Climate Assemblies and Environmental Governance: Internal dimensions

Abstract

We are seeing more citizens’ assemblies organised on climate change related issues across Europe, but also the globe, and at various levels of governance. Whilst research on deliberative mini-publics in general has progressed to provide a solid basis of evidence founded on a set of accepted research methods, research on ‘climate assemblies’ is in its infancy. This is an important gap to fill because climate change is such a unique, multifaceted challenge that findings from other deliberative mini-public research will not necessarily apply to assemblies addressing this issue. It is vast, complex, and deeply emotional, and an adequate response will require individual, collective, and systemic change and involve mitigating and adapting to the emergency. It applies to every level of governance, to all policy areas, to social and natural worlds, and the entirety of our lives and those of future generations. This panel addresses internal aspects of climate assemblies. It will address questions such as: How is the issue of climate change framed in climate assemblies through the setting of the remit, the provision of information, and in the assembly member deliberations, and what are the consequences of this framing on the views of participants and the recommendations that are produced at the end of the process? What are the challenges to, and best methodologies for, enabling individual, collective, systemic, mitigating and adapting responses to be included and combined in a climate assembly? What are the creative possibilities for developing more inclusive process designs and facilitation approaches? How do assembly members relate to climate delay discourses, both within their own discussions and in the recommendations they produce? Do climate assemblies encourage long-term thinking and empathy for future generations?

Title	Details
Is that too broad? Suitable remits for citizens’ assemblies on sustainability issues	View Paper Details
A participation between technical and political. Typology of the measures of three national Climate Assemblies	View Paper Details
Why generalising about climate assemblies and juries is not so simple	View Paper Details
Designing climate assemblies for the most disadvantaged	View Paper Details
Citizen’s Assemblies and the issue of impartiality. Legitimate and illegitimate influences in the French Citizen’s Convention for Climate	View Paper Details