The role of "participatory platforms" in facilitating climate policy.
Events such as the "yellow waistcoats" protests in France against the increase in fuel taxes in May 2019 in reaction to the decarbonisation measure were later repeated in the Netherlands with protests by tractor drivers against measures to limit nitrogen emissions in the country, or the more recent mobilisations in London by workers living on the outskirts of the city against the measure to extend low-emission zones that indirectly forces a renewal of the car fleet in the City that not all households can afford.
What these mobilisations have in common is the resistance of groups suffering from economic and territorial inequalities to climate transition measures that have not arisen from a process of collective deliberation or prior public approval of the measures to be adopted, which has led to a perception of haste and injustice that has compromised their true purpose.
The economic grievances perceived by the "victims" of certain environmental policies put in place are causing a slowdown in the plans for energy transition towards a green economy that has been established as a priority in the EU, and causing a negative current in the face of measures that should have a positive impact on the environment.
Unfortunately, decarbonisation policies will continue to harm vulnerable groups if they are not accompanied by compensation policies that require a prior diagnosis of the vulnerabilities that exist in the territories where these policies are to be implemented, including a greater dose of "collective intelligence".
Participatory platforms are facilitating citizen consultations that serve to deliberate and build consensus for the promotion of actions chosen by citizens in a matter that arouses the interest of all, including the most vulnerable.
Recognising through deliberative means the vulnerabilities of the residents of a territory is leading, in some cases, to the identification of urgent environmental measures to deal with - for example - floods and droughts, problems aggravated by climatic disorders that those who have the least means to protect themselves suffer most today.
There is a demand for direct and deliberative democracy in the promotion of public policies favouring the climate transition, and it is therefore important that the most disadvantaged and those most affected by the devastating effects of climate change are involved in the diagnosis and design of measures to be adopted with a clear local impact in the territories where resistance can be avoided, and this is where participatory platforms can make a great collective contribution to the development of the green economy.
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