Dr. Thomas Muinzer:

I thank the Deputy for that very good question. Asking a question like that is a key to the puzzle. Those are exactly the types of questions we should be thinking about. What public engagement would look like in adequate legislation is not an easy question. There is probably no magic bullet or one-size-fits-all solution that would suit all jurisdictions. To some extent this needs to be concretised in the context of specific jurisdictions.

I will confine myself to issues relating to the legislation. Some approaches taken in Ireland, such as the citizens' assemblies, are widely admired as positive examples of how the public can be engaged to usefully inform action on certain issues. That has included climate governance in this jurisdiction. Ireland has some things to be proud of and has set a good tone in that area. We must then turn to the question of how these important components might be built into the legislation itself. As the Deputy suggests, we can take a cursory look at what is happening elsewhere. The UK's Climate Change Act 2008 has something of a blind spot in this area. The Scots perceived this when constructing the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, and tried to make some improvements in that area. They built some public engagement elements into that legislation which chiefly hinge on the development of a public engagement strategy. As part of this strategy, the Government and the devolved institutions need to engage with the public to raise consciousness of climate change and mobilise its interests. They must emphasise that through their energy choices, members of the public are players in the game of energy decarbonisation and transition. Some of those elements are linked to ensuring the principles of a just transition suffuse society as these changes occur.

That accounts for Scotland. To my knowledge these Acts are springing up like wildfire. When I started my book there was a very small number. At that time, it was widely held that the best legislation was that of the Netherlands. There was an extremely robust public participation process prior to the passage of the legislation. That was carried over into the Dutch Climate Act, which sets out a framework for citizens' participation. I encourage the committee members to look at that legislation. It provides a framework for public participation. This is complemented by a climate agreement setting out specific actions the Dutch Government is required to take in order to mobilise public engagement. These include monitoring public views, trying to raise consciousness of the problem of climate change and emphasising the public's engagement and interest in the process. It is very useful to look at the Netherlands and Scotland. We can also think creatively within our own tradition of citizens' assemblies to colour our legislation.