Climate certificate for buildings - a legitimate policy instrument?

The Swedish Parliament - Riksdagen - has adopted a law on climate certificates for new buildings.

The instrument entered into force in January 2022 and focus on new buildings for which a building permit is applied for after 1 January 2022.

This new policy instrument complements the system of energy performance certificates for buildings, as well as voluntary certification schemes for buildings present in the market. For a policy instrument to be effective, it must be legitimate to the actors of the market. The project aims at exploring and explaining the policy processes around climate declaration of buildings.

The project will analyse the legitimacy of the instrument in comparison to other policy instruments and schemes for environmental labelling of buildings.

The unique knowledge that the project will contribute is to the benefit of decision-makers and stakeholders, including proactive companies, to better shape their advocacy for the design and decision-making on national policy.