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© LOCALISED

To promote citizen participation at the local level in Europe and as part of the Horizon EU project LOCALISED, ÖGUT is currently developing the „Citizen Engager“, a collection of effective methods including step-by-step instructions for citizen participation in the field of local climate policy. Its aim is to enable citizens and local decision-makers to shape climate policy together and take a further step towards making local climate strategies and measures socially just and inclusive.

The EU has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this goal, decarbonization and climate adaptation measures must also be implemented at the level of cities, regions and in the everyday lives of citizens.

Citizen Engager: A tool for involving vulnerable groups in local climate policy

The Citizen Engager’s primary target group is local and regional decision-makers across Europe, including elected representatives, politicians, and civil servants. These actors play a crucial role in the successful implementation of climate policy at the local level.

Establishing and implementing participation processes effectively

The Citizen Engager aims to provide these target groups precisely with the knowledge and methods they need to effectively set up and implement citizen participation processes at local level. Particular attention is paid to the involvement of vulnerable groups, namely those people who are potentially most negatively affected and socially vulnerable to the implementation of climate policy measures.

Practical examples from case studies included

The Citizen Engager will be available in summer 2025. Case studies are currently underway in three partner cities and regions, the results of which also provide practical examples of successful citizen participation. The final version of the “citizen engager” has been published in July 2025 and can be downloaded here: https://www.localised-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Citizen-Engager.pdf

Example of „active listening“ from Barcelona

One case study comes from the City of Barcelona, an important partner in the LOCALISED project. Barcelona city partners organized a series of events based on a form of citizen engagement known as „active listening“. In these events, members of different vulnerable groups are asked to discuss their insights on the impact of climate change in their day-to-day life.

The events were attended by citizens from various neighborhoods of Barcelona, who are given the space to share their fears and needs in relation to climate change. The city government of Barcelona wants to use the feedback collected in this way to shape its future climate policy planning in a way which is more attentive of the needs of vulnerable groups and, thus, more socially just. The findings from this participation process will also be published in the Citizen Engager. They are a practical example of the successful mobilization and involvement of vulnerable groups.ÖGUT’s participation experts, Maxie Riemenschneider and Anita Susani, are documenting this case study with the support of the Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya (IREC), a technical partner of LOCALISED based in Barcelona. IREC colleagues participate as observers in several of these sessions, which are held in Catalan and Spanish, and collect feedback, impressions and photos. Their observations are important to show how methods of citizen participation can be improved and when they are successful.

Want to know more?

Would you like to find out more about the Citizen Engager and the EU project LOCALISED? We keep you up to date with the latest news in the ÖGUT newsletter. Click here to subscribe: https://www.oegut.at/de/initiativ/newsletter/