Citizen participation in climate politics. Drivers and barriers of Climate Assemblies in Europe

Different forms of participation have been employed to engage citizens in the planning of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Arguments in favor of citizen participation highlight the limitations of traditional democratic practices to address climate change. Climate Assemblies (CAs), a form of deliberative democracy, have become an increasingly popular way for citizens and politicians to collaborate on climate decision-making.

Using a mixed methods approach, this paper poses three questions. (1) To what extent do European cities and regions engage in CAs, and how are they embedded in policymaking? (2) What drives and impedes CAs? (3) To what extent are policymakers in European cities and regions ready and able to incorporate CAs and their results into policies?

Findings reveal an increase in CAs in Europe on different levels, primarily commissioned by public authorities. However, the connection between CAs and policymaking differs across countries. Research revealed the significance of political culture, the specific roles of citizens, policymakers and administration therein, and the importance of political backing of CAs. Important drivers of CAs include measures that safeguard relevance to citizens, equality, inclusive access, and impact. Barriers include knowledge about climate change and deliberative democracy, lacking inclusiveness of CAs and asymmetry in political power. Survey data shows that climate policies have become established practices in many European cities and regions and that various engagement approaches are used to develop them. However, only 9.4% of respondents stated that city officials developed climate change policies with stakeholder input, including citizens. Citizen participation is infrequent, and involvement in policy development and implementation is unequally distributed, favoring some groups over others. While some results of stakeholder and citizen engagement activities were adopted, recommendations were not always translated into policies.

Currently, CAs are rather an exception than the norm across Europe.