List of climate assemblies

This article is an offshoot or our Citizens' assembly page. It is also related to our XR and future democracy article, which is why it might seem a little UK-centric.

The term climate assembly is used here to mean any citizens assembly considering, either exclusively or otherwise, a response to climate change or climate emergency.

The list could be expanded to include also peoples' assemblies, or other gatherings, for example of the kinds listed on the Future Democracy Hub happening in response to climate emergency.

Global assembly

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United Kingdom

see also: How should the UK tackle climate change? involve.org.uk

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Scotland

Local assemblies in England

Cambridgeshire

  • Climate workshop, Histon and Impington villages, Nov 2, 2019. The workshop will utilise Sweden’s ClimateView, currently in use at the highest levels of the Swedish government. This is its first use in the UK to create climate solutions at local level. ClimateView provides an evidence-based methodology that encourages all sections of the community to come together to collaborate on tackling the climate crisis. [2]
  • “Regional Citizens Assembly for Cambridgeshire” planned by Cambridgeshire Climate Emergency. Proposal presented to Cambridge City Council on 20th May, 2019 [3]

Cumbria

Devon

Citizens Assembly to be convened in January 2020 [4]

East Midlands

  • Climate Assembly Nottingham on Facebook, added 15:27, 28 August 2020 (UTC)

Oxfordshire

  • Oxford Citizens Assembly on Climate Change, oxford.gov.uk, held over two weekends in September and October 2019. [5] Many videos on the website.

Lancashire

Yorkshire and the Humber

  • Leeds Climate Change Citizens’ Jury: Commissioned by the Leeds Climate Commission in 2019, the Citizens’ Jury recruited 25 randomly selected citizens over nine sessions to answer the question ‘What should Leeds do about the emergency of climate change?’
An oversight panel of key stakeholders met to ensure the recruitment process was fair and robust and to agree which ‘commentators’ should present evidence to the jury. The twelve strong oversight panel included representation from The City Council, the Chamber of Commerce and Extinction Rebellion.
The citizens' jury commenced on 12 September 2019 and will run for a total of 30 hours over nine sessions, ending on 3 November. [6]

London

Camden

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  • Citizens’ Assembly on the climate crisis, camden.gov.uk. Camden Citizens' Assembly held in July 2019. The Assembly proposals will inform a new Climate Action Plan for Camden to be published in 2020.

Lambeth

  • Lambeth Citizens’ Assembly, lambeth.gov.uk. Assembly planned for October/November 2019 [7]

Newham

  • Newham Climate Now, newham.gov.uk, first session of Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change starting in January 2020.

Europe

  • European Assembly for Climate Justice W

The European Assembly for Climate Justice took place in Brussels from 26 to 29 November 2010. Over 250 people from ten European countries assembled for four days of debates, discussion, action and networking. The Assembly was organised following a call out from Via Campesina for 1000 Cancuns where people across the world would organise popular assemblies in the run up to the COP16. Activities included a Critical mass bike ride, workshops, a popular assembly, a conference and a "Sing for the Climate" event organised by the Belgian Climate Coalition.

France

Hungary

Ireland

  • Irish Youth Assembly

Climate change: Irish Youth Assembly demands action, Nov 16, 2019 [8]

  • Citizens' Assembly (Ireland) W

A Citizens' Assembly in Ireland in 2016 considered several political questions including climate change.

Recommendations, all passed by at least 80% of members, included: empowering an independent body to address climate change; Greenhouse gas (GHG) tax, including carbon tax and agricultural GHG tax; encouragement of climate change mitigation, electric vehicles, public transport, forests, organic farming, and natural peat bogs; reduction of food waste; microgeneration of electricity; ending subsidy of peat extraction; increasing bus lanes, cycle lanes and park and ride facilities.

The Oireachtas responded to the report by establishing a Joint Committee on Climate Action, which published its own report on 29 March 2019. On 9 May 2019 the Dáil endorsed the committee's report and symbolically declared a "climate and biodiversity emergency". The motion also requested a Citizen's Assembly to study the biodiversity loss emergency and how the state can improve its response. A "government action plan on climate change" followed on 17 June 2019.

Poland

As of November 2019, 4 local groups, see Map of climate assemblies, climateassemblies.org

Portugal

Lisbon’s Green PB: Starting in 2019 Lisbon City Council's first ever 'green' PB, part of Lisbon City's wider participatory budget, a €5 million budget to support climate change mitigation and adaptation projects selected by local citizens.

Canada

Alberta

Edmonton Citizens' Panel on Energy & Climate

Starting in Oct 2012 a 56-member citizens' inquiry was commissioned by the city of Edmonton to help develop an energy transition plan.

United States

Washington

  • STATE LEGISLATORS ENDORSE AN INDEPENDENT CITIZENS' CLIMATE ASSEMBLY IN WASHINGTON

Assembly to be held remotely in early 2021. [./Https://www.peoplesvoiceonclimate.org People's Voice on Climate]

Resources

Networks

Other resources

Our Money, Our Planet

This report outlines some possible ways to make some progress, based on our experience and knowledge of participatory approaches, which put citizens into the driving seat of decision-making whilst improving transparency and governance at a local authority level.

One process is Participatory budgeting (PB). Another is Citizens’ Juries and Assemblies. Both are discussed within this report.

We have also drawn on the findings of our series of ‘Our Money, Our Planet’ workshops. We held these workshops across the UK in 2019. Their aim was to explore how Participatory Budgeting might most effectively help to address our impending climate crisis, and its links to a Green New Deal. sharedfuturecic.org.uk

Other links

News and comment

see separate article: Climate assemblies news and comment

See also


  • Citizens' assembly W includes sections on disadvantages as well as advantages.
  • Climate Assemblies, Includes guides to help start a climate assembly on a local level.


References

  1. ↑ Challenges, citizensassembly.scot
  2. ↑ camemergency.org
  3. ↑ camemergency.org
  4. ↑ devonclimateemergency.org.uk, 24/10/2019
  5. ↑ oxford.gov.uk
  6. ↑ sharedfuturecic.org.uk, Oct 2019, p. 7
    & leedsclimate.org.uk
  7. ↑ moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk
  8. ↑ BBC News
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