Institutionalizing developers rights and participatory rights in spatial planning law: How does it affect the climate transition capacity?

European countries have different legal traditions, also when it comes to spatial planning. The Planning- and building laws in different countries vary regarding the authority of the different layers of government, developers’ rights, participatory rights (for affected interests and citizens), and existing legal instruments. As societies need to adapt to climate change in order to meet the commitments in the Paris Agreement, the question arises how these legal traditions spur or hinder societal transition capacity. This paper will discuss this question based on an analysis and comparison of the Dutch, Belgian, Polish, and Norwegian legal frameworks for spatial planning. Each framework stems from a different spatial planning tradition, showing different strengths and weaknesses. As spatial planning legislation is in flux, specific attention will be paid to the direction in which these systems are moving. While these frameworks have been analyzed before in the literature, they have not been compared regarding transition capacity in response to environmental problems. Moreover, these systems react to the challenges in different ways, in many cases giving more room for the private sector to take the initiative and to citizen participation to safeguard the political support base. The Norwegian framework is known for its relatively liberal character and the strong role developers are allowed to play in spatial planning. Is this a model to emulate for other countries and if so, what opportunities should be seized and what pitfalls should be avoided?