Cities and Citizens: Partnering for Climate Action
Description
Climate change mitigation requires multi-level governance, in which local action plays a critical role. Cities and municipalities are not only responsible for a significant share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but also possess the proximity to citizens necessary to implement practical and participatory solutions. In this context, citizen engagement has emerged as a key mechanism to enhance the effectiveness, legitimacy, sustainability and integrity of local climate action.
The aim of the workshop is to identify and collect suitable and successful examples of citizen participation and civic engagement. Best-practice examples will be presented, their success characteristics identified and options for a wider dissemination discussed. A particular focus is on the question of how cities can promote and use the involvement of their citizens to enable initiatives to make a meaningful contribution to high integrity climate action. The spatial focus is on the EU member states.
The webinar is organised by Öko-Institut, in the context of the EU Horizon Europe project ACHIEVE and in collaboration with HOLISTIC and WWF.
Registration:
Programme
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM GMT+2
Introduction/welcoming (5 minutes)
Topic 1: The Role of the Municipality in Involving Citizens in Climate Action
- Kinga Lőcsei-Tóth (City of Budapest): How can Citizen Participation in Climate Action Work – Success Stories from Budapest (10 minutes)
- Julia Wegenast (City of Freiburg): Promoting Citizen Initiatives for Climate Action – Insights from Freiburg (10 minutes)
- Discussion (20 minutes)
Topic 2: Citizen-led Social Innovations for Collaboration between Cities and Citizens
- Chris Vrettos (REScoop EU): Citizen-Led Climate Action through Energy Co-operatives – Best Practice Examples from the EU (10 minutes)
- Lisa Kühnemann (Hansaforum Münster): What Role Can Intermediaries Play in Strengthening the Collaboration between Cities and Citizens? An Example from Münster (10 minutes)
- Discussion (20 minutes)
Wrap-up (5 minutes)