use case

Deliberative democracy approach to tackle climate change

A small-scale effort to direct climate change policy efforts within a city, leading to robust recommendations for the city council. The work of the citizen’s assembly was responsible for setting ambitious targets for climate action, aiming to achieve targets before the national deadline. Oxford City Council became one of the first local authorities in the UK to establish a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change.

source of visual

W Europe, Oxford, UK, Offline+Online
- Where did this use case occur?
2019 - 2020
- When did this use case occur?
Oxford City Council
- Who were some of the key collaborators
42 residents on the city took part in the deliberations over two weekends. These participants represented city of Oxford, UK.
- How many people participated?
Ecological/Environmental, Municipality
- What are some keywords?

What was the problem?

Oxford City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019.

How does the community approach the problem?

The Oxford City Council members decided the creation of a citizen’s assembly to help deliberate the question - “Should Oxford be more proactive and seek to achieve ‘net zero’ sooner than 2050?”, given the UK’s goal was to achieve net zero by 2050.

Process

Deliberative Democracy

Technique

An independent advisory group, consisting of a councillor from the main political parties, together with Oxford-based environment and democracy experts, and local industry representatives, was set up to provide governance and oversight of the creation, structure and operation of the Assembly. In preparation for the assembly deliberations, participants received a briefing pack, explaining the Assembly process alongside an introduction to climate change, net zero, and implications for Oxford. The information presented through the briefing pack was simple and easy to understand. During the sessions, conducted over two weekends, the information was presented through expert speakers, with an attempt to convey a balanced picture of the challenge and response options. At the end of weekend sessions, participants were given a take-home pack with additional resources to guide them on taking personal or community action. To communicate with the wider public, Oxford Council published several resources on their local authority websites. Transparency demonstrates the value of citizen assemblies in the broader democratic processes and builds support for such deliberations and discussion in democratic politics.

Tool

Citizen assemblies

What were the results?

A report, composed with recommendations from the assembly proceedings, was submitted to the City Council. In response to the report, the City Council proposed ambitious goals such as setting an emergency budget that commits over £1 million in additional funding and £18 million of capital investment to address the climate emergency and become net zero as a Council in 2020.

In Our Opinions

How participatory was it?

Consult

The process was designed as a consultative exercise to develop policy recommendations.

What makes this Use Case unique?