After the climate assembly: a mixed methods study on the impacts of participation on political attitudes and climate behaviours

Climate assemblies are a novel method of public consultation in which quasi randomly selected citizens are brought together to learn about climate change, discuss with their fellow citizens, and recommend solutions to the commissioning body. While previous studies have considered the effects of participation on citizens' assembly members' attitudes and behaviour, there have been few studies on climate assemblies (see Andrews 2022). This is an important gap as the number for meaningful climate action to be implemented. Moreover, most studies have not provided longitudinal analysis, rely on quantitative data only and are experimental. In this paper, we explore the long-term impacts of participating in a climate assembly on the assembly members' climate knowledge, views, political engagement and consumption behaviours. We draw on a mixed method study that included survey data collected from members of Climate Assembly UK (CAUK) during and after the assembly, and interview data collected shortly after the assembly's conclusion to explore the underlying reasons for changes in a real case. We show that assembly members were more concerned about climate change and were more likely to engage in climate-conscious consumption habits following CAUK than before the assembly. Notably, these changes were evident 12 and 29 months after the end of the assembly, suggesting that members maintained the new habits and attitudes that formed following CAUK's conclusion. This paper contributes to debates about the role of citizens in climate policymaking.