Climate change is the greatest challenge to face humanity. International agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, EU regulation and country-specific national climate policies offer some hope. But all too often implementation of these high level objectives is derailed at the subnational, local and perhaps most importantly, at the individual level.

This book is the first thorough examination of the challenges to implementing international and national climate policy and strategies at the local and individual level. The authors draw on detailed studies in Sweden—so often the world leader in effective environmental solutions—to examine the full swathe of barriers and complexities including governance structures, the relationship between experts and the public, political feasibility including tax measures, perceptions of fairness and self-interest, the importance of environmental values, the roles and perceptions of organizations and professions, the place of carbon-free technologies such as wind power, the relationship between national and EU regulation, and the monumental challenge of governing the climate in a bordered and divided world. This volume is a vital source of information for all players in the climate game seeking to create effective, coordinated responses to the challenge of climate change.