Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 24th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview VIII. Local Services and Infrastructure Author(s) Katarzyna Szmigiel-Rawska University of Warsaw Warszawa Poland Jan Erling Klausen, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo, Norway Title The Assignment of Responsibility and Manifestations of Climate Change Policy. The Climate Change Policy Mechanisms of Polish Local Governments File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Katarzyna Szmigiel-Rawska Abstract The aim of the paper is to investigate why some local governments seem to have come a longer way than others in terms of recognizing the need for developing and implementing climate change adaptation measures. The literature investigates why governments adopt policies that are new to them. The key issue in this line of research is the diffusion of new policies in a population of similar governments. Based on research from an ongoing comparative project on climate change adaptation in Polish and Norwegian cities, the paper asks the following research question: What factors can explain the varying degrees and extents of climate change awareness and policy implementation in Polish and Norwegian municipalities? The comparison between Norway and Poland is particularly interesting because among the central-eastern countries, the local government system in Poland is among those that resemble that of Norway most closely. A questionnaire study among local governments in two countries under research as well as the case studies have been undertaken during the project. In Poland, the survey was conducted by means of internet questionnaire but it could be send back also by traditional mail. An invitation to participate in the survey was issued to the public email address of all of 2478 Polish municipalities. A total of 1311 questionnaires was completed entirely or partly, resulting in a response rate of 52,9%. In Norway, an invitation to participate in the survey was issued to the public email address of all of Norway’s 428 municipalities. A total of 218 completed the entire, or parts of, questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 50,93%. There were also conducted four case studies. They have been chosen to reflect the varying levels of vulnerability and varied problems municipal authorities cope with. Selected cases also differ due to the size of the cities and their geographical location. Since it is still ongoing project there are not firm conclusions yet. The first assumptions resulting from the research are that: a kind of motivation, especially the sense of responsibility; activity in international networks and economic utility of innovation among others influence the implementation of policy innovation in climate change policy.
