Author: Beatriz MartĂnez and Hamid Yammine
How can a council impulse citizens' participation while being representative and maintaining high participation?
The Citizens' Climate Assembly was a deliberative process of 100 people chosen by lottery between the ages of 16 and 75 to discuss the climate emergency situation in the city and they defined actions and solutions to improve it, answering the question: What can we do to address the climate emergency?
Source: Espai PĂșblic - Ajuntament de Barcelona
Climate change is a reality and these are key years to act to stop climate change. Drastically reducing our greenhouse gas emissions implies reviewing the way we live, rethinking what we buy, what we eat, how we dress and how we move, among other things. For this reason, the City Council of Barcelona wanted to create a space for direct participation with the people of the city to identify and discuss the needs and solutions arising from the climate emergency.
In the forums or deliberative assemblies, a group of randomly selected citizens (based on a stratified drawing of lots), dedicate and spend a significant amount of time learning and debating in a guided deliberative process in order to elaborate a series of collective recommendations that will inspire and inform public authorities.
The methodology of the assembly was based on different criteria: thematic prioritization, promotion of spaces for individual reflection and collective dialogue, diversity of views and sensitivities in the topics discussed and attention to the concerns of the assembly members.
Likewise, throughout the deliberation process, care was taken to maintain the confidentiality of the deliberations and the confidentiality, privacy and anonymity of the participants in order to ensure the smooth running of the assembly.
An innovative approach
As an initial step, the Barcelona City Council reached out to 20,000 residents aged between 16 and 75 via mail, inviting them to take part in the Citizens' Assembly for Climate under the theme "What can we do to address the climate emergency?". Out of this pool, around 1,500 individuals responded positively to the invitation. From there, 100 participants were chosen randomly, with considerations made to ensure a diverse representation across gender, age, district of residence, place of birth, and educational background. These selected individuals committed to participating throughout the entire process and were compensated financially for their involvement in the assembly sessions, akin to serving on an electoral committee.
Additionally, apart from physical gatherings, the ACC maintains a public webpage on "decidim.barcelona" that offers general information and hosts a blog updating the public on project developments. Throughout the assembly, this online platform also serves as a forum for discussion and input, albeit with restricted access for assembly members.
The Citizens' Climate Assembly was held between September and December 2022. In total, there were 10 sessions, divided into four phases: Preparation phrase; Information and Capacitation phrase; Deliberation phrase; and Voting phrase.
Source: Espai PĂșblic - Ajuntament de Barcelona
Main positive lessons
- Direct evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategies and instruments used to raise awareness of the seriousness of the socio-environmental crisis in civilizans
- Estimation of the degree of perception of the seriousness of the climate problem by citizens.
- Detection of what needs the population has in order to make systemic and behavioral changes.
- Take into action collaborative processes involving citizens all around the city and using their main ideas and concerns rearding climate change to cocreate a portfolio of action sent to the municipality.
Main barriers found
- Creation of a space of comfort and trust for all parties, maintaining the inclusiveness and representativeness throughout the process.
- Need for at least one year of foresight, requirement of many deadlines and preparation beforehand
- High coordination capacity and high dedication from all stakeholders
- The relationship between confidentiality and dissemination: Refusal of individuals to give their image rights
- High economic investment
Potential for reaplication and scale-up
Due to the rise in environmental consciousness and the increasing inclination of citizens to engage in policies impacting them, this form of deliberative procedure is gaining traction globally.
Countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, and Sweden have established their climate assemblies, while cities like Oxford, Grenoble, Berlin, and Amsterdam have followed suit.