Open Government for the Green Transition

Executive summary

Environmental issues – and climate change in particular – represent some of the most significant challenges facing our societies and governments. Governments have gradually come to recognise the importance of fully involving citizens and stakeholders in the design, implementation, and monitoring of dedicated policies, as their effectiveness is closely linked to the acceptance, ownership, and active engagement of those stakeholders. In this context, the integrated implementation of open government practices has the potential to bring the green transition within citizens’ reach.

By identifying good practices, this report provides governments and practitioners with tools to more meaningfully and effectively engage citizens throughout the green policy cycle at various levels, thereby making them key actors in the green transition and the broader societal transformation it entails.

Informing and communicating to support meaningful public engagement in the green transition

Government provision of relevant, reliable, and up-to-date information to citizens is essential for their involvement in the green transition. It is therefore necessary to ensure the systematic dissemination of certain types of information related to climate change, which also helps reduce the scope for misinterpretation. In this regard, it is useful to further develop general legal frameworks related to access to information and open data so they can be adapted and made fit for purpose to support the green transition. Ensuring that the legal framework addresses the issue of environmental information held by private entities is also a key challenge for strengthening transparency and building public trust in government.

Likewise, green open data that is reliable, standardised, up-to-date and reusable offers opportunities to improve climate policymaking, enhance the transparency of climate action, and empower citizens and stakeholders to develop innovative solutions.

Public communication also plays a role in involving citizens throughout the green policy cycle, strengthening levels of trust, encouraging behaviour change and action, and helping to combat misinformation and disinformation. A growing number of actors are drawing on innovative practices and tools – such as audience segmentation and values-based communication – which help to better understand public concerns and choose the most appropriate communication channels. Developing a strategic approach to communication around the green agenda enables it to become a true instrument of government action across the policy cycle. It supports the establishment of two-way dialogue with citizens, ensures the coherence and relevance of messages, strengthens whole-of-government alignment around shared policy goals, and thereby effectively supports the green transition.

Consulting citizens and stakeholders to strengthen the relevance and legitimacy of green policies

The consultation of citizens and stakeholders on the green agenda has gradually become embedded in the practices of many countries. While this practice is increasingly being institutionalised, with some countries having established permanent dedicated bodies, there is still room for improvement to enhance the quality and impact of consultation processes related to the green agenda. Digital technologies can help to broaden the reach of consultation processes, collect and process a large volume of contributions, and communicate more easily on the results of participatory processes to ensure accountability. The adoption of hybrid formats increases participation opportunities, allowing citizens to contribute in various ways while helping to mitigate the risk of exclusion posed by digital-only approaches. Finally, greater efforts are needed to consult populations most affected by the consequences of climate change and the environmental crisis, through dedicated mechanisms and dialogue frameworks.

Participation beyond consultation to ensure citizens are actively involved in the green agenda

Innovative forms of citizen participation have spread over the last few decades, encouraging the co-construction of public policies and services and the active participation of citizens in defining and implementing the green agenda. Mechanisms such as participatory green budgets have proliferated at the local level, enabling citizens to play an active role in mitigation and adaptation efforts at their level. Deliberative processes, such as climate assemblies at national and local levels, are also often mobilised to address environmental and climate issues. While they offer many advantages, there are also opportunities to bring these processes closer to the general public by mobilising public communication and digital resources and strengthening the connection between these processes and public decision-making. Beyond the national and local levels, new frontiers of citizen participation are also emerging through pilot initiatives to re-engage citizens in international negotiations and the growing interest in the concept of the "commons" for co-management of public affairs at the local level.

Towards integrated, effective and meaningful citizen participation in the green transition

In conclusion, this report highlights various opportunities for fully (re)engaging citizens in the green transition, notably through the adoption of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to citizen participation practices, methodologies and mechanisms. To go further, governments could consider formally embedding open government principles across the board in the design of "green governance". Finally, governments need to renew their commitment to effective and meaningful citizen participation by ensuring transparency and accountability of implemented processes, better aligning them with political and budgetary decision-making and the internal workings of government and making dedicated efforts to remove barriers to participation for the most vulnerable or marginalised citizens.