Southwark Council began the first of its’ Climate Change Citizens’ Jury sessions last week, in a move that has got support from Extinction Rebellion, one of the council’s most vocal critics.
The jury, funded by the council, is made up 25 locals who are supposed to be representative of the borough. They applied to learn about and make recommendations on issues that will help the borough become greener.
Though they met for the first time last week on Wednesday November 25, their primary areas of focus will be announced in early 2022.
Extinction Rebellion Southwark (XR Southwark) have frequently criticised the council’s response to climate change, including accusing them of “sticking their heads in the sand” during a protest last month.
However, Eloise Waldon-Day, coordinator for XR Southwark, was pleased to see the Climate Jury introduced.
“If we decarbonise effectively, it will be a transformation unlike any any of use have seen in our lifetimes,” she said.
“That should be done in consultation with citizens.
“This jury is one of the foundational requests of XR Southwark, and we’ve been lobbying for it for three years.
“Climate change is bigger than just the political system, and it’s going to take everyone to work together on all sides of politics.
“Part of that is engaging the public more on climate action response.”
Each week the jury members will meet and be presented with a climate change topic of discussion by a subject matter expert. In this process, they will be able to go into detail and at the end provide the council with recommendations, based on their discussion.
“In theory, the jury gets really into the detail,” said Eloise. “They get access to what experts they need. You’ve got this very representative group of citizens, which lawmakers are often not.”
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency and Sustainable Development, said: “The Citizens’ Jury is critical to our work, as it will bring different perspectives, experiences and ideas to the table to inform and strengthen our climate plans.
“Its recommendations will give us local insight into the areas that matter most to both local people and our environment, and I want to thank the Jurors who are giving up their time to participate.
“Working together will help make the difference we need for a sustainable future.”
However, XR Southwark did raise some concerns.
Despite overall praising the council’s move to introduce the jury, Eloise did add: “I’m worried in advance that they may not adopt the recommendations of the jury, or insist that they just don’t have the budget.
“Will the jurors just be met with a ‘thank you very much, bye now?’
“Especially because the election is straight after the jury ends.”
The Southwark Council local elections will take place on May 5 2022, while the climate jury is set to have their last session on February 3.
A so-called “purdah” period will be in place for several weeks in the lead-up to the election, during which the council is limited on what they can publicly announce.
This may leave limited time for them to introduce any policies that come as a result of the jury.
Cllr Dennis added in response to the concerns: “Our Citizen’s Jury reflects many of Southwark’s diverse communities. It also has people of different ages, genders, wealth, housing and with different ideas about climate change. Making sure that this panel represents many different people is a priority for us.
“We are excited to hear what actions the Jury will recommend. We will work to adopt changes within the council’s capacity.”
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