Deliberation Across the Generations. An Analysis of Intergenerational Institutional Engagement with the Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss in Ireland

Democratic responses to the climate and biodiversity crises require future focused, inclusive, and transparent decision making. As the children of today, their children and grandchildren risk bearing the brunt of the crises’ ill-effects, the need for intergenerational deliberation in decision making becomes more urgent. This paper explores the extent to which it can occur in formal invited institutions, namely a Parliamentary Committee and a national Citizens’ Assembly. Taking a single case study approach, it focuses on Ireland's Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss' (CYPABL) engagements with the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Environment and Climate Action (JOECA) and the national Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (CABL). It examines, through a qualitative analysis, the nature of intergenerational engagement in these formal structured forums asking if it can be inclusive and deliberative, considers the potential of deliberative intergenerational processes to mitigate generational power imbalances in policy making and seeks to inform practice. It finds that deliberation can bring intergenerational engagement beyond discussion to inclusive, mutually respectful dialogue that connects and collaborates towards considered proposals to realise shared visions.