Reinforcing EU Climate and Democratic Governance:

 Enhancing Public Participation and Deliberation

Public participation is not only a tool for better climate policies but also a cornerstone of democracy itself. Research has demonstrated that engaging citizens meaningfully leads to more effective climate action that people can trust and rally behind. Moreover, it has also shown that public participation helps overcome political polarisation and rebuild faith in democratic institutions. Strengthening democracy prepares the ground for ambitious, fair, legitimate and enduring climate policies. 

This report provides a systematic assessment of the quality of public participation mechanisms for EU climate governance. It analyses 10 mechanisms of general EU governance (ranging from established mechanisms such as the European Citizens’ Initiative and public consultations by the European Commission to new mechanisms such as Strategic Dialogues and European Citizens’ Panels) and three mechanisms provided for in EU climate and environmental governance. The analysis comprises participatory mechanisms at the EU and national levels that are anchored in EU governance. Existing mechanisms at the sub-national level, hardly addressed in EU governance, are beyond the scope of this study. 

Drawing on the 1998 Aarhus Convention, human rights law, and academic literature, we analyse these mechanisms along nine key dimensions: the governance level they operate at (EU and/or Member States), how they are initiated (top-down or bottom-up), which stage of the policy cycle they address (agenda setting, decision-making, evaluation), who can participate (citizens, CSOs, stakeholders), the mode of participation (input, discussion, deliberation), transparency, accountability of decision-makers, the impact of participation on decision-making, and the institutionalisation of the mechanisms. 

Public participation mechanisms should all be as inclusive, transparent, accountable, impactful, deliberative, institutionalised and comprehensive as possible to ensure high-quality participation. Taken together, they should therefore ensure full coverage of the policy cycle, including decision-making on policy design and on implementation. In addition, a balance of top-down and bottom-up initiation, a diverse set of modes and involvement of both citizens and stakeholders, as appropriate, should be aimed for. 

Click here to read the Policy Options Paper

Five key challenges and priorities for enhancing public participation for climate governance in the EU emerge from the synthesis of our analysis. Addressing these challenges promises to significantly upgrade the system of public participation, enhancing the double-dividend for climate and democratic governance:

1. Targeted efforts are required to support and ensure balanced representation and participation of different groups of stakeholders across the mechanisms available (overrepresentation of private economic interests vs. underrepresentation of public interest CSOs).
2. The effective implementation of existing participation arrangements remains a constant challenge and requires continuous attention.
3. Many mechanisms have a limited impact and lack transparency and accountability. As a result, they struggle to meaningfully shape decision-making. This concerns especially, but not only, newer mechanisms with weak institutionalisation (e.g., Strategic Dialogues).
4. Many existing participatory mechanisms suffer from a lack of public visibility and awareness; promoting visibility and awareness holds significant potential for their increased use and contribution.
5. Strengthening opportunities for deliberation and engaging in agenda setting seems particularly warranted in view of existing weaknesses in these areas and their particular importance. Especially, the importance and potential of “mini-publics” such as citizens’ assemblies or councils across Member States deserve to be recognised and promoted, thereby closing a major gap.

Click here to read the seven concrete action points  to upgrade public participation in EU climate and democratic governance.

Interested in our policy brief on improving public participation for climate action and resilient democracy in the European Union? 
Read it here