In Brief

About the project

German climate policy faces a double challenge: on the one hand, it must achieve ambitious goals in order to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the requirements of the Climate Protection Act. On the other hand, it is increasingly encountering social tensions – especially when measures deeply affect people's everyday lives, such as in the transport or building sectors. In such situations, it becomes clear time and again that political decisions stall if they do not enjoy broad social support.

This is where the project comes in. The basic idea is that deliberative participation can open up new ways of participation. Randomly selected citizens' assemblies allow for informed, fair and constructive discussions on complex issues, and bring perspectives to the table that are usually not heard in traditional political processes. Combined with stakeholder participation, they can ensure broad support for policies. In other countries and at the municipal level in Germany, such formats have already contributed successfully to resolving controversial issues. At the federal level, however, there is still no structural anchoring.

The project aims to close this gap. Our partner 'Klimamitbestimmung e.V.' is developing scenarios for how deliberative participation can be integrated as an integral part of German climate protection governance - for example in the Climate Protection Act (KSG). In contrast to previous ad hoc procedures, the aim is to create an institutionalized participation mechanism.

To this end, Klimamitbestimmung e.V. is conducting a comprehensive feasibility study. The study is based on interviews with experts from politics, administration, science and civil society, a co-creation workshop, a legal opinion and literature analyses. Each scenario will be evaluated according to specific criteria such as political feasibility, legal feasibility, effort and impact.

The aim is to make climate policy more democratic, more effective and more resilient to social tensions, thereby making a concrete contribution to sustainable transformation and strengthening our democracy.

Your contact

Leonie Disselkamp
Klimamitbestimmung e.V.
e-mail to Leonie Disselkamp
Simon Wehden
Klimamitbestimmung e.V.
e-mail to Simon Wehden

Contact at Robert Bosch Stiftung

Sylvia Hirsch
Senior Project Manager
Phone+49 711 46084-823
e-mail to Sylvia Hirsch