The Core Assembly process
The 100 Core Assembly members spent 68 hours together, online, over 11 weeks between Oct 7th and December 18th 2021.
They considered the following question: “How can humanity address the climate and ecological crisis in a fair and effective way?”
The Global Assembly’s Knowledge and Wisdom Committee chose this framing question. The purpose of the Committee was to ensure that the Global Assembly’s learning phase was grounded in evidence.
Assembly members used the resources from the Information Booklet developed by the Knowledge and Wisdom Committee, together with presentations from speakers and supplementary materials, to understand the climate and ecological crisis. They considered possible future scenarios and developed principles to guide policy-makers. Read their Declaration to COP26.
To support the learning journey of the Assembly Members, information was provided in three ways: via an information booklet supplemental workbook and video recorded presentations.
During block 1 and block 2, the Assembly Members explored the content of the information booklet developed by the Knowledge and Wisdom Committee.
During block 3, they heard from speakers and witnesses chosen by the Knowledge and Wisdom Committee using a supplemental workbook designed to guide engagement with the booklet.
During block 4 & 5, they heard from speakers and witnesses invited to speak on topics crowdsourced from Assembly Members, and video recorded presentations from Assembly Members.
The role of Speakers
Deliberative processes such as the Global Assembly involve interaction between the Assembly Members and speakers, who provide input to support the participants’ learning and discussion.
Speakers in the Global Assembly have the primary role of providing participants with evidence in an accessible and engaging way, and to highlight the trade-offs to be considered in the deliberation phase of the Assembly.
Speaker and witness videosThe role of Witnesses
Following on from the speakers' presentations, the Assembly members hear from witnesses: people who have a specific perspective or interpretation of the evidence, including perspectives gained from lived experience. Such witnesses could include: advocacy groups, for example, or experts with a particular take on a topic.
The witnesses present their perspectives or interpretations, so that the trade-offs highlighted by the speakers can be brought to life.
Speaker and Witness videosObjectives of block 1
Induction of Assembly Members
Introduction to the Global Assembly
Introduction to the current climate & ecological situation
Introduction to global decision-making on biodiversity
Schedule
1. October 7 : Session 1.1B - Induction to the Global Assembly & home Breakout group, story sharing about great grandparents & visions for great grandchildrens’ lives, generating conversation principles
2. October 9 : Session 1.2P - Opening Plenary - Climate and Ecological Crisis, iterative review of consolidated Conversation Principles
(Chapter 1 & 2 information booklet & supplemental workbook)
3. October 12 : Session 1.3B - Causes of the crisis & Governance of Biodiversity
(Chapter 3 and 4B information booklet & supplemental workbook)
4. October 13 : Session 1.4B - Impacts of the climate and ecological crisis, iterative review of consolidated Conversation Principles
(Chapter 5 information booklet & supplemental workbook)
Objectives of block 2
Introduction to global decision-making on climate
Learn and discuss temperature rise scenarios & pathways for reducing emissions
Vote on conversation principles
Discuss fairness and effectiveness
Schedule
1. October 14: Session 2.1B - Governance on Climate, Climate models & projected changes
(Chapter 4A & chapter 6 information booklet & supplemental workbook)
2. October 16: Session 2.2P - Climate Action already taken & Reflections on current actions and visions of the future, vote on Conversation Principles
Speaker: COP26 President Alok Sharma
Chapter 7 & 9 information booklet & supplemental workbook)
3. October 19: Session 2.3B - Fairness Speaker
Speaker: Farhana Yamin - Climate Lawyer & Advisor, Climate Vulnerable Forum
4. October 20: Session 2.4B - Witnesses & Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Witness: Vaine Wichman - Cook Islands Council of Women presentation
Witness: Saad Alfarargi - UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development
Objectives of block 3
Deliberate on fairness principles, scenarios & pathways
Produce, review and refine co-created inputs for COP26 Submissions
Vote on COP submission
Schedule
1. October 21: 3.1B - Right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (UN declaration) & Rights of Mother Earth (Civil Society declaration) & Witnesses
Witness: Jojo Metha - Executive Director Stop Ecocide
2. October 23: 3.2P - Review collective inputs, witnesses and deliberation
Witness: Paul Ekin - Professor of Resources and Environment Policy, University College London
Witness: Christopher Jackson - Petroleum Geoscientist, PetroVision Energy Nigeria Ltd
4. October 26: 3.3B - Iterative review and consolidation of COP submissions
5. October 30: 3.4P - Q&As with experts, Review and vote upon the consolidated COP submissions, named by Assembly Member vote as “Peoples’ Declaration on the Sustainable Future of Planet Earth”
Objectives of Block 4
Deliver “Peoples’ Declaration on the Sustainable Future of Planet Earth” to COP26
Observe COP26 and share reflections with peer Members
Crowdsource topics and speakers for Block 5
Review submissions to COP26, incorporation of observations from COP26
Schedule
November 1-13: Online observation of COP26 events
November 16: 4.1B Reflect on COP26, review Declaration in the context of COP26 learnings, generate additional topics for the Block 5 deliberation
November 20: 4.2P Speakers on COP26 outcomes & connections to Peoples’ Declaration, deliberate on effectiveness in addressing the climate & ecological crisis
Speaker: Bob Watson - Chair of the Knowledge & Wisdom Committee
Speaker: Purnamita Dasgupta - Environmental Economist, Institute of Economic Growth
Speaker: Sameemul Huq - Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
Speaker: Hazel Healy - Co-Editor, New Internationalist
Speaker: James Dykes - Assistant Director, Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter
Objectives of Block 5
Review and revise submissions to COP26 as a public statement, incorporation of observations from COP26 & additional topics crowdsourced from Assembly Members in Block 4
Set agenda for the future of the Global Assembly
Schedule
December 4: 5.1P Continued reflection on COP26 with a focus on connections to Members’ lives and communities, deliberation on the purpose & audience of the Peoples’ Declaration
December 7: 5.2B Observation of excerpt from COP Blue Zone Plenary ratifying coal amendment, recorded presentation from Assembly Members on energy, fossil fuels & just transition, deliberation on energy transition
Assembly Member speaker: Sanjay
Assembly Member speaker: Jan
December 11: 5.3P Breakouts divided into 3 streams of deliberation on Awareness & Education, Monitoring & Enforcement and Energy Transition (top 3 topics crowdsourced from Assembly Members in Block 4). Breakouts review & comment on existing clauses in the Peoples’ Declaration, deliberation on additional inputs into the Declaration
Schedule continued...
On Awareness & Education
Assembly Member speaker: Dalitso
Assembly Member speaker: Soren
Assembly Member speaker: Farhat
On Energy Transition
Speaker: Julia Steinberger - Professor of Ecological Economics at University of Lausanne (speaker)
Monitoring & Enforcement
Speaker: Ipshita Chaturvedi - Partner, Dentons Rodyk LLP Environment and Natural Resources practice (speaker)
Assembly Member speaker: Elizabeth
December 14: 5.4B Iterative review on consolidated inputs into the Peoples’ Declaration
December 16: 5.5B Review and vote on inputs into the Peoples’ Declaration, continued iterative review of consolidated inputs into the Peoples’ Declaration
December 18: 5.6P Final review and vote on Peoples’ Declaration, deliberation and voting on Assembly Members’ “alumni” role in the Global Assembly and future direction of Global Assembly
Final Plenary Session
To close the Global Assembly for 2021, we heard closing statements from the Global Support Team, followed by Assembly Member presentations from each Breakout room.
To enable 100 Assembly Members (AMs), across 20 Breakout Rooms, to co-create a shared document, the Global Assembly adopted an iterative co-production approach.
During deliberations, Notetakers recorded Assembly Members’ (AMs) comments. A team of 4 Editors and an Editor Coordinator consolidated the recorded comments from 20 Breakout Rooms, clustering similar ideas to produce one document reflecting the collective inputs of the AMs. To ensure transparency, consolidation work was tracked on templates, to record which “raw comments” from AMs were clustered into a consolidated statement.
Then, each consolidated draft was reviewed and commented on in Breakout Rooms. These interventions, recorded by Notetakers, were reviewed by Editors to integrate into another draft consolidation. This process of consolidation, review and iteration was repeated for the co-production of the Assembly Members’ Conversation Principles and for the Peoples’ Declaration on the Sustainable Future of Planet Earth.
For both documents, AMs voted statement-by-statement, indicating “yes, approve”, “no, do not approve” or “abstain”, along with an explanation of their vote. In the case that there was a simple majority, the statement was included in the final document.
For the Peoples’ Declaration, an Explanatory Note will be published, along with the Final Report in March 2022, containing consolidations of the explanations given by AMs for both assenting & assenting opinions, and abstentions.
In the case that there was not a simple majority reached on a statement, the Editors would have consolidated an additional iteration of the statement, based on explanations for dissenting votes, to be reviewed and voted again. Given failure to reach a simple majority, the co-production process ensures this procedure be repeated as many times as possible. An outcome is not presupposed; if AMs do not reach a simple majority on a statement(s) during the allotted time, it is not included in the final document. There was no statement during the 2021 Global Assembly which did not pass with a simple majority in the first round of voting.
Further elaboration of the Co-production Approach, along with internal & external evaluation, will be published in the Final Report in March 2022.
Find out more about the groundbreaking worldwide civic lottery through which participants were chosen.
How participants were chosen