A citizens' assembly brings together a randomly selected group of people who broadly represent the entire community. The people who attend learn about issues, discuss them with one another, and then make recommendations about what should happen and how things should change.
Herefordshire Citizens' Climate Assembly
In January 2022, the Herefordshire Citizens' Climate Assembly was held to discuss:
'How should Herefordshire meet the challenges of climate change?'
The assembly heard from expert speakers, discussed the issues involved and decided what steps should be taken. Recommendations were developed within the themes of buildings; transport; and food, farming and land-use. These are being used to influence council policy and spending priorities to help Herefordshire become a zero-carbon, nature-rich county by 2030.
Illustrations by Sandra Howgate
More about the Citizens' Climate Assembly
Participants were chosen from 14,400 households invited to register their interest. From those, 48 people were selected by an independent organisation called The Sortition Foundation, who made sure the final group represented the diversity of Herefordshire's population. A full report on the selection process is available on the Sortition Foundation website.
You can watch the recordings of the sessions.
In total, 35 recommendations were developed within the themes of buildings; transport; and food, farming and land-use. Individual assembly members then voted on the recommendations to form a priority ranking.