This post is written by Nicole Armos, Senior Analyst, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

• The problem: Many of the groups most affected by climate change and mitigation strategies face systemic barriers to participation in decision-making processes.

• Why it matters: When climate engagement fails to address systemic inequities in participation, resulting climate strategies lack broad public support and can reinforce climate injustices.

• The solution: Designing equitable climate strategies requires participatory, collaborative engagement of diverse citizens with a commitment to transparency and accountability.

While Glasgow's Cop26 summit has been both lauded for its historic achievements and condemned for its perilously limited commitments, the real impact of these international negotiations is inherently defined by the actual policies enacted at national and local levels. As Boris Johnson noted in the final press conference, "we can lobby, we can cajole, we can encourage but we cannot force sovereign nations to do what they do not wish to do.”

We are entering a critical decade if we are to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C by 2050, and accordingly, the Glasgow Climate Pact includes a request for countries to revisit and reconvene in 2022 and 2023 to revise national plans on cutting emissions (NDCs) by the end of 2022 (Article 29). Achieving this goal will entail rapid and significant social and economic transitions to the ways we live, work, move and connect. Both top-down and grassroots action are needed to sustain meaningful change, and it will be imperative to bring governments and citizens together to co-design actionable climate strategies that can fulfil more ambitious NDCs.

"Ethical and effective climate action depends on public engagement that addresses barriers to participation both on the ground and at a systemic level."

The 2015 Paris Agreement called for an enhancement of public participation to advance action (Articles 7.5 and 12), and the Glasgow Climate Pact builds on this with multiple references to the importance of involving a broad range of stakeholders in decision-making and implementation (Articles 62, 71, 72, 88, 92-95).

However, several groups of people face historic and ongoing marginalisation in policy discussions due to overt exclusion or systemic physical, social and financial barriers. In fact, many of those who are bearing the greatest burden of climate change and mitigation strategies—such as Indigenous Peoples, people living in poverty, climate refugees and rural communities—are also being left out of planning.

When climate engagement fails to address systemic inequities in participation, it may cause more harm than good—leading to plans that do not serve a community’s needs, lack broad public support and ultimately reinforce climate injustices.

What happened, and what should happen

Ethical and effective climate action depends on public engagement that addresses barriers to participation both on the ground and at a systemic level. Equitable climate engagement looks different depending on the scale, topic and location, however, a set of core principles can guide planning processes to maximise accessibility and address power imbalances.

Participatory, collaborative engagement

First, long-term climate action needs to be founded on collaborative relationships between decision-makers and the public. It is time to move beyond one-way public education campaigns or even transactional information-seeking processes where decision-makers collect public feedback and close the door. Instead, effective climate engagement establishes networks, partnerships and ongoing communication channels that engage and activate communities not only in the early stages of decision-making, but through years of implementation.

For example, the Cycles of Resilience initiative in the Jamaica Bay region of New York City is a model for sustained community engagement where informal activities such as games nights and boat trips help build relationships between residents, scientists and government staff. This relationship-building paves the way for community action projects such as flood reporting apps and participation in municipal decision-making.

"Planning for accessibility and inclusion cannot be an after-thought."

Diverse representation

From a local to an international level, environmental movements and policy discussions are plagued by a lack of representation, for instance of women, people of colour or members of the global south. It is crucial to hear from a full diversity of identities and lived experiences to develop policies that are broadly supported and address existing climate injustices. The 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact explicitly calls for greater involvement of Indigenous Peoples, youth, children and women, alongside civil society and government to progress action.

Planning for accessibility and inclusion cannot be an after-thought. Strategic outreach plans are needed to proactively anticipate and address potential barriers to participation. At a local level, even small changes can make a big difference, such as convening engagements in familiar community spaces, or drawing connections between climate change and more immediate challenges people may be facing, such as food insecurity and transportation costs. In some cases, applying more rigorous methods for randomised recruitment can be used to establish truly representative participation along key demographic markers, as seen in the UK’s recent Climate Assembly. Resources such as the Beyond Inclusion guide, developed by Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue provide detailed roadmaps for inclusive and equitable public participation.

Upholding Indigenous rights

It is particularly important for climate engagement to equitably involve Indigenous Peoples. The climate crisis disproportionately threatens Indigenous Peoples’ rights, livelihoods and culture. Yet, around the world colonial systems have displaced and marginalised Indigenous Peoples, obscuring their ancestral ties to the land and excluding or tokenising them at climate negotiations. For example, it wasn’t until 2015 that the establishment of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) opened an avenue for Indigenous voices to join governments in UN Climate Conferences, and Indigenous groups still face barriers to meaningful inclusion.

Equitable climate engagement must change these patterns of oppression by ensuring representative participation from the Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands the engagement addresses and upholding Indigenous rights in and through engagement. Engagement practitioners should be familiar with local Indigenous history, culture, protocols, as well as relevant legal consultation processes for decisions affecting Indigenous lands and rights. Engagement processes should be developed in close partnership with Indigenous communities, with a consideration for culturally-relevant accessibility and wellness supports, such as involving language interpreters or Indigenous Elders and healers.

Commitment to accountability

Decades of unfulfilled commitments and stalled action have led to irreversible climate changes and the erosion of public trust in democratic processes and institutions, particularly around climate action. It is imperative to rebuild people’s faith that their contributions can make a difference by conducting high-quality, transparent and accountable public engagement. Decision-makers need to be genuinely interested in public input, responsive to what they hear and provide periodic follow-up to communicate progress on long-term initiatives. Multiple platforms can support governments to move towards greater transparency, participation and accountability, including the International Climate Engagement Network (ICEN) launched at Cop26, and The Open Government Partnership, which provides governments a space to articulate, monitor and track policy commitments that are co-created with communities.

While climate change is a global problem, it does not affect everyone equally or in the same manner. Policies and strategies for climate action must reflect different needs between and within nations and communities, and provide multiple entry-points into both decision-making and implementation. Only by hearing from a full array of experiences, and especially voices that have been historically excluded and are increasingly more vulnerable to climate change, can we move forward with just climate action.

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