Real change, One Neighborhood at a Time
To understand the project on the local level, we spoke with Lise Nygaard Arre, a key member of the Climate Taskforce team.
Why do you think is so crucial to collaborate with residents on the local level to achieve Copenhagen’s climate goals?
They are so crucial because they are the everyday experts. They are the ones who can explore which solutions will work best for them. Sometimes, this requires us to shift our focus from what we believe to be a possible solution and instead consider how other solutions might also be effective. Moreover, there is the issue of the difficulties we may face in influencing people’s consumption habits. This is where the Climate Taskforce can play a vital role in creating a new normal—one that encourages individuals to approach daily life with less consumption, which is essential. By doing so, we can help bring about social tipping points.
How does the Climate Taskforce make climate action more accessible to residents?
The Climate Taskforce makes it possible not only to provide support for a single issue but to address multiple concerns. Often, as a municipality, you might contact a citizen with your own agenda—perhaps offering guidance on energy efficiency. However, Climate Taskforce allows engagement with citizens in their local communities, addressing the issues they are dealing with, such as waste disposal or an interest in learning more about biodiversity.
This is where the Climate Taskforce demonstrates its strength as an inter-municipal collaboration, facilitating the sharing of knowledge across different municipal departments to better support citizens. Rather than requiring citizens to navigate the complexities of whom to contact within the municipality, the initiative serves as a local point of contact. This takes the form of a local climate worker, who is responsible for fostering cooperation both within local communities and between the communities and the municipality.
What lessons have you learned so far that other cities could benefit from if they were to adopt a similar approach?
What we have learned is that citizens want to be supported in this area. Locally, there is a great deal of engagement, and many residents are eager to get involved. However, it is often the case that citizens lack the necessary support from the municipality to get started. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to meet and assist residents where they are.
Furthermore, it is a privilege to witness how inter-municipal cooperation is shaping what can be achieved and offered in different areas. I would strongly recommend adopting this approach, where it is possible to work locally, at the municipal level, and inter-municipally, all at the same time.
How does it feel to have the Climate Taskforce recognized with the URBACT Good Practice label?
It’s wonderful to see that others also find what you’re doing inspirational and can recognize the great value in it. It adds an extra layer of validation to know that it’s not just us who believe this approach is working, but that it’s also receiving outside recognition and resonating with others.
A Blueprint for Other Cities
The Climate Taskforce is more than just a local project; it’s a blueprint for how cities can involve their communities in climate action. Even though the practice is linked to Copenhagen’s Climate Plan 2025 the methodology and aspiration of the Climate Taskforce is not depended directly to this, and therefore the concept can be transferred to other cities. One of the methods the practice works with is asset-based community development which is transferable by viewing the neighborhood from an existing resource perspective. The practice does not aim to create new departments, but to create relevant connections between the existing organizational structures. We believe that the practice provides a tool for citizen engagement implemented along existing green policies and urban renewal projects. The idea is to enhance the input legitimacy of policies and enhance the trust in institutions, as well as inspire organizational development in local government.
