Sunday 21 June marked a milestone in the history of France with a citizen participation process leading to the preparation of a law [1]. Over nine months, 150 randomly selected citizens debated on the climate emergency, received input from experts, and drafted 149 legislative proposals, of which three will be submitted to a referendum [2]. The proposed measures relate to a wide range of key sectors [3] and aim to achieve a reduction of at least 40% of Franceās GHG emissions by 2030 [4]. In a context of nation-wide lockdown and having made final amendments through video calls, the Citizensā Convention on Climate is proving to be an example for involving citizens in managing the climate crisis.
Citizensā conventions are not a new participatory decision-making tool. TheāÆworldās first Peopleās Climate Parliament (Klimatriksdagen) was held in 2014 in Norrkƶping, Sweden. Led by environmentalists and citizens concerned about climate change, this bottom-up initiative gathered 600 delegates to discuss, sharpen proposals and vote. In Ireland,āÆ citizensā assemblies established in 2016 have led to several referendums resulting in changes to the Constitution, notably on marriage equality and abortion. And the Parliament of the German speaking Community of Belgium set up a structure to include citizens’ assemblies in its decision-makingāÆon a permanent basis.
Behind the widespread enthusiasm, however, lies a more complicated story that suggests citizens’ assemblies are not a simple process, but a complex and limited democratic tool that can be used wellāÆā or badly [5]. āParticipants need to know what they are being asked to do, and in what ways their proposals will be integrated into the political processā [6].
At Three oāclock we strongly believe that building a sense of co-ownership leads to a more sustainable action. With citizensā assemblies currently popping up at all scales in Europe [7], itās a perfect time to draw the lessons learnt to make these processes truly representative and ensure that their conclusions have a real impact on our lives.
- Citizensā Convention on Climate: https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr/en/
- All other proposals will be voted on in the Parliament.
- Housing, transportation, consumption, production and work and the food sector
- based on the levels of 1990
- https://www.politico.eu/article/the-myth-of-the-citizens-assembly-democracy/
- https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/citizens-assembly-towards-a-politics-of-considered-judgement-part-2/
- Climate Assembly UK; Citizensā assembly for Scotland; Observatorio ParticipaciĆ³n de Madrid