Doing environmental justice through climate assemblies?

Francesca Rosignoli, Senior Researcher at Eurac Research, participated online in the International Conference “Securing justice for the planet: Opportunities for, and barriers to, course correction”.

🎤 Presentation: Doing environmental justice through climate assemblies? Lessons learned from two case studies in Austria and Italy

Abstract: This paper explores the potential of climate assemblies as instruments for advancing environmental justice, focusing on two case studies in Austria and Italy: the Consiglio dei cittadini per il Clima/ Klimabürgerrat in South Tyrol (Italy) and the Bürgerrat Klima-Zukunft in Vorarlberg (Austria). Drawing on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and policy documents, the study examines how these assemblies address issues of inclusion, equity, and democratic legitimacy in climate governance. The main findings suggest that, although citizens' assemblies are widely regarded as promising tools for fostering democratic participation and civic engagement in climate governance, they still face challenges in adequately representing the communities most affected by environmental issues and in ensuring the practical impact of their policy proposals. To strengthen their contribution to environmental justice, it may be useful to investigate alternative selection methods – especially to address the issue of self-selection – and to develop more robust strategies for translating assembly recommendations into actionable policies. The analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of these initiatives may help policymakers optimize the use of this innovative participatory tool for pursuing environmental justice-oriented policies.

📌 Conference program: https://event.mq.edu.au/justice-for-the-planet-2026

Co organised by MQ Environmental Law Research Centre (ELRC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) – Regional Office for the Pacific.

EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateGovernance #CitizensAssemblies #ClimateAssemblies #ParticipatoryDemocracy #EuracResearch #HumanRights #ClimatePolicy