Climate Citizens’ Assemblies

What are climate assemblies? 

Climate Citizens’ Assemblies are citizen assemblies that address the challenge of climate change through deliberative democracy. Deliberative democracy is an inclusive form of governance that facilitates decision-making based on collective debate and dialogue, aiming for consensus among participants. 

Citizens' assemblies are a process where a diverse group of individuals from civil society make decisions that impact policies. They are the most well-known example of deliberative democracy. These assemblies bring together people who reflect and represent society. The assembly deliberates, allowing participants to express their opinions based on the experiences and knowledge they have acquired throughout the process. The goal is to generate recommendations for political decision-making. 

Why does society need climate assemblies? 

Climate Citizens’ Assemblies emerged in response to two crises: the breakdown of traditional political representation in Western democracy and the climate crisis, which often escapes polarized debate. Climate assemblies aim to: 

• Contribute to the development of climate action policies, 

• Implement mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change, 

• Develop recommendations to improve policies, and 

• Review and adapt existing policies. 

The fundamental objective of these assemblies is to develop, improve, or adapt policies related to climate action, incorporating the voices of all societal groups. Short election cycles often prevent us from addressing long-term climate change issues. A climate assembly can provide a strong social mandate by: 

• Proposing long-term solutions, 

• Designing strategies, and 

• Ensuring social equity by including the representation of different societal groups. 

Who is involved in climate citizens' assemblies? 

 Climate citizens' assemblies bring together a range of participants, each with a specific role: 

• Stakeholders representing diverse interests 

• Experts in climate science, deliberative democracy, and policy 

• Civil servants from the commissioning institution 

• Citizens selected to take part in the assembly 

Additionally, various working groups contribute to the process, including content groups, steering (or core) groups, and follow-up groups. 

How do climate citizens’ assemblies work? 

Climate assemblies are usually commissioned by public institutions. Governments typically formulate the assembly and guide the processes of learning, deliberation, and recommendation. 

To function effectively, the assembly must have a clear question (often framed as a dilemma) to guide citizens' positions and answers. Assemblies are usually held over several weekends. 

At the outset, the commissioning institutions explain how they will respond to the recommendations made by the citizens, usually including a public response detailing how the assembly's results will be addressed. 

Climate assemblies can serve as solid governance structures, independent of the commissioning institution or specific economic interests. They are usually meticulously planned to ensure participants have ample time to formulate recommendations to the posed challenges. The assembly may be divided into smaller working groups to address various aspects of climate policy. 

Phases of climate citizens’ assemblies 

1. Framing: Identifying and elaborating on the main challenges to be deliberated during the assembly process and forming various working groups. 

2. Learning: Experts share knowledge from different perspectives. Participants develop their own criteria to position themselves around the challenges. 

3. Deliberation and Preparation of Recommendations: Participants deliberate together, and recommendations are drawn up with maximum consensus, which will then be provided to policymakers. 

4. Follow-up of Recommendations: Some assembly members join the follow-up group to monitor how citizen recommendations are implemented in public policies.