Science Advice and Policy Influence: The Case of the Swedish Climate Policy Council

Since 2008, more than 40 countries have established climate councils. Most often, these councils are supported by a policy framework including a climate act, which defines targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Today, this is the case in many EU countries and the councils’ mandate is given in relation to the act, which means that governments must listen to the advice. 

The motive behind these councils is that climate policy and decisions should be evidence-based and use best available knowledge to assist governments achieve their climate targets on net zero greenhouse gas emissions. 

From previous research we learn that for these councils to be successful they should be science-based and politically independent, but they should also be in close contact with the governments they review and advise, i.e. routines should be established and formalized for the interaction between the council and the government. 

In this presentation we rely on an empirical study about how the Swedish Climate Policy Council understands its policy influence. The seemingly paradoxical situation involving simultaneous political independence and dependence, as mentioned above, as well as an assumed linear model of expertise forms the starting point for our analysis. 

The Swedish Climate Policy Council meets all the above-mentioned “success criteria”. But how do they use their autonomy to present consensus science-based advice that the government needs to listen to? And what are their reflections on the not so impressive political results and their own influence on this? In what ways are they responsible for the results? 

We use previous research on climate councils and our own empirical findings to discuss current STS research on science advice and its influence on policy and political decisions. In a theoretical-empirical tandem, we analyse the Swedish Climate Policy Council using STS approaches that seek alternatives to the linear model of expertise and try to find out how political dependence and independence can be better understood. We conclude that councils should focus more on politics than just getting the facts right to better understand that advice must be politically embedded to help build institutional capacity that can make an impact. From our findings, we conclude that the advice from the Swedish Climate Policy Council is still not sufficiently embedded in the broader societal and political processes it serves, nor does the strong focus on autonomy and independence support such efforts.

Speakers: Göran Sundqvist (in-person) is professor of science and technology studies (STS) at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and professor II at CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Oslo, Norway. His research is on the interplay between science and policy, with a special focus on the role of expert knowledge in climate transition. His most recent book, together with Linda Soneryd, is Science and Democracy: A Science and Technology Studies Approach (Bristol University Press, 2023). 

The event will also be joined by Linnéa Aarthun (online), who has conducted interviews with members of the Swedish Climate Policy Council and is currently co-authoring a paper in progress on the Council.