New publication: Lessons learnt from National Citizen Climate Assemblies

National Citizen’s Climate Assemblies (NCCAs) been held in many European countries over the past decade. They have been commended by deliberative theorists and practitioners as a means to address the perceived inability of current democratic systems to deal effectively with climate change. Yet it is only recently that such claims have been explored empirically.

​A new article reviews the rapidly emerging literature. It finds that each assembly is in fact unique in character, shaped by the interaction between its basic design features and contextual conditions. Opinions on NCCAs vary significantly and although their recommendations are variously implemented, acknowledgement of their wider and deeper impacts is also emerging. Finally, the implementation of assemblies is spurring innovations in deliberative decision making that are being trialled in other more localised contexts. Yet caution is required when assessing their potential short-term impact.