The Citizens' Convention on Climate, an unprecedented democratic experiment in France, aims to give citizens a voice to accelerate the fight against climate change.
Reducing France’s emissions
The Citizens’ Climate Convention is a first-of-its-kind democracy experiment in France, with the goal of giving citizens a voice in the fight against climate change. Its mandate is to define a series of measures that will help achieve a reduction of at least 40% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in a spirit of social justice.
A diverse panel make proposals
For the first time, a panel representing the diversity of French citizens are directly involved in the preparation of legislation: 150 citizens, aged between 16 and 80, were randomly selected to be members of the Citizens’ Convention on Climate. Participants work with different stakeholders and experts in the topics discussed, including lawyers who help them translate into legal terms the measures they want to put in place. Specialists in citizen dialogue guide these ex- changes, without influencing them: the floor is left to the citizens.
A socially responsible future pathway
Their work over the last six months has focused on the climate emergency and the most appropriate ways to respond to it without leaving anyone behind. They ensured that they were not just independent of the government, but also of all types of pressure groups, while staying impartially receptive to all viewpoints. They have different points of view at times, but they are able to listen to each other and work together to develop suggestions that are fair and equitable.
