A participation between technical and political. Typology of the measures of three national Climate Assemblies

Speed limitation on highways, payment for carbon storage, legislation on the crime of ecocide… The measures proposed by the national Climate Assemblies to tackle climate change are of various types. Their elaboration involved very different kinds of work and relations between citizens and experts. The aim of this paper is to propose a typology of the measures made by three national Climate Assemblies (Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat, Climate Assembly UK, Bürgerrat Klima) based on their construction (their origin, their reception by the citizens, the kind and frequency of expertise needed). By following the sessions of a variety of climate assemblies very different dynamics at the working tables have been observed, depending on the proposals discussed. Some were moving forward rapidly, and were closely framed by expert support or documents, while others were giving rise to heated debates among citizens and lacked external input. Five types of measures were distinguished leading to a typology: sectorial measures (ex : mandatory energy renovation of buildings), technical measures (ex : carbon adjustment at the EU's borders), sobriety measures (ex : limiting speed on highways), economic regulation measures (ex : reducing working time) and fundamental measures (ex : amendment of the Constitution’s preamble). Each one is the result of specific trajectories of citizens’ expertise and relations between citizens and experts. In developing the typology this article contributes to understanding the relationships between technical and political domains on climate governance.