When Gävle was hit by torrential rain and severe flooding in the summer of 2021, the costs of the damage were enormous. Insurance companies paid out over one billion kronor in claims linked to the incident. The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly tangible. Incidents like this underscore the work that needs to be done to transition and adapt our societies to a changing climate. 

“It’s getting serious now,” says Niklas Thidevall, policy researcher at RISE, who conceived the climate resilience certificate system. “We saw in Gävle how a single downpour could have enormous consequences, and this is something that individual property owners, private individuals, and companies that own properties will have to deal with.” 

Risk for both insurance companies and banks 

Insurance companies warn that properties in risk zones may not be able to get the same cover as before, which also creates problems for banks and other entities who lend money with real property as collateral.  

“We are now facing a situation where some properties can be difficult to insure and thus difficult to finance, which creates major challenges,” explains Thidevall. “At the same time, it is currently very difficult for banks to know what risks they are taking.”  

Thidevall highlights two things that became clear with the floods in 2021. Firstly, there is a big difference in how different properties are affected, even in the same area. Secondly, much of the damage could have been mitigated and the risks reduced using relatively simple solutions. A large proportion of the damage in Gävle was linked back to back pressure damage, where wastewater is pushed back into the house, and cold have been avoided with relatively simple means, such as installing a check valve. 

Model for assessing risks 

To increase the resilience of existing buildings, it is important to know more precisely which property has a high risk of being affected, and requirements for predicting and reporting risks will most likely increase in the future. Therefore, a model for assessing the risks of damage related to climate change at the property level has been developed in a feasibility study.  

“We have mainly looked at the risk of flooding, both due to torrential rain and rising sea levels, and sketched out the form such a system could take,” says Thidevall. “We started from an existing example, namely the energy performance certificate that each property has. We have the same scale, although it measures how vulnerable the property is to climate-related risks.”  

The scale is based on assessments from independent experts who collect data and place the property on the scale according to various factors, such as the design of the building foundation, the ground around it, how thresholds are designed, whether there is a forest close to the property or whether there are basements and, if so, whether they are furnished, and so on.  

“You look at both the building itself and the risk of incidents on-site,” says Peter Lidén, researcher in Indoor Environment and Building Physics at RISE. “Taken together, these data result in a risk rating. In the next step, a private individual can, for example, get recommendations for what can be done to achieve a better rating on the scale, such as altering the surrounding ground levels, or inspecting the seals between different building sections where water can penetrate. Owners of multiple properties can produce documentation for assessing which of their properties they should secure first.” 

Creating incentives – and change 

The idea is that the information will be mandatory for new property development, but it is likely that it will also be requested for existing buildings. However, it is not about condemning vulnerable buildings; the system is a tool to solve problems, help property owners comply with the requirements, and, ultimately, achieve actual change and less damage.  

“Small changes often make a big difference,” says Thidevall. “But if we don’t create opportunities for individual property owners to understand the risks that exist, I don’t think that the measures needed to withstand a downpour or a forest fire will be implemented.”  

The scientific community agrees that the weather will become more extreme in the future, with higher sea levels and torrential rain occurring more frequently. It will cost money to implement measures, but it will also cost a lot if we do nothing.

RISE serves as a meeting place and arena for discussions, projects, and feasibility studies of this nature. 

“You can utilise the extensive expertise within RISE, in this case construction experts and rainfall climatology experts, together with people like me who know the regulations and policy work. Bringing together areas of knowledge, looking at the problem together, and having close dialogue with a wide range of operators provide different perspectives, which produce better solutions.” 

In southeastern Uppsala, slowly but surely, the new district of Rosendal is emerging, a modern and dense urban structure with multiple functions. However, it is not only that which is above ground that is innovative in Rosendal – hidden below our feet are brand-new solutions.

“In Rosendal, we wanted to create a multi-purpose urban runoff solution,” says Johan Eriksson. “In the wake of climate change, we’ll need to manage larger amounts of water on single occasions, and we’ll need more urban greenery to provide more shade and thereby lower temperatures.”

Accordingly, the new blue/green/grey solutions are about not only being able to divert and purify large amounts of water, but also creating the opportunity to delay and collect water in an orderly manner so as to be able to use it as a water reservoir for urban vegetation.

“This way, there’s no need to go around watering because the systems are largely self-sufficient.”

Interdisciplinary project

However, building brand-new technical solutions in which, for example, water is stored under roads and other hardened surfaces is not entirely easy. Uppsala Municipality has not been alone in this endeavour though, as it has been part of a Vinnova-funded project on sustainable and multifunctional urban runoff structures. Björn Schouenborg, a senior researcher at RISE, has been the project manager.

“We’ve been able to gather an extremely broad interdisciplinary team, enabling us to support the development of various opportunities,” he says.

Both technical solutions and amended regulations

Many of the project partners have also been directly involved in the Rosendal project, allowing them to simultaneously develop and use this new knowledge.

“This way, we’ve been able to see the entire chain, and we’ve not only created new technical solutions, but also been able to work with, for example, policy and regulatory amendments that have enabled us to implement the innovations, despite the fact that they weren’t encompassed by the existing regulations.”

For example, it has been difficult to get contractors and property owners to accept extended guarantees for the new systems, quite simply because they have not been tested before.

“Here at the municipality, we’ve had to assume responsibility, and in this sense, it’s been good to have all the experts working within the Vinnova project behind us,” says Eriksson.

“I’d say that this holistic approach is what’s truly innovative, and RISE has managed to engage all the necessary experts.”

The construction work in Rosendal continues, but the new solutions are also starting to be implemented in other parts of the municipality, Eriksson explains.

“Something quite unique about Uppsala is that our fresh water is sourced from the groundwater, and so all this new construction is taking place on top of that source. It’s really great that the new solutions enable us to reduce the level of pollutants in both the groundwater and the Fyris river, and we’re continually evaluating their performance on a daily basis. The technology is maturing, and any new constructions will include this type of urban runoff solution.”

The City of Malmö is one of Sweden’s leading municipalities when it comes to the climate transition, although they do not do everything themselves but rather engage outside help as well. This included the municipality signing an innovation partnership agreement with RISE in December 2021. This entails RISE helping the City of Malmö with many different projects, such as investigating the challenges preventing them from achieving a fossil-free electricity supply or greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations.

One of the assignments that has already been completed is an investigation showing how the City of Malmö can cut its climate impact by identifying possible carbon sinks.

“A carbon sink is a function or a process in which carbon dioxide is captured from the air and stored,” says Tora Råberg, a researcher at RISE’s Agrifood unit.

She headed the work with the report, and in doing so enlisted the help of many different colleagues.

“I was the coordinator of an entire team here at RISE, with each member an expert in their particular field. This meant that we had access to broad specialist knowledge, ranging from how to calculate carbon storage in wooden structures to what actually happens chemically during pyrolysis when carbon is not fully combusted.”

Many different opportunities

The various opportunities and solutions presented in the report show great breadth. The use of bio-based materials in new builds is expected to offer the greatest opportunities for creating negative emissions, such as by using wood instead of concrete. Almost as much potential is shown by an agricultural transition within crop cultivation, with a carbon sink comprised of a larger carbon store in the form of biochar and increased humus content in soil. Together, these two represent more than eighty percent of the potential available to the municipality.

“This report is based solely on current conditions in Malmö and the surrounding area, and we hope that it will provide an important building block in the decisions that the city makes concerning carbon sinks.”

Survey of technological maturity

However, it is not only potential carbon sinks that have been identified. With the help of colleagues at RISE, Råberg has also surveyed the maturity of the technology needed to realise these carbon sinks.

“We’ve also looked at the cost per CO₂ equivalent, the scalability of the solutions, and the potential spinoff effects they could offer, such as increases in biodiversity and improvements in soil structure. All of this has been possible thanks to RISE’s interdisciplinary approach.”

Moreover, the expert knowledge that RISE contributes is greatly appreciated by the City of Malmö.

“Naturally, those of us working at the Environmental Department are specialists but producing a report like this requires even greater expertise,” says Gunilla Andersson, a project manager at the City of Malmö.

“Since our innovation partnership with RISE was already in place, it was natural to turn to them, as RISE has that greater expertise in a number of different areas.”

Scientific basis

Moreover, Andersson underlines that it was important that the report was produced on the basis of the scientific method.

“We don’t have the research expertise, databases or resources available to RISE, so this partnership has been of great value to us. Now it’s simply a matter of applying the results to our reality.”