How Can Citizens’ Juries Enhance Public Trust and Legitimacy in Climate Policy-making?

Author: Merle Clara Riebandt

The below article is one of a series of blogs based on a Policy Brief shortlisted as a finalist for the 2025 Chronos Sustainability Prizes

What is the Issue and Why is it Important?  

Many nations are facing the issue of climate policies that fall short in addressing the climate crisis. At the same time, trust in policymakers is declining. Participatory approaches, such as citizen juries on climate, are increasingly being proposed as solutions to address both issues. Based on the principle of deliberation and a bottom-up approach to climate policy-making, citizen juries can effectively enhance legitimacy and trust in policies and governmental institutions.

Over 200 assemblies and juries dealing with climate issues took place in Europe over recent years. While most citizen juries take place in Europe, similar forms of public participation are increasingly being seen in countries in the Global South. When effectively implemented, citizen juries can significantly enhance public trust, ensure inclusive climate policy-making and make policies more context-specific.

Key Findings

Citizen assemblies juries can face challenges in terms of their ability to effect or influence policy-making, in terms of their visibility, and in terms of their representativeness. While the specific details of how best to implement such assemblies and juries are context and country-specific, their legitimacy and effectiveness can be enhanced through:

• Integrating citizen juries into the policy process at an early stage: Setting up a citizen jury at the beginning of the policy cycle allows for a flow of information both ways.

• Clarifying the role of citizen juries: It must be clear, from the beginning, what policy questions the citizen jury is advising on and how the jury’s recommendations will be incorporated into the policy cycle.

• Ensuring cross-party support for citizen juries: Citizen juries should be launched and supported by parties across the political spectrum. This will help ensure their legitimacy and ensure that there is commitment to adopting or implementing the recommendations of these juries.

• Enhancing the representativeness of citizen juries: When designing such assemblies and juries, the participants should resemble a microcosm of the broader public, representing different characteristics and opinions.

• Responding to the recommendations from citizen juries: Governments should provide formal responses to jury recommendations, outlining how they decided to take up (or not) their policy recommendations. This enhances transparency and contributes to establishing trust and legitimacy.

• Communicating the work of citizen juries: It is important to publicise the jury process (including the processes for making appointments to these juries), the jury outcomes (or recommendations) and the government responses to these recommendations. These processes will enhance trust in climate policymaking. A practical consequence that a significant budget needs to be allocated to media and outreach activities.

Notes:

Merle Clara Riebandt’s policy brief titled “How can Citizen’s Juries Enhance Public Trust and Legitimacy in Climate Policy-making?” was shortlisted for the Chronos Sustainability Postgraduate Prize 2025. You can read the full brief here. Merle studied Political Science in Amsterdam and Paris and is completing her Master’s in Environmental Policy and Regulation at LSE. She has experience in environmental advocacy and has worked for Germany’s main development agency and for an environmental NGO.