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8 - The Pilot Paradox

Exploring Tensions between Internal and External Success Factors in Dutch Climate Adaptation Projects

from Part II - Beyond Experiments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2018

By
Arwin van Buuren ,
Heleen Vreugdenhil ,
Jitske van Popering-Verkerk ,
Gerald Jan Ellen ,
Corniel van Leeuwen  and
Bas Breman
Edited by
Bruno Turnheim ,
Paula Kivimaa  and
Frans Berkhout
Bruno Turnheim
Affiliation:
King's College London
Paula Kivimaa
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Frans Berkhout
Affiliation:
King's College London
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Summary

Local sustainability experimentation is a topical issue, as cities and rural municipalities are increasingly taking the initiative in leading on climate action, whereas national governments and technology proponents are more and more conceiving of such initiatives as experiments. There is limited understanding of exactly what such experiments aim to achieve: what they are testing and how success or failure in such experiments is evaluated. We examine two emblematic Finnish local experiments: Kalasatama in Helsinki, a national pilot project in renewable energy and smart grid technology, and the Carbon-Neutral Municipalities programme engaging small and medium-sized municipalities in experimentation with solutions for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Through these examples, we reflect on the problem of evaluating local sustainability experiments and the lessons that can be drawn from them for climate governance.

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Chapter
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Innovating Climate Governance
Moving Beyond Experiments
 , pp. 145 - 165
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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