Citizens assemblies and global warming (short essay)

« “Citizens’ assemblies are not an effective way of combating the effects of global warming.” This December on the 4 th Emmanuel Macron said in a BRUT live interview that it seems that the citizens engaged in climate action are against the government when they have to act together.

But five years after the Paris agreement, we are heading to a rise of temperature between 4 and 7°C by 2030.

We desperately need to keep this rise down to 2°C to prevent irreversible damages; the main goal of this agreement was to lower by 40% the greenhouse gas emissions in France by 2030 but their having lowered it by only 1% has made their climate inaction obvious. However, the president agreed last year to a citizens' assembly for climate action, “Convention citoyenne pour le climat”.

But is it one of the greenwashing techniques of the government or is it a truly an effective way of combating the effects of global warming? Citizens' assemblies are a promising way of resolving problems within the country: an assembly of randomly picked citizens that represents the diversity of the population? Finally “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” would make sense.

“We, the people”, as Greta Thunberg said.

Indeed every citizen is involved at a global scale when it relates to global warming since every citizen will endure even more deadly heatwaves, diseases and natural hazards by 2030.

And it seems that we've already taken the lead on these.

It looks like whenever the government is subject to a lot of criticism, as for its inaction for global warming in France, Citizens' assemblies are an excuse for wasting time. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that every government can adopt drastic measures for a common problem.

After all, that's the role of a government: to determine and to lead the policy of the country.

Citizens' assemblies should not be a new democracy, we already have one.

How can citizens' assemblies help to lower our carbon footprint when deputies like Laurent Saint-Martin in France are doing their best to reject or reduce ABC propositions for climate, as ecological tax reform.

Indeed citizens' assemblies alone are not an effective way of combating the effects of global warming, especially when the government is not with them but against them. In a country where NGOs and 2 million citizens are suing the state for its climate inaction better known as “l'Affaire du siècle”, french citizens and the government do not seem to get along on climate emergency.

However, the citizens' assembly “Convention citoyenne pour le climat” could prove us wrong: In 2019 Emmanuel Macron committed to submit the propositions of this assembly “without filter”.

This December he rectified: “it's not the Bible!” justifying some modifications and “jokers” he accorded himself.

Citizens' assemblies are an effective way of combating the effects of global warming, on condition of being supported by the government and not being used by it as a greenwashing approach to the climate crisis. Wanting a revolution has been tempting in these particularly frustrating and discouraging times, but we have to gather we can't turn against one another. 500 words.. »