When it comes to political conversations these days, the idea of meaningful dialogue seems almost quaint. As we are reminded when passively doom-scrolling on social media, we live in a deeply polarised world, where every issue has its designated villains.
In such a heated political culture, the thought of actually sitting down with someone who holds views that oppose our own can fill us with dread. The all-too-familiar phrase heard at social gatherings – “Can we please not talk about politics?” – testifies to the discomfort that many feel.
It is often cognitively easier to retreat into the safety of like-minded individuals or disengage from politics altogether. But seeking sanctuary from politics comes at a cost, especially when facing society’s most pressing issues. Graham Smith’s We Need to Talk about Climate serves as a response to this problem, introducing the lesser-known but flourishing world of climate assemblies.
But what exactly are climate assemblies? The phrase is shorthand for citizens’ assemblies that focus specifically on climate and ecological issues. More broadly, citizens’ assemblies are a democratic innovation that brings together a group of ordinary people to discuss important issues, a bit like jury service but for politics. At the heart of assemblies are two key concepts: democratic lottery, and deliberation.
Smith argues that polarisation flourishes in environments where people rarely interact with others who think differently. Climate assemblies seek to break down these barriers through democratic lottery, or sortition, where participants are chosen based on diverse criteria such as age, gender, ethnicity and geography. This ensures that the assembly is representative of the wider population, encouraging genuine dialogue between people who might otherwise never engage.
Deliberation is the second cornerstone of assemblies. Unlike the combative shouting and heckling typical of parliamentary politics, deliberation is about thoughtful and respectful exchange, with participants working together to reach collective decisions.
Smith then takes readers through a detailed examination of the first wave of climate assemblies, which have been taking place across Europe since 1999. Despite their varying structures and outcomes, one thing is clear: in nearly every instance, these assemblies produce recommendations far more ambitious than the policies currently being pursued by governments.
But if climate assemblies are so promising, why haven’t they made a bigger impact? This is the question Smith tackles in the latter half of the book, where he analyses both their successes and their shortcomings. He identifies areas for improvement, such as clearer mandates, stronger follow-up, and more robust engagement with stakeholders and the public.
When it comes to the impact of climate assemblies, however, Smith acknowledges that there is a fundamental “clash of operational logics” at play between the state and the assemblies. On the one hand, governments are guided by short-term political and economic interests within electoral cycles. On the other hand, climate assemblies stimulate the long-term, systems-based thinking necessary for addressing the climate and ecological crises.
Looking ahead, Smith highlights that civil-society-led assemblies could hold the key to overcoming these obstacles. By operating outside the constraints of traditional political structures, they have the potential to push for the deep, structural changes needed to address the climate emergency. In fact, grassroots movements are already emerging to support and expand climate assemblies, showing that there is growing momentum for this approach.
At first glance, this book’s central premise of bringing strangers together to talk about the climate and ecological crises might seem too simple or optimistic a solution, given the scale of the problem. Yet, in a political landscape fractured by ideological silos and culture wars, it may be one of the most radical and necessary suggestions there is.
We Need to Talk about Climate: How Citizens’ Assemblies Can Help Us Solve the Climate Crisis by Graham Smith. University of Westminster Press, 2024. ISBN: 9781915445568
