Savoring Collaborative Intelligence

Citizens’ Climate Lobby report from the Pathway to Paris working session at the World Bank Civil Society Forum

Our Pathway to Paris World Bank Working Session, held at the Civil Society Policy Forum on Wednesday, April 15, focused on the role of direct citizen participation in the global climate negotiations. For many reasons, direct citizen participation has been limited:

1. One is there are already tens of thousands of people participating, representing interests, issues, places, solutions, grievances, and legal constructs.
2. Another is that intergovernmental negotiations generally treat the interests of citizens and stakeholders as the province of their government officials. The sovereignty and political process of nations stand in for direct engagement.
3. A third is that citizen participation is often equated to referenda, which are not always the best expression of the will of the people or the safest route to the policy that most benefits those voting.
4. But a…