Citizens’ Assemblies and the European Green Deal: A Perfect (Mis)Match?
The European Green Deal has missed a key chance to tap into the recent deliberative wave across Europe. Yet the green transition is ongoing and must accelerate – with citizens at its core. Its success hinges on meeting people’s needs and embedding social impact in strong environmental policies. Citizens’ assemblies offer a way to ensure voices are heard at all levels, from local communities to EU institutions.
Recognising the huge gap between the top-down implementation of the European Green Deal – reduced merely to a series of technological and financial measures – and the needs of various societies and communities across Europe, the aim was to explore the role citizens’ assemblies can play in ensuring its bottom-up democratisation.
This publication was compiled by the Green European Foundation (GEF). It is part of the Green Deal for All – Citizens' Assemblies in Action project. It is the result of a collaborative process between partner organizations from Belgium, Croatia, Finland, North Macedonia, and Serbia, coordinated by the Institute for Political Ecology. Authors: Συγγραφείς: Vedran Horvat, Predrag Momčilović, Lana Pukanić, Coel Thomas, Elze Vermaas, Žaklina Živković.
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Table of contents
Foreword 5
INTRODUCTION AND THEORY
A Note from the Authors 7
Values and Ideas 8
A democratic green transition 8
Beyond representative democracy 10
Theory and Literature 16
Why citizens’ assemblies? 16
Deliberation defined 17
Key elements of citizens’ assemblies 19
Core principles of citizens' assemblies 24
CASE STUDIES
Overview 29
Permanent Citizens’ Assembly on Climate of Milan 30
Irish children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss 36
Brussels Citizens’ Assembly on Climate 43
Valjevo Deliberative Mini-Public 51
Citizens’ Assembly for Climate of Catalonia 57
CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED
A Role to Play – if not now, then when? 63