Lessons learned and results from around the world and Washington State

Citizens’ assemblies are an increasingly widespread form of democratic engagement and solution-finding. Assemblies convened specifically to address the climate crisis have taken place around the world, including in Australia, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, and France. France’s recent “Convention Citoyenne Pour Le Climat,” focused on reducing carbon emissions, led President Macron to pledge to adopt and fund 146 out of 149 policy recommendations.

The Washington Climate Assembly (WA Climate Assembly) was initiated and funded by a group of volunteers, organized as People’s Voice on Climate. The nation’s first citizens’ assembly on this critical issue, the WA Climate Assembly brought together 77 randomly selected Washington residents, representative of the State’s communities, online during the COVID pandemic, to learn about, discuss, deliberate on, and recommend climate change mitigation solutions for consideration by the State Legislature. Recommendations from the WA Climate Assembly are now being promoted to the Legislature and informing the development of the 2022-2026 Action Agenda for the recovery of Puget Sound, among other applications.

This panel session included speakers who shared processes used, lessons learned, results, and next steps from a number of climate assemblies, including the WA Climate Assembly. Speakers also discussed the idea of an international bioregional People's Assembly that focuses on both climate change and biodiversity. It also included a panel discussion and the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists.