The thesis “Between Growth Pursuit and Climate Urgency: A case study of municipal climate action in the Norwegian peri-urban context”, written by Ali Mozaffari, investigates climate action in the Follo Region.
The findings suggest that the municipalities of the Follo Region are navigating a complex intersection between economic development and climate responsibility. An examination of climate trajectories across the region reveals both determination and tension. The Follo Region has been aspiring to sustainability yet constrained by growth-oriented priorities. The thesis forms part of student research through the Center for Climate Resilient Development (CRED), strengthening the knowledge base for climate action in Follo.
Green growth dominance
The thesis research shows that many of Follo’s municipalities exhibited clear signs of a deliberate growth policy. Most sustainability measures and local practices are shaped by Green Growth aspirations, a development approach which seeks to align continued economic expansion with environmental objectives. This approach remains deeply embedded in local planning documents and strategies, reflecting the dominance of a growth-centric development.
While alternative perspectives such as post-growth or degrowth thinking have not been entirely absent, they have remained at the margins in both municipal discourse and in practice. The limited presence of these approaches illustrates how deeply entrenched the assumption of perpetual growth remains within the region’s governance structures. As a result, efforts toward sustainability tend to focus on technological efficiency and incremental change rather than transformative measures that challenge underlying consumption and production patterns.
Progress driven by national policies
When assessing the actual progress on climate goals, the region presents a mixed picture. Some reductions in greenhouse gas emissions have been achieved across several municipalities. However, these improvements are largely attributable to national-level policies, such as the rapid uptake of electric vehicles and the national phase-out of oil and paraffin for heating. Apart from these influences, there is little evidence of a clear or consistent downward trajectory in regional emissions. Hence, the nationwide transitions that have contributed significantly to emission reductions may serve to mask a lack of substantial local-level initiatives.
Growth entangled trajectories
Municipalities in Follo are facing persistent challenges and dilemmas in advancing local climate action. On one hand, there are ongoing pressures for economic development such as demands for housing, employment, and infrastructure. On the other hand, the municipalities are increasingly required to take adequate action to help the national government to fulfill its climate commitments. Yet, the thesis shows that there are clear limits to being able to meet these competing demands within a green growth development paradigm, while alternative post-growth measures are not yet well elaborated.
For example, against this backdrop, local autonomy should not necessarily be celebrated as an inherent driver of sustainability, particularly in growth peri-urban contexts such as the Follo Region, where intra-regional competition for development is pronounced. In such settings, local autonomy may, in fact, produce outcomes that run counter to sustainability objectives. Therefore, municipal decision-making processes must become more democratic, guided by long-term perspectives, and informed by expert deliberation, given that decisions in areas such as biodiversity conservation, land-use planning, and nature protection can have irreversible consequences.
Furthermore, growth expands the municipal tax base and provides some short-term relief to financially constrained municipalities in the Follo Region. Growth is thus pursued as a means of achieving public benefits, yet it simultaneously introduces substantial environmental pressures that are typically addressed through efficiency and technological solutions. However, to meaningfully engage with the deeper social and ecological dimensions of sustainability, such efficiency approaches must be complemented by a sufficiency approach, which emphasizes reducing excessive consumption and production rather than merely optimizing existing systems.
Paradigm shift needed?
This calls for a paradigmatic shift that enables transformative transitions across key sectors such as transport, housing, and agriculture. Such a shift entails systemic, governance, and practical changes that foster trajectories capable of reconciling social and climate responsibilities in locally contextualized and meaningful ways. Achieving this vision requires mobilizing the collective expertise of local governments, policymakers, civil society, private sector actors, and researchers. In this regard, CRED aims to create inclusive arenas for collaboration and dialogue among these stakeholders, facilitating local transitions towards more just and sustainable pathways for the communities of the Follo Region.
Ali Mozaffari successfully defended his thesis in September 2025.