1 Introduction

The Paris Agreement and subsequent Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP) meetings have set ambitious targets for net-zero emissions by mid-century, and the Nordic countries must continue accelerating decarbonization efforts to achieve net-zero emissions. There is still much work to be done to achieve the limitation of global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Nordics have a long history of leadership in sustainability and innovation, their current achievements provide valuable insights into effective climate action and Nordic region is well-positioned to be at the forefront of this global effort. By building on their successes in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable urban planning, these nations can further enhance their contributions to decarbonization while showcasing pathways to transition away from fossil fuels. The commitment to the 1.5 °C goal, reaffirmed at COP27 and COP28, highlights both the urgency and potential of this transition.

The Nordic countries have already implemented innovative policies like carbon pricing and renewable energy integration, as well as nature-based solutions, making them a model for others. There is still an urgent need for further mitigation; yet their experiences demonstrate how ambitious climate policies lead to economic growth, job creation, and a more sustainable future. As they look ahead, the focus will be on accelerating action in key sectors like transport, heavy industry, and agriculture, which present both challenges and opportunities for further emissions reductions. By showcasing the successes already achieved and committing to even bolder actions, the Nordic countries can also provide inspiration for other nations on how to balance climate ambition with economic development, with a clear focus on the 1.5 °C pathways.

Commissioned by the Nordic Working Group on Climate and Air under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the purpose of this report is to highlight Nordic solutions aligned with the Global Stocktake (GST) Decision, to both support and inspire the Nordic countries and other nations in accelerating action towards 1.5 °C pathways by scaling existing solutions. This report identifies and showcases 13 Nordic climate action initiatives across various sectors. All of these climate action initiatives are aligned with paragraph 28 of the GST decision. These Nordic success stories have been evaluated for their potential to be scaled up and replicated beyond the Nordic region. By highlighting these solutions across various sectors, the report seeks to inspire actors across sectors in accelerating global action and collaboration towards a sustainable future, paving the way for broader adoption of effective strategies worldwide.

Held every five years, the Global Stocktake (GST) is a process to inform Parties to the Paris Agreement on their collective progress against its goals. The first ever GST was completed at the COP 28 UN Climate Change Conference in 2023. As part of the GST decision agreed upon at COP28, Parties recognised that the limiting of global warming to 1.5 ℃, with no or limited overshoot, requires deep, rapid and sustained reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, reducing emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 from 2019 levels, then by 60 per cent by 2035, and finally reaching net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. Additional requests were made to Parties to contribute to these efforts in line with their national circumstances, pathways and the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC, 2023). An overview of the agreed Global Stocktake (GST) objectives can be seen in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Overview of GST Objectives (UNFCCC, 2023).

Parallel to the GST, the Nordic Council of Ministers funded a Nordic assessment, that had the ambition of showcasing Nordic pathways to climate neutrality in line with 1.5 ℃. The report “Nordic Stocktake: Pathways to Climate Neutrality” outlines progress and challenges faced by Nordic countries in their efforts to achieve climate neutrality. The report notes that leveraging cross-regional collaboration to address common challenges is essential to achieve climate neutrality in the Nordic region. By sharing knowledge and working together on initiatives like renewable energy expansion and carbon capture and storage (CCS), the Nordic countries can enhance their efforts towards climate neutrality. Achieving climate neutrality requires intensified efforts across all sectors (Lind et al., 2023). This assessment has served as an inspiration for the work in the present study.

The research was initiated with the development of an analytical framework to guide the identification, analysis, and evaluation of exemplary climate initiatives. This framework ensured that the selected initiatives meet criteria for exemplarity and innovation regarding effectiveness, impact, feasibility, and acceptance. Selection criteria focused on exemplarity (features such as scalability, replicability, and long-term sustainability), sector and geographical representation, and evidence of stakeholder engagement. Additionally, it considered the alignment with the objectives outlined in paragraph 28 of the GST decision. Initiatives from various sectors, including energy, transportation, industry, agriculture, forestry, and waste management were then identified. The identification process involved an initial review of relevant publications, reports, and websites to gather information on climate initiatives across the Nordic countries, as well as cross-sectoral and pan-Nordic initiatives to create a longlist.

Subsequently, the project team and project steering group jointly selected a shortlist of country cases and cross-Nordic cases to be analysed further based on the selection criteria. The shortlisting process included consideration of achieving broad sectoral representation as well as alignment with the GST objectives (see Table 1). Once, the shortlist of a total of 13 cases (two cases for each Nordic country and three cross-Nordic cases) had been agreed the project team commenced with the analysis and evaluation of each selected case. See Table 2 for an overview of selected cases.

Table 2: Overview of selected Nordic cases, plus cross-Nordic related

To supplement the initial literature review, further literature search and analysis of the information was made for the selected cases. Since the literature available for some of the cases was not considered sufficient, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders and/or experts from the Nordic countries to supplement the literature. For each case, a structured analysis was conducted to assess its scalability, replicability, and transferability. This included evaluating external factors affecting the initiative's potential to be adapted in other regions or sectors. Each initiative was summarized in a case story to clearly communicate its features and potential for scaling and replication.