The Scottish Government has published a research report on Scotland's Climate Assembly. The evaluation report, published on 31 March 2022, was undertaken by civil servants from Scottish Government in collaboration with Dr Stephen Elstub from Newcastle University.
Scotland’s Climate Assembly met on seven weekends between November 2020 and March 2021 to address the question: How should Scotland change to tackle the climate emergency in an effective and fair way? The assembly’s recommendations were presented to the Scottish Parliament on 23 June 2021 to which the Scottish Government responded on 16 December 2021. The assembly met for an eighth weekend in February 2022 to discuss and produce a formal reaction to the Government’s response.
The research report assesses the assembly process, impact, and assembly members’ experience. It finds that Scotland’s Climate Assembly was well organized and highlighted innovations, including the involvement of the Children’s Parliament. The report identifies a number of lessons for future climate assemblies related to scope and remit, the provision of evidence, and participant wellbeing. Areas for further research are identified, including the need for analysis of the long-term impact of Scotland’s Climate Assembly, and comparative analyses with other climate assemblies.
