From 25-27 March, the Net4Dem project’s Climate Democracy Lab takes place in Grenoble, bringing together local government officials and democracy experts from across Europe.
Organised by Eurocities and Grenoble Alpes Metropole, this innovative event will explore how democratic innovation can drive effective and inclusive urban climate action.
As cities take the lead in responding to the climate crisis, they face critical challenges, including ensuring long-term sustainability beyond short-term political thinking, securing public buy-in, and making the climate transition fair for everyone.
The Climate Democracy Lab provides a space for cities to share their experiences, test new ideas, and together explore how participatory approaches can help shape ambitious yet socially inclusive climate policies. Cities interested in joining can register HERE.
Ahead of the Lab, we spoke to Hélène Clot, Director of Strategy, Innovation and Citizen Participation for Grenoble Alpes Metropole.
Hélène explained what democratic innovation is, why it is essential for advancing climate policies, and how Grenoble is pioneering new participatory approaches to strengthen citizen involvement in climate action.
Can you explain what democratic innovation is?
Traditional democratic channels, such as voting, public consultation and community engagement, are currently facing significant limitations, the most visible of which is the high rate of abstention.
Democratic innovation consists of designing and developing new ways of bringing democracy to life, more connected to citizen’s current lifestyles and focused on reaching diverse audiences.
There are many ways of doing this, such as “going towards” people rather than making them come to you, via a polling station or a meeting room, combining digital communications tools with face-to-face meetings, and finding allies in local communities, such as neighbourhood associations or parents’ groups, who can help you to get in touch with people who are hard to reach.
Other options include offering people easily accessible and educational content, involving citizens in solutions, and speaking to people directly to find out their needs or feelings of injustice.
Why is it important for city governments to develop innovative approaches to democracy? And how can democratic innovation accelerate climate action?
At the scale of a city, the notion of ‘commons interests’ is very concrete: we all share the same public space, the same trees, breathe the same air, go to the same shops and services, and send our children to the same schools. Developing a culture of democracy means ensuring a feeling of shared responsibility for these services that benefit our lives every day.
However, if we carry on with practicing democracy through meetings in closed rooms, we will continue to only hear the opinions of men over 60! Hence, our interest in varying the formats of citizen dialogue.
We want to involve residents in topics that interest them, whether they are everyday issues, such as the development of their neighbourhood, or efforts to respond to social issues, such as climate action or social inequalities. The two are very often linked: in a city, everyday issues involve social issues.
Take for example, if I want to design a new square in my city. I need to understand what issues might arise and what matters to local residents. Some people might have protests about noise pollution, or motorists might be unhappy about parking spaces being reduced. I also need to recognise the need for the square to remain cooler during heatwaves, that it needs to be a meeting place, and I want to encourage the use of cycling and walking.
This example shows the connection between democracy and climate when it comes to the planning and implementation of urban public projects. It is a question of jointly taking responsibility for our common services and developing infrastructure that makes a lasting and sustainable difference to people’s lives.
But to ensure public buy-in, we must give the widest possible range of people a say. Agreeing on local scale initiatives gives changes a much better chance of taking place on a large scale.
If we don’t continue to innovate our democratic approaches, what will the climate consequences be?
If we don’t associate democracy and climate, the risk is very clear: ecological backlash. By this, I mean citizen’s wholesale rejection of the changes we need to implement as part of the climate transition. This would be disastrous for the future sustainability and prosperity of our societies.
In fact, it is telling that many of these crucial changes are often perceived as constraints, such as the use of cars being associated with freedom and modernity!
If there is no understanding among citizens of the huge climate challenges we face, and no awareness of the role of each stakeholder, individually or collectively, then it will be impossible to ensure society can together bring about the lasting change we need.
If there has been no dialogue on what is acceptable in the short and medium term, no exchange on solutions and alternatives, then the ecological directive will at best not be applied, and at worst rejected.
What innovative democratic actions is the city of Grenoble taking to accelerate climate action?
In 2022, Grenoble was the Green Capital of Europe. We organised the Climate Citizens’ Assembly (Convention citoyenne métropolitaine pour le climat), where 100 randomly selected citizens spent six months discussing how to achieve carbon neutrality in our territory by 2050.
The proposals they made were all the more interesting because they came from unconvinced people who were not used to contributing to public action issues. And the strength of this approach is that it was followed up with commitments from the government of our metropolis. Now, two years later, we regularly report on progress to a monitoring committee, by creating spaces for dialogue and reporting, including budgetary reporting.
Another democratic innovation we have implemented is citizens’ debates on climate. These regular debates facilitate both awareness of the issues and the development of potential solutions. We recruited ‘Climate Ambassadors,’ who are citizens that are really interested and involved in environmental issues. We trained these ambassadors in both environmental arguments, such as links between food and climate but also health, economies, etc.) and methods of citizen participation.
As a result, they contribute to lead debates in their local communities. They answer people’s questions, make sure people understand the climate issues at hand, and listen to people’s concerns, including those who wouldn’t normally contact our local government.
And to get as many people on board, we have developed a range of community initiatives aimed at educating the local public about actions they can take to contribute to climate action, including vegetarian cooking classes, workcamp with local farmers and forum theatre. These are all opportunities to exchange, experiment, train and take part in the life of the city!
Why is the upcoming Climate Democracy Lab in Grenoble important?
The Climate Democracy Lab will bring together European cities to explore how democratic innovation can strengthen climate action. Participants will exchange best practices, develop new approaches, and work together on concrete solutions.
The three-day format will allow us to create real links between participants. Working together on the same subject is much more transformative than attending conferences or workshops.
By fostering collaboration between cities, the lab will help shape a more just and sustainable future, one where citizen participation is at the heart of climate action.
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If you are interested in joining the Nets4Dem Climate Democracy Lab, taking place in Grenoble on 25-27 March, you can register here: Climate Democracy Lab Grenoble – Eurocities & Grenoble Aples Metropole
The Nets4Dem project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EU Horizon. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
All photos © Grenoble Alpes Métropole
