Emissions from transport in the city make up 29% of emissions in Southampton, making it a key area to be addressed as part of the council’s ambitions to tackle climate change with residents and businesses at the heart of what they do.
Commissioned by Southampton City Council with funding from the University of Southampton and University of Oxford, the Southampton Citizens’ Climate Assembly will focus on climate change and transport in the city in order to inform decisions which will be made on these topics, including those made by the council. The funding from the two universities is supporting innovative work to be done around the Assembly which to understand what innovations might increase the impact of recommendations made by the Assembly.
40 people from Southampton will form the citizens' assembly to shape decisions about the future of transport and responses to climate change in the city. It brings together a diverse group of people, selected to be reflective of the local area through a process called Sortition. The assembly will meet over two weekends in Autumn and Winter 2023 in-person to hear evidence, discuss with one another and develop recommendations for the City Council.
The assembly has been commissioned by Southampton City Council, with support from the University of Southampton and University of Oxford. Involve are advising on the planning of the assembly from our past experience and designing parts of the Citizen Assembly weekends.
People will receive invitations to the assembly in September 2023, further information about how invitees and others can get involved will be shared at that time.
The assembly’s collective recommendations will be publicly shared in a report soon after the final weekend in Winter 2023. This report will be presented to Southampton City Council, who will be able to use it to inform their decisions about climate change and transport in the city.