IIIEE Theses 2012: 33 Carrots, Sticks, Tigers and Wheels A Case Study of Municipal Governance for Energy Efficiency in New Buildings in the Öresund Region Rachel Armstead Supervisors Åke Thidell Mikael Backman Thesis for the fulfilment of the Master of Science in Environmental Management and Policy Lund, Sweden, September 2012 © You may use the contents of the IIIEE publications for informational purposes only. You may not copy, lend, hire, transmit or redistribute these materials for commercial purposes or for compensation of any kind without written permission from IIIEE. When using IIIEE material you must include the following copyright notice: ‘Copyright © Rachel Armstead, IIIEE, Lund University. All rights reserved’ in any copy that you make in a clearly visible position. You may not modify the materials without the permission of the author. Published in 2012 by IIIEE, Lund University, P.O. Box 196, S-221 00 LUND, Sweden, Tel: +46 – 46 222 02 00, Fax: +46 – 46 222 02 10, e-mail: [email protected]. ISSN 1401-9191 Carrots, Sticks, Tigers and Wheels: A Case Study of Municipal Governance for Energy Efficiency in New Buildings in the Öresund Region Acknowledgements Firstly, an enormous thank you has to go out to my Ma and Pa for their unending support – emotional and grammatical – throughout the thesis writing process and throughout the whole year here in Sweden; you guys are amazing and I couldn’t have done it without you. Secondly, I would like to thank everyone at Energi Öresund - in particular Annette and Karin for all their help in shaping and facilitating this project. It has been truly inspiring to see your commitment to sustainable urban development in the Region, I have learnt so much and it has been a pleasure working with you. To my interviewees, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, your participation and insights were the cornerstone of this research. Thirdly, I would like to thank Kai Ulrik and cucumber sandwiches for guiding me towards this topic – its been a journey. Fourthly, I would like to thank the tute and all of the teachers and staff who make it such a truly special place. Also, an additional tack to my supervisors Åke and Mikael for their assistance, as well as everyone else I pestered with queries and drafts over the summer. Finally I would like to thank Aniko, Anna V (now Anna A), Brit, Chelsea, Emmy, Erika, Freddie, ‘The Italians’, JaJa, Yeff, Jesster, Johanna, Kai (again), Knee Coal Ass, Lara, Mathilde, Mina Mina Boom Boom, Nurzat, Paula, Peter, Prasad, Bondiman, Channo, Signe, Sigga, Vava Voom, Yoko Morimoto and Živilė for all the dinners and beers and karaoke and videos and poems and venting sessions and hilarity and messiness and everything in between that have kept me going throughout this summer and made this one of the most magical years of my life. I Rachel Armstead, IIIEE, Lund University Abstract The Öresund Region, comprising areas of Sweden and Denmark, is involved in a process of sustainable urban transformation. The region has high ambitions in terms of carbon emissions reduction and has set itself steep targets to meet over the next 15-20 years. The energy consumption of buildings accounts for a significant proportion of carbon emissions. With the urban areas of the Öresund Region expanding rapidly, energy efficiency in new urban developments has been identified by regional municipalities as a key target area in their climate change mitigation strategies. However, while the Öresund Region is a leader in Europe in terms of energy efficient urban development, developments still struggle to fully realise their technological potential. The purpose of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, it presents the Öresund Region as a case study of successful municipal governance in the field of energy efficiency in new buildings. The current governance approach is conceptualised through the lens of transition management theory, and the innovative municipal governance tools that have been implemented in the region are analysed in terms of the methods of mobilisation they employ, the area of capacity they aim to generate, and the actors that they target within the local property development sector. Secondly, this thesis identifies through interviews with key actors, the barriers to energy efficiency in new urban developments which continue to persist in the region. These are organised within a framework of three constraining factors; acceptance, motivation and practice. From the interviews it is evident that barriers pertaining to all three areas are perceived by key actors. Finally, this thesis draws on suggestions offered during interviews, and best practice cases from outside the region, to explore options and opportunities to address the constraining factors of acceptance, motivation and practice identified. In conclusion, while presenting an exemplar of successful and innovative municipal governance of energy efficiency in new urban development, in a rapidly progressing sector new challenges and new opportunities will inevitably arise. This requires an iterative process of barrier identification and policy adaption on the part of the region’s municipalities in order continue to drive the property development sector towards the regional goal of sustainable urban transformation. Keywords: Energy efficiency, buildings, sustainable urban development, municipal governance, transition management. II Carrots, Sticks, Tigers and Wheels: A Case Study of Municipal Governance for Energy Efficiency in New Buildings in the Öresund Region Executive Summary The Öresund Region, compising areas of Sweden and Denmark, is involved in a process of sustainable urban transformation. The region has high ambitions in terms of green growth and carbon emissions reduction, and has set itself the target of achieving carbon neutrality within the next 15-20 years – this is 20 years ahead of the Swedish national target. Buildings are significant energy consumers and are responsible for 40% of EU carbon emission (EC, 2009a). Buildings also have a design life of around 50 years. This is significant from a sustainability perspective as it means that the environmental impacts built in to them in the present will be locked in for subsequent generations. With substantial expansion of the urban environment planned in the Öresund Region over the coming decades, minimising the impact of new developments becomes a key target for regional climate change strategy. Promotion of energy efficiency in new urban developments has been identified as both an effective and a cost effective approach to reducing the climate change impact of buildings and there exists significant technological potential with regards to energy efficiency measures (Endkvist, Dinkel, & Lin, 2010; IEA, 2010). It is crucial that the property development sector respond to the challenge of climate change, however progress in terms of energy efficiency in the sector in Sweden and Denmark has been stagnating and in practice this technological potential is not being realised (Hansen, 2010; Nässén, Sprei, & Holmberg, 2008). This thesis approaches energy efficiency in the property development from a sociotechnical regimes perspective which views technical change as ‘an unremittingly social, and thus contextual, localised and temporally specific, process’ (Shove, 1998 p.1109). The regional property development regime is conceptualised as a system which can, though application of ‘a careful, localised understanding of contemporary patterns of interest and opportunity’ be shaped through municipal governance to favour the adoption of energy efficiency technologies and practices in the development of new urban areas (Shove, 1998 p.1110). Municipalities have significant existing capacities for managing urban planning. They are also the level of government which shares the closest proximity to local industry and the public. These competencies write them an important role in driving and supporting the property development sector in its contribution to climate change mitigation efforts. This leading role is supported by academic theory on the governance of sustainable transitions which view municipal interventions as a crucial element of transition management (Rotmans et al., 2001). Through innovative governance approaches municipalities can build capacity within their own institutions, the industry itself and amongst the public, which can be instrumental in helping the sector overcome the barriers to energy efficiency inherent in the system. This thesis sought to answer the research question of how municipalities in the Öresund Region can more effectively govern the property development regime so as to ensure that the energy efficiency of new urban developments is maximised. In answer to this question three objectives are explored: 1) To visualize and analyse energy efficiency in the property development sector within the conceptual framework of transition management. 2) To identify what are the most significant barriers to the attainment of high energy efficiency in new developments in the Öresund Region from the perspective of key decision makers. 3) To identify what opportunities exist within the structure of municipal-actor relations for innovative governance targeted at overcoming the barriers identified in objective 2. III Rachel Armstead, IIIEE, Lund University In addressing Objective 1) this thesis visualises energy efficiency governance in the region within the conceptual framework provided by transition management theory. Transition management frames municipal