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Focus on solutions and good news to engage citizens

Deliberative forums involving members of the public will help advance an ambitious energy transition

Policy makers are increasingly aware that engaging citizens and communities will speed up the pace of change to a clean energy economy. But few are clear about how best to go about it. Recent conferences held in Ireland aimed to showcase best practice and move the debate forward

ASSEMBLY GROWTH
Citizens assemblies are playing a growing role in the debate on climate change and clean energy solutions. Experience from Ireland shows they can encourage policy makers to take more radical action

GOOD COMMUNICATION
If policymakers really want to engage with people on the energy transition, they need to take the time to do the necessary preparation, get the message right and find the best person to spread the word

KEY QUOTE
People are time poor and so there needs to be a shift beyond volunteerism. Realistic resources need to be provided to support local people in taking action and existing barriers to local climate action need to be identified and removed.

The importance of citizens participating in environmental policy making and implementation was recognised as far back as 1992 when the UN published its Agenda 21 plan for sustainable development. Discussions at the latest Citizens Energy Forum, hosted annually by the European Commission, showcased best practice for policy makers, even if citizens were somewhat thin on the ground at the invitation-only event in Dublin, Ireland. Ireland recently agreed a new national Climate Action Plan, which commits the government: To inform, engage, motivate and empower people to take climate action.” This pledge builds on the county’s Citizens Assembly, which brought together 100 randomly chosen citizens, broadly representative of the electorate, over 12 weekends between October 2016 and August 2018 to deliberate on a number of issues, including climate change. Half their time was spent listening to expert speakers and the other half deliberating with their fellow citizens,” says Diarmuid Torney of Dublin City University (DCU), who spoke on the issue of citizen engagement at a conference hosted by Environment Ireland in October 2019. The assembly produced 13 recommendations on climate change, which were significantly more radical than observers expected. The recommendations included higher taxes on carbon intensive activities (excluding poor households) and expanding public transport spending over new road infrastructure at a ratio of no less than two-to-one. A government committee on climate action subsequently considered the assembly’s recommendations and in March 2019 published a cross-party consensus for action. A key lesson for successful deliberative forums is to engage early, says Torney. Other recommendations include: having a distinct policy question to answer; involving community groups and sports clubs that already have significant community buy-in; pre-agreeing and guaranteeing a government response to the findings of the forum; ensuring participants are as diverse as possible with support for food, travel, accommodation and childcare; recognising that citizen engagement is a process, not a one-off event; designing the process to fit the particular issue and circumstances; and giving sufficient time to participants to read and digest expert material in advance.

Balance
Ensuring a balanced and transparent selection of speakers, with a mix of personal stories and scientific evidence, is vital to the outcome of the deliberation,” says Torney. Time for reflective discussion is also key.” Ireland is far from being alone in allowing citizens to play at least an informative role in policymaking around climate action and the energy transition. Citizens’ assemblies on climate are also being established or under discussion in France, the UK, New Zealand and Germany, says Torney. Researchers from the Marine and Renewable Energy Centre at University College Cork, Ireland analysed practical learnings from the coal face of engaging communities in climate action. They found that active honest engagement targeting key community leaders, tapping into existing groups and engaging young people, were important. We also found that communities need support, capacity building and resources,” said lead researcher Clare Watson at the Commission’s event. People are time poor and so there needs to be a shift beyond volunteerism. Realistic resources need to be provided to support local people in taking action and existing barriers to local climate action need to be identified and removed.” Belgian consultancy 21 Solutions has worked extensively with citizens, elected representatives and policymakers, designing and managing engagement processes for local projects aimed at reducing energy use and building social cohesion. The organisation recently published a guide to including citizens in public decision-making. Based on our experience collaborating with a wide range of people on the ground for over ten years we are convinced of two things: citizen engagement must be by way of invitation, not imposition, and it takes preparation, not improvisation,” says the consultancy’s Marcel van Meesche.

Communication
Getting the message right is key,” says Watson of University College Cork. Messages need to be tailored to the particular audience. How they are communicated and by whom is critical.” For the DCU researchers, using simple, persuasive and everyday language is important as is getting creative with how messages are communicated. They suggest mixing formal and informal approaches and focusing on solutions and good news. The researchers also underline the need for lawmakers to listen to their audience to understand needs and values. Communication should focus on local, tangible climate impacts, such as local flooding. It should be action-oriented, with a clear vision of empowering citizens to make positive changes in their lives and communities. Emotional stories of people’s lives, how they are affected by climate change and by climate action, are also recommended. The need for appropriate communication extends to companies involved in the energy transition, said Erik van Eekelen of Dutch app developer, Jedlix, which is aimed at showing people when it makes most sense to charge an electric car. Most people do not want all the information. They want just enough to understand it [the app] and then maybe in the future they will want more information,” he said. The main things customers want to know are: Will it work? Am I helping the environment? And can I tell my friends about it?” Maximiliane von Butler of Sonnen energy, a decentralised energy company owned by Royal Dutch Shell, whose 100,000 customers generate, store and share renewable electricity, said an element of fun” was essential to engage people in the energy transition. The company gets its members to share their experiences to make them cool” or fashionable, and the most active members become ambassadors. Marie Donnelly, former director for renewables, energy efficiency and innovation at the European Commission, said providing information people can relate to” was essential for consumers to join the energy transition. We have to be able to communicate with consumers in a language they understand,” she insisted.

TEXT Iva Pocock PHOTO 21 Solutions