Masterclass 10 February 2021
How to maintain democratic consent for the climate transition?
Heather Grabbe (https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/people/heather-grabbe) is director of Open Society European Policy Institute in Brussels.
This lecture focuses on the topic of how to involve civilians in climate policies, how to better interact with our communities on climate action, to strive for a joined vision and/or cope with different views is still a very actual and urgent one, also in the Netherlands.
OSEPI will present findings from two research projects they undertook on the topic, led respectively by Jan Eichhorn and Catherine Fieschi. The first one <https://dpart.org/climate-crisis-messages/> investigates people’s understanding of climate change and what actions they are willing to take and/or support to counter it. The second one counterpoint.uk.com/projects/mapping-dissent-and-securing-consent-for-climate-policy-in-a-post-covid-19-europe/ explores the potential for organised resistance online to disrupt the democratic consensus on climate change, and analyses how to secure consent for action in a post-COVID-19 Europe.
The research gives answers to questions such as which factors determine people’s view on climate change - are those demographic factors, political ideology or rather knowledge about climate change? What sort of attitude changes are likely to result in greater willingness for personal engagement and support of government climate action? And what is the state of potential dissent against European climate policy? Where are the weak signals of upcoming flashpoints against it and how are they shaped by the social and political cultures from which they will emerge?
OSEPI is part of the Open Society Foundations. Active in more than 120 countries around the world, the Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens.