Stakeholder engagement for inclusive climate governance: The case of the City of Turku Climate Plan

Session: Education, Outreach, and Citizen Science in Our Great Lakes: Engaging the Community (1)

Sevitri Jetoo, Abo Akademi University, [email protected]

Abstract

Turku is a city located in the southwest of Finland, situated around the Aura River which flows into the Baltic Sea. Turku is the oldest city in Finland ( old capital city), founded in 1229 and is one of the largest cities in Finland, home to 20 000 enterprises and the creation of 100 000 jobs. Recently, the city has unveiled an ambitious climate plan (June 2018) to be carbon neutral by 2029. The plan focuses on both adaptation and mitigation strategies and was prepared according to the common model of the European Union (EU) (SECAP, sustainable energy and climate action plan) with key milestones for years 2021, 2025 and 2029. There are six measures outlined as necessary to meet the targets, two of which directly target citizen outreach and engagement. These two measures speak to mobilizing communities as partners in the climate plan and raising awareness to climate change. Given the importance of stakeholder engagement to the success of Turku’s climate policy, this paper examines stakeholder engagement in the City of Turku climate policies from a governance perspective.It asks the question, what are the necessary parameters for successful stakeholder engagement in climate policies and how does it work in practice?