Building bridges between citizens and government in the Citizen Climate Forum

Amstelveen, July 25, 2023

The end of June finally arrived the bullet through the church: the first Citizens' Climate Forum will take place. In 2024, 175 participating citizens will come together to advise politicians on climate policy. Such citizens' council has already led to successes in other countries such as Belgium, but is relatively new in the Netherlands - at least at a national level. There are already a number of examples at a local level. A citizens' forum was held in Zeist about a possible fireworks ban, which the city council adopted unanimously. The political games were omitted, but it was not clear advice. What does that say about the first national citizens' forum? 

The purpose of a citizen forum is to represent the opinions of 'ordinary people' on the important issues on which the government is making policy. A selection is made of the citizens who register on the basis of gender, age, education, place of residence, migration background and opinion about climate policy. In this way, the forum must reflect Dutch society. In light of declining confidence in the government, this initiative can contribute to reducing the gap between citizens and government and ensure greater support for the policy created. Citizens' councils are often used for climate regulation, but have also been used for... vaccination campaigns in France and even for constitutional discussions all around Scottish independence.  

The citizen forum will start working on the following question: “How can we as the Netherlands eat, use things and travel in a way that is better for the climate?”. Over a period of 6 months, the participants will discuss this with each other and independent experts to find an answer. Such a forum uses dialogue instead of debate. According to Eva Rovers, from Bureau Burgerberaad, this is possible be talked about more constructively: “There are many different people with different political and cultural backgrounds. And that is precisely why they are able to bridge differences and come closer to each other.” 

It is of course difficult to look into the future, but based on the 'golden rules' from Bureau Burgerberaad, an initial analysis can be made. In a number of areas the right path appears to have been taken. For example, there is a weighted draw to represent a good reflection of the Netherlands in the deliberations. In addition, barriers to participation are also removed. The participants receive an expense and travel allowance, childcare and assistance with accessibility if necessary.  

However, there are also parties that do not agree with the current structure. The most important point of criticism is that the design and question are too directive. Harm van Dijk from the G1000 Foundation said the following about this against NOS: “Participants are now given 'a say' over their own behavior, but not over, for example, energy subsidies or onshore wind energy. It would be much better if they were allowed to decide for themselves what they wanted to talk about.” The cabinet also wants to influence who chairs the forum, while according to the Bureau Burgerberaad, like the SP, this is better left to the participants.  

The concept of a citizens' forum therefore has great potential to build bridges between citizens and politics, provided it is managed properly. However, it remains to be seen whether the Citizens' Climate Forum will be a success, especially due to the fall of the cabinet and the new elections that are approaching. In line with this, it is also questionable whether the parties will agree to the outcome of the discussions. With the declining citizen confidence in the government such an experiment is at least worth a try. Who knows, we may be looking at the democratic process of the future here! 

Written by Lisanne Linck