KNOCA has the pleasure of releasing three Briefings that provide much needed insights into the impact of national climate assemblies, in particular the iconic French Citizens’ Convention for the Climate which was still in full swing 5 years ago. All three studies were commissioned by the European Climate Foundation.
‘Policy Impact of the French Citizens’ Convention for the Climate: Untangling the Fate of the Citizens’ Recommendations’, authored by Alina Averchenkova, Arnaud Koehl and Graham Smith, provides evidence that policy impact has been more significant than generally assumed. Twenty percent of recommendations have been implemented, with another 51 percent implemented in a modified form. The study shows that the government has been selective in prioritising recommendations based on incentives rather than regulation and has been more responsive to those recommendations that were more detailed. Evidence suggests that the citizens’ played an agenda - setting role – a number of its recommendations were not part of the established political debate before the Convention began its work.
The second Briefing, ‘Understanding the impact of the French Climate Citizens’ Convention: A review of existing research’ uses the KNOCA Impact Evaluation Framework to collate existing academic and grey literature on the Convention. Claire Mellier and Selma Tilikete provide a systematic summary of existing research, showing the relatively limited attention that the analysis of impact has had in the extensive literature on the Convention. Those studies that have considered impact tend to focus on certain types, for example, on policy and legislation, on assembly members, and on the wider public and media. Other critical areas of impact have been overlooked.
The third Briefing,‘The Impact of Climate Citizens’ Assemblies and Digital Media’, is more comparative: the first systematic comparison of the media impact of five national assemblies in Austria, France, Scotland, Spain and the UK. The research team, led by José Luis Fernández-Martínez, shows how coverage varies considerably, with the French Convention achieving significantly more media attention. The study explores the common patterns of coverage that emerge, with the highest peak of attention coinciding with the publication or presentation of the recommendations. Other peaks are more contextual, for example, the way that the online consultation with the wider public during the assembly increased coverage in Austria.
These Briefings are an important contribution to ongoing debates about the impact of climate assemblies where robust evidence has been lacking. We hope they will be a spur to further evaluations and studies.
Drafts of the Briefings were presented and discussed at the KNOCA Workshop ‘Revisiting the Impact of the Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat’ in October 2024
