News

The UK Energy Research Centre’s (UKERC) Public Engagement Observatory has just published its response to the long-awaited public participation plan of the UK Government, ‘Energising Britain: Your voice in our Clean Energy Superpower Mission’. The full response features in UKERC’s flagship Annual Review of Energy Policy.  

Prof Jason Chilvers, Director of the Observatory, said: 

“The government’s public participation plan marks a significant moment in recognising the importance of public participation in addressing climate, energy and environmental issues and in developing a more joined up approach for this across the UK. Having contributed to its development through roundtables, evidence and knowledge exchange processes with UK Government and The British Academy, it is good to see the plan making progress with commitments to recognising and responding to a range of public engagements. However, our work in the Public Engagement Observatory highlights areas where it can go further and offers pathways to support its delivery.” 

As detailed in our response, whilst the government’s plan is an important and promising start, there are three key areas where it needs to go further as it moves to delivery: 

1. Diversity and difference – What is largely missing from the plan is recognition of and ways of evidencing the diverse, existing and ongoing public engagements with climate and nature, including those public engagements that take the form of opposition, resistance, protest or dissent.  

2. Listening and responding – Taking this forward will require a concerted effort to develop new processes and tools for listening and responding to public participation and making this publicly accountable and transparent. 

3. A whole-systems approach –  Whilst several aspects of the government’s plan speak to a more joined-up and systemic approach, the Observatory’s work suggests additional elements and entities will be needed.  

The Public Engagement Observatory sees these as opportunities for the UK government to show leadership in public participation and how it is responded to. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work with government, other organisations and publics to energise a national system of climate and nature public participation that truly works with and for society.