How do different public engagements with energy and climate change work with and against each other?
What does it mean to think of public engagement as a system?
How can we create an effective system of public engagement with energy and climate change?
The first Assembly of the UKERC Public Engagement Observatory, to be held on 17 September 2026, 10:30-16:30 at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in London, brings together practitioners, policy-makers, community groups, activists and researchers working across energy, climate and public engagement to address these urgent questions.
Debates about energy and climate change are becoming increasingly polarised. There are growing disconnects and divides between different forms of public engagement – from opinion polls and citizens’ assemblies, to community action and protest – and the extent to which they are responded to by formal institutions.
A key problem is how existing approaches with their own competing versions of ‘best practice’ often consider individual public engagement processes in isolation. Yet, tackling interconnected problems like energy transitions and climate change demands more joined-up and systemic approaches to participation.
This Assembly will create an interactive and participatory space for those working with diverse kinds of public engagement with energy and climate change to make connections, learn together, and consider how to build an effective system of engagement in the UK.
Registration is by invite only. If you would like to attend but have not received an invite, please contact Dr Phedeas Stephanides (p.stephanides@uea.ac.uk).