Building Better Climate Futures: What Makes Citizen Participation in Local Climate Action Work

What Enables Citizen Participation in Climate Action?

Across Europe, municipalities and civil society are increasingly recognizing that achieving climate neutrality is not only a technical challenge - but a social one. Meaningful citizen participation is essential for designing, implementing, and sustaining climate solutions that are both inclusive and effective. Yet enabling such participation is no small feat.

As highlighted in Achieve project research, successful engagement depends on a supportive policy and administrative framework. Municipalities must allocate time, personnel, and resources to initiate and sustain participatory processes. As noted in the Achieve citizen participation framework, efforts flourish when they build upon traditions of civic involvement – or are championed by “policy entrepreneurs” within local administrations who actively foster grassroots collaboration.

Budapest offers a concrete example. Kinga Lőcsei-Tóth, Deputy Head of Climate and Environmental Affairs, explained that they first had to create ownership within their team. Once they had gathered motivated people around a shared mission, they were able to implement more ambitious citizen engagement initiatives.

Citizen motivation also hinges on awareness. People are more likely to engage when they understand the climate challenges their communities face and the opportunities to influence outcomes. Public education campaigns, transparent information sharing, and visible successes – like community gardens or energy cooperatives – can spark broader involvement.

But awareness alone is not enough. Low-threshold access is equally vital. Economic, social, and logistical barriers – such as time constraints, lack of digital access, or technical knowledge – can exclude many, particularly marginalized groups. Municipalities can address these by providing multiple formats like online platforms, in-person workshops, random invitations, and tailoring outreach to different audiences.

What Makes Participation Work?

Enabling participation is just the first step. For it to be meaningful, participation must be designed for transparency, continuity, and inclusivity. According to the Achieve results, successful participatory processes:

• Clearly communicate their purpose and structure,
• Provide access to relevant, comprehensible information,
• Include feedback loops so citizens understand how their input shapes outcomes,
• Are embedded in local context and sustained over time,
• Ensure diverse voices are represented.

Budapest offers a compelling example of how structured, inclusive processes can effectively engage citizens in climate governance. The city’s citizen assemblies – focused on issues such as air quality and building energy efficiency – were designed to be both representative and transparent. Lőcsei-Tóth explained that 10,000 randomly selected invitations were sent out, with careful attention to ensuring a mix in terms of age, gender, and mobility patterns. This approach helped establish strong public legitimacy. The outcomes of these assemblies were not merely symbolic; their recommendations were directly integrated into Budapest’s Climate Action Plan and even contributed to the creation of a municipal climate agency.

Freiburg’s Climate Districts project further illustrates the importance of early co-design. “Now, we’re starting with co-creation,” said Julia Wegenast, Climate Action Manager for the City of Freiburg. “We invite the citizens at the very beginning of a project, develop a shared vision with them, and create measures that are based on their needs and ideas.”

Inclusivity also means meeting people where they are. Mixed-method formats – digital and analog, structured and informal – allow more community members to participate meaningfully. Yet, these formats also have limitations. For example, digital tools can be difficult for elderly residents or those with limited technical literacy, potentially excluding voices that are vital to representative decision-making. Therefore, offering a mix of participation formats is essential to reaching a broader and more diverse audience. Inclusivity also requires addressing capacity: initiatives led solely by volunteers often struggle to sustain momentum, making structural funding and technical support critical. To ensure meaningful engagement, citizens must be guided through participatory processes with clear information, accessible tools, and transparent communication at every stage.

The Power of Social Innovation and Co-Benefits

Participation is not just a means to an end – it can catalyze new forms of innovation and collective behavior. Citizen-driven processes often spark social innovations: new ideas, practices, or institutions that emerge from communities themselves. These may include neighborhood repair cafés, energy cooperatives, or local sustainability indices like Münster’s Neighborhood Common Good Index. When citizens see tangible results – better air quality, reduced bills, greener public space – they are more likely to stay engaged.

Furthermore, social co-benefits such as enhanced trust, civic pride, or strengthened community ties can transform behavior. According to Achieve’s findings, the feeling of “doing something together” can be more powerful than financial incentives alone. Initiatives that foster collective identity and mutual support are more resilient, scalable, and socially just.

An Achieve webinar reinforced this idea. “It’s not just about climate protection – it’s about community,” Wegenast said. “When people build shared visions for their neighborhoods, they’re not only reducing emissions. They’re changing how they live together.”

A Participatory Path to Climate Neutrality

As cities and communities move toward climate neutrality, the importance of citizen participation cannot be overstated. High-integrity climate action requires not only ambitious policy, but also local empowerment. Effective participation is built on foundations of trust, inclusion, clarity, and support. When designed well, it fosters democratic renewal, unlocks creativity, and ensures that climate solutions reflect the needs – and dreams – of the people they serve. As the Achieve project continues to explore these dynamics, one lesson is clear: the road to climate neutrality runs through the public square.

Emma Kreipl wrote her Bachelor's thesis at the Öko-Institut and is now working as a student assistant. She is currently pursuing her master's degree programme in Economics at the University of Münster and University of Cologne. Nicole Coursey is an intern with Oeko-Institut. She studies Environmental Studies and Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is passionate about advancing high-integrity climate solutions. Tanja Kenkmann is a senior researcher in the Energy & Climate Division at our Freiburg office. She is an expert on municipal climate strategies and action and on the social aspects of the energy transition in the building sector.

Further Information

Website of the ACHIEVE project

Webinar's Summary Report "Cities and Citizens – Partnering for Climate Action"