 member
organizations had any particular focus or ideas on climate change in their organizations and
more specifically how those ideas would be translated into a joint action that would facilitate
co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region to tackle this challenge. For this reason, the members
were asked to identify a focal point in their own organizations about climate change as well as
specify their ideas and/or rate the given options with regard to the theme.
The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions and a total of 54 responses were received,
however some of them were incomplete. Still, the content of the responses provided a
sufficient basis for deriving the main messages and making a credible analysis of the
approaches of the Baltic 21 members to climate change.
In our search for concrete ideas that may be useful in addressing climate change in the Baltic
Sea region; the same questionnaire was also sent to a larger audience, seeking input from
different organizations, universities and governmental agencies in Nordregio’s own electronic
network. From this survey; 77 responses were received mainly representing northern Europe,
especially the countries in the Baltic Sea region. The results from that survey will also be
presented separately in the appendix.
The following is an outline of the main results from the questionnaire sent to Baltic 21
members:
Climate change awareness
In order to identify the concrete approaches at different institutional levels, a question was
posed by simply asking if the member organizations have any concrete role in addressing
climate change. As shown in Table 1, more than two thirds of the members (68%) stated that
they have a particular focus on climate change in their respective organizations and by
utilizing these responses, it was possible to triangulate the results with telephone interviews,
the desktop study as well as the input from the stakeholder event where Baltic 21 members
and stakeholders gathered in Växjö on the 28th of January in conjunction with the Eco-region
project. These provide well-supported rationales for the formulation of the future actions.
Table 1
The perspectives on different institutional levels
22
The respondents were asked to rank the relevance of the different institutional settings for
their climate change related work. Options can be seen in the Table 2 where 1 indicates not
an important consideration and 4 indicates a prime influence. The results show that
organizations’ approach to climate change is inspired almost equally by all the relevant
contexts at international, national, regional as well as local levels. However, the international
agreements appear to have a slightly more influence on the approach that the members are
taking towards climate change.
Table 2
The added value of cooperative response to climate change
The responses to the previous questions indicate the fact that developing coherent climate
change actions is a complex task and requires a set of different steps such as coordinating
institutions, developing strategies and searching for feasible frameworks, from the
international to the local level.
Therefore, it is important to know how the organizations could identify their roles in a
potential Baltic 21 cooperation project and whether they see value working in the Baltic 21
network on climate change theme. As it can be seen in Table 3, more than 50 % of the
member organizations mentioned that a cooperation project would have an added value for
their organization. The detailed responses marked the possibility of learning from different
experiences of the Baltic Sea region countries to work together in order to produce some
evident results in improving environment in the region. Thus, the role of Baltic 21 is seen as
promoter of project activities in this respect.
Table 3
Linking adaptation and mitigation
23
As stated in the section 3.1 of this report; the implementation of a climate strategy requires
mainstreaming mitigative and/or adaptive measures into different type of sectors; therefore a
question was asked in order to understand which type of measure should be prioritized in the
future actions. As Table 4 shows; the responses reveal that measures to be taken in this
regard should place emphasis both on mitigation and adaptation strategies, emphasizing the
synergies between the two. This means adaptation and mitigation measures should not be
seen as separate approaches to climate change and that long-term efforts have to be
combined with short-term actions at the project level as it can provide the platform to link the
activities in specific ways.
Table 4
Cross-sectoral response to climate change
The respondents were asked to rank the importance of the given topics that were considered
to be providing the most relevant contexts to tackle the climate change impacts. The aim with
this question was to understand which topics and sectors should be prioritized for the
potential actions in the Baltic 21 network. In relation to overall prioritization, energy issues
were tied to the climate change concerns by the major part of the respondents. It was also
revealed that sectoral agencies were prioritizing their field and to a minor extent the
ministries are having an overarching role in relation to all sectors.
However, most of the respondents commented on this question as it was difficult to answer
on the basis of making prioritization between the listed topics since it mixes the importance of
drivers and impacts of climate change, making it difficult to answer. In addition to this the
emphasis would depend on the character of the actual projects and thus, there is a clear need
for clarifying costs and cost effective instruments as part of the response. This rationalizes the
fact that it is getting more urgent to have a shared approach to identify priorities for future
actions.
As within the development of a new Strategic Action Plan for 2010 to 2015, Baltic 21 will be
working more intensively with the strategic areas in other words with “four specific topics” not
specifically with sectors so it is of utmost importance that sectors can work jointly together.
As Table 5 shows, the respondents seem to indicate that as more and more issues are being
linked to climate change, the whole theme becomes less practical. It has been identified that
concentration on fewer sources of greenhouse gases with higher importance would help to
focus on more concrete activities for those areas where more can be achieved.
Table 5
24
Baltic 21 actions on climate change can contribute to the implementation of Baltic Sea Region
Strategy
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region aims to make the Baltic Sea region an
environmentally sustainable place as one of its priority areas. The strategy is designed to
cooperate for the mitigation and adaption of climate change and places emphasis on both the
strategic and cooperative actions and as well as flagship projects. As the strategy highlights
the added value of establishing a common programme for cross-border collaboration to
promote the whole Baltic Sea Region as a green region on land and in the sea, seeking
synergies with the EU BSR strategy in a coordinated approach would be extremely relevant
for potential Baltic 21 actions on climate change.
The responses shown in table 6 indicate that there is a potential to strengthen the region’s
capacity to become more resilient to climate change in the framework of the EU BSR strategy.
Table 6
Concrete ideas for a potential Baltic 21 cooperation project on climate change
25
Following up on the EU BSR strategy’s overall aim which is to address current and future
challenges as well as emerging opportunities by enhancing the coordination of joint actions in
the Baltic Sea Region, respondents were asked to put forward concrete ideas on climate
change issues that would be suitable as a cooperation project for the members of Baltic 21.
Cluster of ideas were received highlighting the importance of using Baltic resources (e.g.
wood and water) for renewable energy systems, developing sustainable agricultural practices,
exchanging best practices, as well as setting up educational programmes for raising
awareness at all levels.
The following actions are stated by the Baltic 21 members as being suitable for a potential
cooperation project:

Developing educational projects with teachers and students as target groups as in the
example of “CO2 on the way to school programme (http://co2nnect.org/)”

Co-operation for the exchange of experiences in national adaptation processes in order
to identify priority areas for the development of a joint adaptation strategy for the
region

Increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewables to mitigate CO 2 emissions

Focusing on SMEs and business development on sustainable solutions as well as
providing easier regulations for SMEs that are working proactively with cleaner
solutions

Strengthening the collaboration between actors on climate change issues at local,
national and international levels

Development
of
a
Baltic
mitigation and adaptation strategy

Distributed energy systems based on renewable energy

Strategies for short (and long) term perspective:
Advancing renewable energy systems as the basis for the future BSR energy system,
addressing not only technical solutions (from a systemic point of view), but also
organisational, economic and democratic implemention approaches etc.

Strategies for long term perspective (after 2020):
Post carbon energy system with distributed energy
Renewable Energy Systems (RES) with supplementary sources
Post carbon food producing system = Energy producing agriculture

Development and use of energy system approaches (covering all three subsystems:
resources, conversion, end-use) in order to optimize both resource use and
investments etc.

Integration of renewables into the existing system, while developing the system we
need in 20-30 years

Linking the mitigation, adaptation and innovation perspectives - e.g. by developing
climate strategies and facilitate the implementation

Development of key components is distributed energy systems, including management
systems (hardware, as well as software parts)
Sea
Region
wide
climate
change
26

Piloting climate villages/communities and municipalities/cities, cleaner production (low
/ no carbon) companies

Test and practice new forms of citizen involvement and engagement

Adaptation of agriculture to climate change

More energy efficient maritime transport across the Baltic Sea

Spatial planning should be acknowledged knowledge bases and promote shared openaccess information infrastructure. rogress towards achieving the long term perspective
should be monitored and evaluated on regular bases. The role of VASAB is to act as an
observatory of trends progress related territorial development in the BSR.

Cooperation with other members of the European Topic Centre on Air and Climate
Change in the preparation of a Technical Paper on request of the European
Environmental Agency on climate change impacts on Europe's coastal zones

Cooperation in emission trading scheme allowance auctioning from 2013 and GHG
inventory preparation as well as fulfilling the new reporting requirements

Sustainable production of forest derived energy according to international
standards/schemes/definitions of sustainability:
How can standards be universal and express clear minimum requirements concerning
biodiversity and local people’s demands and still allow for a reasonable flexibility at the
local/national level?

Developing implementable policies for increased carbon sequestration that do not
cause negative effects on supply/prices for forest bio energy consumers

Cooperation through ERA-NET: European Research Area Scheme
(http://en.fi.dk/international/european-cooperation/era-net-european-research-area)
and BONUS Programme: Baltic Organizations Network for Funding Science EEIG
(http://www.bonusportal.org/about_bonus/bonus_call/)
The following actions are further inputs provided by the Nordregio Electronic Network
members as being suitable for a potential cooperation project in the Baltic Sea Region:

Exchange on best-practices of technologies, which might be applied in energy sector,
especially in the renovation of houses.

Sustainable tourism growth in the context of seasons change in the Southern Europe;
North as a desirable location

Define and develop models for public transport generation in new developments

Community adaptation activities and capacity building

Energy production and energy transmission between the countries

Flood protection

Forestry management, nature protection & reforestation projects
27

Decay of historic buildings, churches and archaeological sites. Erosion and storm
damage on cultural landscape

Changed infrastructure, how to create new landscapes with wind, biofuel etc.

Sustainable marine transport

Management of solid waste and the recyclable materials

Habitat of the Baltic Sea: fish stock, environmental pollution, hazardous waste

Husbandry and pasture management

Carbon sequestration

Management of manure; biogas

Use of charcoal for soil improvement and carbon management

Redirecting agricultural policies for effective carbon management

Sea based renewable energy such as wave energy, wind power, algae

Education for sustainable
development at schools

EcoTeams for more sustainability at work/ in companies initiated by employees (e.g.
less energy use)

How cities/regions adapt to climate change,
how scientific knowledge can be
transferred between the scientific sphere and the political sphere, question of the
absorptive capacity of organisations
lifestyles
at
schools
and
education
for
sustainable
28
6. Discussion and Recommendations
As the above indicates, there is no lack of exciting and imaginative ideas among the Baltic 21
membership on how to respond to the challenge of climate change. Indeed, the combined
richness and variety of the ideas itself poses a challenge. What can the membership agree
on?
In other words: What are the ideas that can be applicable across broad stretches of the Baltic
Sea Region, and that can be agreed upon by as large a number as possible of the Baltic 21
membership? Add to that the preference that the ideas should be achievable, and therefore
very concrete and “doable,” within the approximately five years of the next Baltic 21
mandate, and the issue of choosing the right proposals becomes more apparent.
Once again, even in this matter, the challenge of climate change places a new set of
conditions upon “the usual way of doing business.” At the same time, and for the same
reason, that is its greatest opportunity. The challenge of climate change provides us with a
chance to re-think and refocus our creative energies, with both anticipated and unexpected
positive outcomes. In the work of preparing this background paper on climate change, we
have therefore proceeded on the basis of a number of criteria in assessing and proposing a
small number of recommended proposals for developing into actions. Loosely formulated, but
nevertheless helpful, the criteria have provided a good basis for making a selection:

the proposal should appear often among the numerous ideas generated and collected
from the Baltic 21 membership;

it may appear in slightly different forms and with a variety of different details, but
should be easily clustered into a thematic grouping that can constitute the core of the
proposal;

it should have a clear local dimension. In other words, the proposal should be
anchored in both needs and implementation at the local level, even if carried out in
many different localities in many countries;

if the proposal with a local character also matches national goals in many countries,
then that is considered advantageous, but not necessarily a top priority;

proposals should not duplicate, or too heavily overlap with, other activities already
underway or being considered among the membership;

a proposal is stronger when it has both mitigation and adaptation characteristics;

proposals that have a high likelihood of being achievable in 3-5 years are better;

proposals that are suited to action, that is, that are concrete, practical and focused on
operability and implementation, are best; and

last, but not least, proposals where the added value of cross-Baltic-21 cooperation is
obvious and high are also most desirable.
Another aspect to keep in mind regarding the proposals is that they have been selected as a
result of a combined pragmatic and practical approach. If there are too many
recommendations, it will be more difficult to reach agreement and thus less easy to focus on
their development. That reality also lies behind the style of this report; we have wanted to be
inclusive in recognizing all the good and great ideas “out there,” and leave open the possibility
that they may inspire action even if they are not taken up here as part of the final proposals.
At the same time, we have wanted to assist the Baltic 21 secretariat and membership in
narrowing down the possibilities.
29
It is also fair to say that, with some few exceptions, the theme and challenge of climate
change have previously not been among the priorities of the Baltic 21 collaboration. In our
opinion, this helps to explain why there is such a fantastic richness and diversity in the ideas
that the Baltic 21 members have so generously and enthusiastically offered to this present
process. Everyone has their own perspective to work from, based on the particulars of their
specific field or sector. Finding the ideas that can reach across more than one particular area,
and that can create new collaborations in innovative and mutually beneficial ways, is
therefore, from the point of view of Baltic 21 cooperation, in the interest of all.
30
7. Final Recommendations
The recommendations below are the final result of the selection that was performed based on
the criteria provided above, in the previous section:
1. Promoting climate-smart and “post-carbon” agriculture and forestry
supporting the adaptation of these sectors to the impacts of climate change.
by
There are many possibilities, including the entire cycle from fertilizers, soil management, pest
control, spatial arrangements and logistics. Multiple spin-offs can be developed, such as
“waste as fuel,” “forests as agriculture,” and consumer standards for “climate footprint
labelling” of products. Each includes mitigation and adaptation. Footprint labelling finds its
rationale in the history of the Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT) standard, which was worldleading and instrumental in establishing a platform for eventual market dominance by
northern European companies.
2. Organizing educational activities for schools, at different grade levels, for raising
awareness about climate change, by developing and utilizing innovative and
interactive learning tools.
The education of children and youth (and even adults, where possible!) is an effective ways to
change attitudes, in both superficial and profound ways. There is a wealth of both traditional
and new knowledge in place throughout the BSR, deriving both from everyday practice,
cultural heritage and contemporary science. Finding ways to communicate and spread these
valuable forms of knowledge about climate change through the school systems and further
into other institutional settings can be excellently served by Baltic Sea Region cooperation.
3. Developing “smart logistics” for mitigating CO2 emissions and other pollution
linked to marine transportation.
Marine transportation is a definitive arena for BSR cooperation. The common sea and the
complex routes crossing the BSR provide many opportunities for climate change added value.
Concepts such as, for example, “having the focus on the cargo, rather than the mode of
transport,” “precision scheduling,” “green supply chain,” “reduced carbon footprint,” “smart
tagging,” and “sensor chip systems interactions” are among the possible areas for
cooperation.
4. Promoting the bio-energy potential in the Baltic Sea Region
All the countries of the BSR have potential for cooperation in bio-energy production. Ideas
such as a sustainability-labeling system for bio-energy and biomass with an emphasis on
biodiversity preservation, as well as finding inter-sectoral interfaces with “post-carbon”
agriculture and forestry are possible avenues for cooperation.
5. Developing a Baltic Sea Region Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
Finding common approaches to local, sub-national and national adaptation strategies can
serve as a useful shared platform for developing other collaborations, such as those
highlighted above. Incorporating those into a shared strategy creates a harmony that in turn
should lead to efficiencies and clearer overviews of potential collaboration. It would be useful
for rallying efforts and resources around large-scale challenges that would otherwise be too
large for any single actor.
31
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