sustainability Article Building Institutional Capacity to Plan for Climate Neutrality: The Role of Local Co-Operation and Inter-Municipal Networks at the Regional Level Vincent Wretling * and Berit Balfors Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, S100 44 Stockholm, Sweden;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The institutional capacity of local authorities to integrate climate change mitigation as- pects into spatial planning is of vital importance. This paper sets out to investigate this capacity in the county of Stockholm, Sweden, by surveying 26 municipalities and analysing two case study municipalities through participation in workshops and interviews. The study shows the need both for a local energy and climate policy domain that can be integrated into spatial planning as well as dedicated personnel to maintain this policy, thereby securing knowledge resources within the organi- sation. Additionally, the importance of relations to and repertoires for interacting with politicians is highlighted. Lastly, the study demonstrates the complementary added value of a regional-local net- work administered by the County Administrative Board, spreading learning examples and diffusing theoretical knowledge, as well as sub-regional, inter-municipal networks that enable the transfer of more practical knowledge and provide a platform for concrete action. Citation: Wretling, V.; Balfors, B. Building Institutional Capacity to Keywords: Plan for Climate