Contextual conditions shaping meaningful public participation. A case study of EU climate policy.

Public participation has emerged as a key instrument of EU climate governance, as it holds the potential to strengthen the legitimacy, accountability, and effectiveness of climate action (Smith, 2009). However, when poorly implemented, public participation can create distrust in the process, reinforce inequalities, and fuel resistance to climate transitions (Sprain, 2016; Reed, 2008). The literature has therefore focused on determining what conditions distinguish meaningful public participation, which successfully engages the public and achieves these normative outcomes, from mechanisms that merely satisfy procedural requirements without genuine commitment to public input. Scholars have identified specific design and implementation criteria conditioning participation quality, such as the need for early involvement of the public. Many of these criteria are enshrined in environmental and climate law, for example, through the Aarhus Convention (1998) and the EU’s Governance Regulation (2018). Yet empirical studies demonstrate a persistent gap between meaningful practice and formal requirements for public participation (Faber et al., 2025; Oberthür et al. 2025). Therefore, beyond design, high-quality public participation must also be shaped by institutional, political, and socio-cultural contextual factors surrounding its implementation (Baker & Chapin III, 2021; Newig et al. 2018). However, to date, we lack empirical studies examining how contextual factors influence participation quality, including in the European context. This study examines how various contextual factors shape participation quality in EU climate governance. Building on existing evidence that participation quality in the EU varies substantially over time and across countries (Oberthür et al., 2025), we compare how the 27 EU member states implemented public consultations for their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) under the 2018 Governance Regulation, and which contextual factors have affected this implementation. To this end, we first conceptualise and assess participation quality based on data from two NECP cycles, including draft and final submissions due in 2018-2019 and 2023-2024. Second, we conceptualise national-level contextual factors likely to influence government’s implementation of public consultations. Finally, we employ multilevel regression analysis - reflecting our data structure of consultations nested within countries - allowing us to assess both what contextual variables affect participation quality over time, and which ones affect participation quality within countries. Specifically, we test whether institutional capacity, democratic traditions and climate policy ambition drive participation quality; as well as whether inequality and political divisions hinder high-quality participation. For each of these hypotheses, we use open-access and internationally recognised datasets from platforms such as the OECD, the United Nations and the Varieties of Democracy project. Overall, we aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of how context shapes public participation in EU climate governance. Beyond this theoretical contribution, it could also inform practitioners on how to implement context-sensitive participation mechanisms. At time of writing this abstract, we have developed both conceptual frameworks and are in the process of conducting the regression analysis. We anticipate that this research will provide a baseline for a future academic article aimed at assessing combinations of contextual factors and interactions thereof.