A Climate Solution That Brings People Together: Citizen Assemblies Artwork

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Climate Confident is for business leaders, climate professionals and policymakers who need to understand what is actually cutting emissions—and what it takes to make those solutions work at scale.

Each Wednesday, I speak with the executives, engineers, scientists, founders and policymakers turning climate ambition into measurable progress. Together, we examine the technologies, business models, policies and implementation strategies reshaping energy, transport, industry, supply chains, food and finance.

These are not conversations about distant targets, vague pledges or greenwash. They are candid discussions about what is working, what is failing, where the real bottlenecks lie, and how leaders can make better decisions about decarbonisation, resilience, investment and risk.

You will hear:

Proven approaches to reducing emissions
Hard-earned lessons from real-world implementation
Analysis of the markets, technologies and policies driving the transition
Honest examination of costs, trade-offs, setbacks and unintended consequences
Practical ideas for turning climate commitments into action

New episodes are published every Wednesday at 7am CET. Subscribers also receive bonus episodes featuring highlights, analysis and emerging themes from across the series.

Follow Climate Confident for practical climate solutions, informed debate and the insights you need to turn ambition into measurable progress.

Guest suggestions and feedback are welcome at Tom@tomraftery.com.

All Episodes

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

A Climate Solution That Brings People Together: Citizen Assemblies

February 22, 2023 • Tom Raftery / Denise Baden / Matt Ryan • Season 1 • Episode 109

0:00 | 43:33

Get in touch - leave me a message

Hello Climate Confident listeners! I'm so excited to share with you the latest episode of the podcast where I had the pleasure of speaking once again with Prof Denise Baden and also this time with Prof Matt Ryan. In this episode, we dive into the topic of Citizen Assemblies and the role they play in addressing the climate crisis.

Denise and Matt are both experts in the field and it was amazing to hear about their experiences and insights on this topic. We talked about the importance of involving citizens in the decision-making process and how Citizen Assemblies can help to find solutions to complex issues, such as climate change.

One of the highlights of the episode was when Denise shared a story about a successful Citizen Assembly in Gdansk, Poland. It was inspiring to hear how a group of 60 city dwellers were given the authority to take action and made sweeping changes in areas like flood mitigation, air pollution, and even controversial topics like LGBT rights. And to top it off, the assemblies ended with a hug!

Matt also shared valuable information about the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA) website, knoca.eu, which is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about Citizen Assemblies and their role in addressing the climate crisis.

Throughout the episode, Denise and Matt emphasized the importance of finding the right mix of entertainment, decision-making structures, and inclusion in the Citizen Assembly process. They shared that while there may be mistakes made along the way, the goal is to find solutions that will allow us to survive, thrive, and flourish without damaging the planet.

If you're interested in learning more about Denise, Matt, Citizen Assemblies, or any of the topics we discussed in the podcast, be sure to check out sortitionfoundation.org, dabaden.com, and participedia.net.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Climate Confident! Stay tuned for more inspiring and informative conversations on the latest climate solutions.

Support the show

Podcast subscribers
I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:

Anita Krajnc
Cecilia Skarupa
Ben Gross
Jerry Sweeney
Andreas Werner
Stephen Carroll
Roger Arnold

And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.

🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability?

I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.

Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck

And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.

If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident