The Subtle Power of Climate Assemblies
by Eimer Conlon
Modern representative democracy appears ill-equipped to deal with the impending climate catastrophe. Our democratic myopia means that both elected representatives and voters are focused on short-term electoral cycle gains rather than long-term costs.
Deliberative democracy is touted by some as a solution. Climate assemblies, in particular, nationally, regionally and even locally have sparked hope among environmental activists. Composed of around 100 randomly selected citizens who receive evidence from environmental experts, deliberate and draft recommendations, climate assemblies offer a new path forward.
Climate assemblies vary by country and achieve varied degrees of success. In Ireland the majority of the climate recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly 2016-18 ended up appearing in legislation, helping form the most radical Climate Action Plan in the nation’s history. The recent Irish Citizen Assembly on Biodiversity Loss published 150 recommendations which are currently being considered by the government. In France however President Macron reneged on an earlier promise that the recommendations of the climate assembly would pass ‘without a filter’ to parliament. A watered down piece of environmental legislation was eventually passed. This points to a perennial criticism levelled at climate assemblies- their limited impact on policy.
However, when we look past the direct impact on policy the real value of climate assemblies becomes clear. That is, in helping build a social consensus around climate science and climate policy. The assembly selection is stratified to take account of age, gender, socioeconomic background etc. Participants look like and sound like the wider populace. In an age where distrust of elected representatives and institutions is at an all time high, including citizens in the political process can be an important tool. In this way, citizen assemblies can grant legitimacy to unpopular policies like a carbon tax and help depoliticise contentious issues, as the Irish Citizen Assembly on abortion highlights.
If we are to tackle the climate crisis, we need citizens to be engaged and involved. We need to fight the disillusionment that allows governments to be shamefully inactive in mitigating the climate crisis. As the Irish and French cases prove, when presented with the facts, citizens choose to put the future of the country over personal costs. Moreover climate assemblies are an avenue to exert political pressure on the government. Following Macron’s betrayal, Les 150 was formed from the disgruntled climate assembly participants in order to lobby the government to adopt some of the assembly's more radical measures such as criminalising ecocide. This goes some way in counteracting the outsized influence of special interest groups such as the fossil fuel industry on policy-makers.
When systematised into the political system in the manner that is occuring in Ireland, Citizen assemblies have the potential to make a real difference. Climate assemblies should not be treated as a panacea but rather one aspect of climate governance that works in tandem with institutional reforms. Climate catastrophe affects us all and climate solutions should include us all.
