Why should citizens co-create within the municipal climate effort? : A case study about the co-creational climate effort in Umeå Municipality

Cities cover 3% of the world’s surface but they emit 72% of all globally produced greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are therefore an essential part when trying to overcome climate change. To address this crisis Climate-City Contracts [Klimatkontrakt] was adopted in Sweden 2020 by nine Swedish cities, four governmental agencies and Viable Cities. The goal is to form climate neutral cities. To achieve this the cities will start co-creation processes together with its citizens. The processes will aim to find new solutions to combat climate change. This bachelor thesis provides a unique perspective of how that can be achieved in Umeå, which is one of the cities that signed the contract. The research aim is to examine public officials, in Umeå municipality, views of co-creation within the framework of Klimatkontrakt Umeå 2030. Thus creating a greater understanding of how public officials within Umeå perceive the possibilities for citizens to become a co-creating actor. To achieve the research aim interviews were conducted with four public officials in Umeå municipality. The interviews showed that the public officials can see many positive effects as a result of future co-creation processes. Different target groups will also become the focal point when Umeå will co-create with its citizens. The process can also take many forms, such as different kinds of dialogues, which may lead to a reorganization which allows Umeå to better co-create with its citizens