The Ministry of Environment

In Sweden, the Regeringskansliet has many programs aimed at helping Sweden stay world-class in the realms of environmental regulation, performance, and quite interestingly incentivization. At the innovative end of that spectrum is group called the Delegation for Sustainable Cities- and that's where Pernilla Knutsson works.
"The Delegation is a two-year program; we were given 340 Million Swedish Crowns ($49MM USD) to distribute in the form of grants over a two-year period- 2009 and 2010," explained Pernilla. "The objective is to provide a 'boost' to cutting-edge examples of city planning that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and represent new best practice related to environmental technology." In other words, the Delegation is there to help truly cutting-edge projects receive support that might not otherwise get- like a venture capital fund for cities. What's getting the most attention?
"We have had 78 applications for the 2009 round; 24 for what we call 'practical' projects, and 54 for planning. In other words, most of the grant applications seem to be geared for longer-term efforts," -which is a good thing. Another interesting surprise:
"When we started this delegation, our hypothesis was that mostly large cities would apply- but in actuality many of the smaller- and medium-sized cities are throwing their hat in the ring for these grants as well," said Pernilla.
Because this program is so new, it is hard to say what effect it will have on Sweden's efforts to develop sustainable cities, but stay tuned to the delegation's website for their decisions and a report on their impact.

The next stop was with Conny Hägg, also with the Environmental Ministry, and himself a veteran of the Climate Bill process in Sweden. To explain succinctly, Sweden has had a series of Climate Bills pass through their Parliament over the past decade. "The newest climate bill is very aggressive," admits Conny. Unveiled in March by the new Centre-Right government, the bill sets strict targets for energy efficiency, renewable energy, CO2 emissions, etc. for 2020 along with a strict zero fossil fuel use provision by year 2030.
A few interesting factors drive the evolution of Sweden's climate policy. Sweden has effectively decided that along with doing their own part to mitigate climate change, they would like to be on the forefront of climate issues going forward. In addition, every expert I spoke with including Conny pointed to a desire for Sweden to boost exports of energy & environment-related products and services. This points to the need for a more advanced regulatory environment, for which the Ministry has certainly done their part.