A European network for sharing best practice on the design and implementation of climate assemblies

What is a Climate Assembly?

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How to Organise a Climate Assembly?

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What are the Impacts of Climate Assemblies?

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What are the Key Trends?

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Latest from KNOCA

See the latest events, news and resources from KNOCA

Events News Resources

"_{Even if we were to argue at this assembly, (…) perhaps something good would come out of it, and we don’t have enough opportunities to talk about various socially sensitive topics}"_{- Assembly Participant, Polish Citizens' Assembly on Energy Poverty}
A climate assembly brings together everyday people selected by democratic lottery to learn, deliberate and make recommendations on aspects of the climate crisis.

The insights of everyday people can make climate policy more robust.

Climate assemblies can challenge embedded social and climate inequalities.

Climate assemblies can help break political deadlocks on climate action.

Climate assemblies can increase the legitimacy and public acceptance of social action on climate.

Climate assemblies can promote a more climate aware and politically confident citizenry.

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Our Guidance on Climate Assemblies

KNOCA is co-creating guidance on different aspects of the commissioning, design, implementation, impact and evaluation of climate assemblies.

Engaging Stakeholders in Climate Assemblies

Stakeholder engagement is a critical element of climate assemblies. The knowledge, influence, and support that stakeholders bring can strengthen the quality, but must also be balanced to ensure that the integrity and independence of the deliberative process are maintained.

Recruiting Assembly Members by Democratic Lottery

Recruiting assembly members through a democratic lottery is a foundational element of climate assemblies. It ensures that participants reflect the diversity of the wider population and strengthens the legitimacy of the process.

Follow-Up to Climate Assemblies

The follow-up process is a critical element of climate assemblies. It must not be an afterthought. The time and energy that citizens invest alongside the resources and effort from the commissioning authority and organisers needs to be matched by a carefully structured follow-up process.

See all our Practical Guidance

Map of Climate Assemblies

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KNOCA Guidance

Launch of New KNOCA Guidance: Communicating Climate Assemblies

The new KNOCA guidance 'Communicating Climate Assemblies: Enabling Pathways to Impact' makes a clear case to assembly organisers: communication should be treated as a core part of an assembly design and delivery, not as a secondary task.

Government Response to Recommendations

The Dutch Government has Responded to the Recommendations of the National Citizens' Assembly on Climate

On 29 May 2026, the Dutch Government provided its official response to the proposals of the national Citizens’ Assembly on Climate in The Hague on 29 May 2026. It is determined to implement at least half of the 82 recommended measures. It will decide on a further quarter at a later date.

Report published

The Year in Deliberation report published

Democracy R&D, the global network dedicated to deliberative democracy and democratic innovation, has published its latest annual report on emerging trends in the field

Report Launch

Public report of Indigenous-led climate assembly published

The Porirua Citizens’ Assembly on Climate was the world’s first Indigenous- and treaty-led climate assembly held in Aotearoa New Zealand. As a community-led project it introduced a series of innovations to the standard assembly design, as well as offering valuable lessons to others seeking to uphold Indigenous authority within public deliberation.

External Event

Nordic Deliberation Learning Call: Path Towards Institutionalization in Local Governments

Nordic cities and regions have experimented with Citizens’ Assemblies in local policy development and decision making. This Nordic Deliberation learning call is especially relevant for those who work in the public sector or with democracy and participation.

KNOCA News

New Workshop Series: Media Visibility of Democratic Innovations

Democratic innovations are often rich in substance, but poor in visibility. Smarter Together is organising a workshop-series to tackle this dilemma.

External Event

Lead Facilitator Masterclass

In the development of citizens’ assemblies, we have collectively developed a solid toolkit. Guides, training, and even open-source software are available for institutions to start implementing assemblies. However, one aspect remains hidden the most: the deliberation in the room. FIDE Europe and We Do Democracy are organising a Lead Facilitator Masterclass in September for practitioners ready to take responsibility for the integrity of a full deliberative process.

KNOCA Resource

Book on Climate Assemblies: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT CLIMATE

Graham Smith, Chair of KNOCA, has published a short book, We Need to Talk about Climate: How Citizens’ Assemblies Can Help Us Solve the Climate Crisis, with the open access University of Westminster Press. It is available free to download and as an audiobook, or can be bought in hard copy. Drawing lessons from current practice, the book demonstrates how assemblies can take us beyond the shortcomings of electoral and partisan politics and how they can have a real and lasting impact on climate policy and politics.