The Climate Assembly UK was convened by six Select Committees of the House of Commons to discuss how the UK should reach its net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target. Following the COVID-19 crisis, it conducted a discussion of the impacts of the pandemic on climate action.
Problems and Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic changed daily life and disrupted society as a whole. Within the boundaries of its mandate, the members of the Climate Assembly UK discussed the changed context brought about by this crisis and its potential repercussions on the path toward net zero carbon emissions. [1] This discussion was organized at the request of both Parliament and the assembly members. [2]
Background History and Context
Climate Assembly UK was created in June 2019 by six Select Committees of the House of Commons (Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Environmental Audit, Housing, Communities and Local Government, Science and Technology, Transport, and Treasury). With six in-person meetings initially planned in Birmingham, UK, the work of the Assembly moved online due to the pandemic. This was the first time that a significant portion of the work of a citizens’ assembly had to be done online, except for one extraordinary session of the French Citizens’ Convention on Climate in which participants also discussed the COVID-19 crisis. [4]
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
This citizens’ assembly was funded by the House of Commons and by two philanthropic organizations: the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the European Climate Foundation [5]. Its activities were run by Involve, the Sortition Foundation, and mySociety.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The participants of the Climate Assembly UK were selected using a civic lottery and stratified random selection of citizens aged 16 years and over. This method of selection allowed the assembly's organizers to recruit 110 citizens representative of the population in terms of age, gender, educational qualification, ethnicity, geography, and attitudes to climate change. [6]
Methods and Tools Used
The discussion on COVID-19 took place during the last meeting of Climate Assembly UK and was held online. Due to time constraints and uncertainties related to COVID-19, the participants did not hear detailed evidence as they did in previous discussions. [7] Instead, they listened to a presentation by one of the 'Expert Leads', who is also Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change. The presentation was followed by facilitated, small-group discussions using the “breakout rooms” tool of the platform Zoom. [8] Resources provided to inform the discussion are available on the Climate Assembly UK website.
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
With the new online structure, the sessions, including the one on COVID-19, were limited to two hours in order to maintain a good level of participation and engagement. Before starting the small-group discussions, the Lead Expert’s presentation focused on issues related to economic recovery and lifestyle changes resulting from COVID-19. During and following this presentation, the assembly members were asked four broad questions [9]:
- Does the experience of the coronavirus and the lockdown make you feel differently about how the UK should get to Net Zero? Or do you feel the same?
- Do you agree or disagree that steps taken by the government to help the economy recover should be designed to help achieve Net Zero?
- Do you think lifestyles will change after the lockdown? Or will they go back to how they were before?
- As lockdown eases, do you agree or disagree that the government, employers and/or others should take steps to encourage lifestyles to change to be more compatible with reaching Net Zero?
Following the discussion, participants voted on the two additional questions related to economic recovery and lifestyle changes.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
On June 23rd, 2020, the Climate Assembly UK released an interim report containing the results of the two votes (see below) and verbatim quotes from assembly members about the rationale behind their recommendations. [10]
- 79% of assembly members ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that, “Steps taken by the government to help the economy recover should be designed to help achieve net zero”.
- 93% of assembly members ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that, “As lockdown eases, government, employers and/or others should take steps to encourage lifestyles to change to be more compatible with reaching net zero.”
The interim report was released ahead of the full report in order to inform the Parliament's and Government’s responses to the COVID-19 crisis. In a letter, the Chairs of all six commissioning House of Commons Select Committees encouraged the Prime Minister to take into account the views of the assembly members in its response to the pandemic. [11] The full report of the assembly is expected in fall 2020.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us complete this section!
See Also
References
[1] Weekend 6 (online), Climate Assembly UK, https://www.climateassembly.uk/meetings/weekend-6/
[2] Climate Assembly UK, Interim briefing – COVID 19, recovery and the path to net zero. https://clicca-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/COVID_19_and_recovery_FINAL_w_links_003.pdf
[3] Sarah Allan, A citizens’ assembly on climate change: how would it work? https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/blog/opinion/citizens-assembly-climate-change-how-would-it-work
[4] Sarah Allan, How we moved Climate Assembly UK online, https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/blog/project-update/how-we-moved-climate-assembly-uk-online
[5] Roles, Climate Assembly UK, https://www.climateassembly.uk/about/who/
[6] Who is taking part?, Climate Assembly UK, https://www.climateassembly.uk/detail/recruitment/
[7] Climate Assembly UK, Interim briefing – COVID 19, recovery and the path to net zero. https://clicca-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/COVID_19_and_recovery_FINAL_w_links_003.pdf
[8] Sarah Allan, How we moved Climate Assembly UK online, https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/blog/project-update/how-we-moved-climate-assembly-uk-online
[9] Chris Stark, Committee on Climate Change: Coronavirus and Net Zero, Climate Assembly UK, https://www.climateassembly.uk/meetings/weekend-6/chris-stark-committee-climate-change-coronavirus-and-net-zero/
[10] Climate Assembly UK, Interim briefing – COVID 19, recovery and the path to net zero. https://clicca-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/COVID_19_and_recovery_FINAL_w_links_003.pdf
[11] Climate Assembly UK, Interim briefing: Post lockdown steps to aid economic recovery should drive progress to net zero target. https://www.climateassembly.uk/news/interim-briefing-post-lockdown-steps-aid-economic-recovery-should-drive-progress-net-zero-target/
