UC EVENTS

Evaluating the first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis 

The Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency was a pioneering civil society-led initiative. It was the world’s first citizens’ assembly that brought together 100 randomly selected citizens from around the globe to deliberate on the topic: ‘how can humanity address the climate and ecological crisis in a fair and effective way?’ 

For 68 hours over 11 weeks, Assembly Members listened to expert evidence, exchanged their views in facilitated small group deliberations and plenary sessions, and developed the People’s Declaration for the Sustainable Future of Planet Earth, first disseminated at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. The Assembly aimed to set an institutional precedent for bringing the voices of ordinary citizens to multilateral negotiations, a space where they are largely absent. 

The Evaluation Report examines the extent to which the Global Assembly upheld principles of good practice in the process design, deliberative experience, and impact. 

In this panel discussion, authors of the Evaluation Report will present their findings on key aspects that were evaluated: demographic diversity; the facilitation process; the range of discourses on climate change invoked during deliberations; issues of power and inequality; and the Global Assembly’s impact on global climate governance. 

Following these presentations, we will hear reflections from discussant Claire Mellier, one of the members of the Global Assembly’s Central Circle, before opening up for a Q&A discussion. 

The aim of the seminar is to prompt reflection on the possibilities of designing and implementing a citizens’ assembly at the global scale, and generate actionable insights for future global assemblies. 

The seminar will be chaired by Adele Webb. 

About the speakers 

Nicole Curato is Professor of Political Sociology at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra (Australia). She was the Chair of the Global Governance and Participation Advisory Committee of the Global Assembly and the lead author of this report. 

Wendy Conway-Lamb is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra (Australia). Her research explores how those most affected by climate change could be better included in global climate governance. She contributed to the analysis of discourses in breakout group deliberations and the impact of the Global Assembly. 

Azucena Morán is a research associate at the Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (Germany). Her work explores deliberative and participatory responses to planetary challenges. She led the research on the role of facilitators in the Global Assembly and contributed in the analysis of qualitative data from the perspective of disadvantage and vulnerabilities. 

Melisa Ross is Postdoctoral Researcher at SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy at the University of Bremen (Germany). She acted as observer during the Global Assembly and contributed to the analysis of qualitative data from the perspective of disadvantage and vulnerabilities. 

Lucas Veloso is a PhD candidate in Political Science at The Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). Theorize and research democratic innovations and socio-political vulnerabilities. He was a notetaker in the Global Assembly and contributed to the analysis of qualitative data from the perspective of disadvantage and vulnerabilities. 

Kari De Pryck is a lecturer at the Institute for environmental sciences at the University of Geneva (Switzerland). She works on global climate governance and scientific knowledge production. She led analysis on the impact of the Global Assembly and contributed to the analysis of discourses in breakout group deliberations. 

Stephen Elstub is a Reader in British Politics, Newcastle University (UK). He has research interests in participatory and deliberative democracy and the role democratic innovations can play in environmental governance. He led the research on the media coverage of the Global Assembly. 

Claire Mellier is a facilitator, process designer and researcher with interest in delivering participative processes which put citizens at the heart of decision making. She is knowledge and practice lead at Iswe Foundation. She was a co-initiator and organiser of the Global Assembly on the climate and ecological crisis for COP26.

This event is online. Join us on Zoom.