Nottingham's first citywide Citizens' Assembly creates bold plan for environment

Nottingham feels as though it is on the up recently - we have just seen the new single-tier unitary authorities policy, the City Council’s financial position has significantly improved and places such as the Green Heart space demonstrate what is possible when the city gets behind an idea. It is encouraging when I walk through Nottingham and see new developments and necessary changes being made. But this cannot distract our attention from the looming reality of the widening climate crisis on our earth. 

This week, wildfires have torn through France and Spain, driven by this crisis, forcing 375,000 people from their homes. Spain has declared a national emergency, as scientists describe a new phenomenon: ‘fire clouds’, pyrocumulonimbus storms generated by the fires themselves, with Nasa calling them the ‘fire-breathing dragon of clouds’. As we know, England is not immune from the climate crisis. This week the Environment Agency has declared half the country to be officially in drought, with July set to be the driest on record. 

Does this not sound like a dystopian reality to you?

What we need is politicians and decision makers to act on these realities, yet, with Trump doubling down on fossil fuels in the US, Farage threatening to scrap net zero (if he ever gets the chance), and our own new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, now under pressure - rightly so - from climate scientists over reports he may approve new North Sea oil drilling despite the climate reputation he built as Greater Manchester mayor, it's hard not to feel a little hopeless. 

But for Nottingham, that is where NCA comes in.  

Formed in June 2020, NCA (Nottingham Environment and Climate Assembly) is an independent, volunteer-run group, sponsored by Nottingham Green Partnership, working closely with local schools, colleges, universities and local organisations to get involved in responding to the climate crisis by bringing a more democratic approach to Nottingham's future.

I went down to their manifesto launch event on the 23 July to see the manifesto unveiled and find out what it means for the city.

Over the past two years their journey has been built up of ‘mini assemblies’, smaller sessions held with groups across the city, leading up to a full Youth Assembly, where younger residents got their own say on Nottingham's environmental future.

That foundation led to NCA's biggest event yet: a full Citizens' Assembly, held across two days in the Nottingham Council House on the 10 and 16 May. During the event citizens were tasked with creating a manifesto to build a bridge of communication between the public, the City Council, and local businesses.

The manifesto is broken into seven sectors: Food and Health, Buildings and Energy, Nature, Skills and Engagement, Transport, Waste, and Water.

From speaking to the delegates and listening to speakers, I felt as though one of the main takeaways for me was the desire to educate more people on the crisis and navigating ways we can achieve CN28. The manifesto states: “Educate younger people to create pride in their neighbourhoods and to become more active within their communities.” In such a divided society that line stood out to me. As well as the shared belief that knowledge is wealth, delegates want to see more environmental education in schools. Starting young I think is critical in aiding our future generations. 

After the talk I tucked into some of the free cake and juice, and I spoke with Deladem, one of the delegates, who is a PhD student at Nottingham Trent University. She’d worked in the Food sector and said the Assembly taught her how important it is to educate people on making healthier choices for themselves and the environment.

"The climate assembly has made me pay attention to things that ordinarily I wouldn't… I love cooking and experimenting with food, but I wasn't so particular about where things came from, how much [water] it took to produce, what chemicals are in it, etc,” she said. “But I learned so much at the assembly, now I'm really particular about what I'm putting on my plate. I'm looking at the ingredients to see if this is safe for me, or is it safe for the environment?”

"I went home and I was looking at how long it takes for an avocado plant to grow, and how much water goes into planting one avocado. If we get people to understand some of these dynamics, I think a lot of things will change for the better, and people will start making real, informed choices that are healthy, not just for humans, but for the environment, plants and everything else as well.”

The assembly challenged citizens to deliberate over a question: what would we like the environment of Nottingham to be in the future, and how can we move towards it?

The citizens heard from a range of experts and worked together in groups to explore challenges and ideas to put towards the council and policy makers allowing for a greener city, before each group put forward three manifesto points to share with the wider assembly. Subsequently a vote was held on the most important points to include in the final manifesto.

Next I met Charles, a newfound Nottingham local who only moved here thirteen months ago, but is already acting on making the city a better place. I decided to take the last chocolate brownie before we found a quiet corner to chat about what it was like working on the health sector of the manifesto.

"The groups were really diverse in terms of knowledge, area, and ethnicity. I'm a uni student and there were a lot of college students there, but I was quite young compared to a lot of the other people, so it brought many different perspectives.”

“I'm also disabled, which brings a different angle when discussing points for the manifesto. If an area is entirely pedestrianised, is it actually accessible? It's all well and good having loads of trees, but is it accessible that way? There would be many ideas someone would say, and someone else would come back with, 'Have you considered this because of my experiences, my friends', my family's experiences' - not in a method of disagreement, but really broadening the discussion.”

"It feels really important, and I feel incredibly proud that I get to do something like this."

That range of perspective wasn't an accident. NCA's 57 delegates were chosen through sortition, a kind of democratic lottery from a pool of 600 applicants, specifically selected to reflect Nottingham's population.

Personally I’m optimistic looking from a Nottingham-centric lens, as fortunately we have some supportive, driven decision-makers in place, which is a refreshing contrast to the politicians I listed earlier. Councillor Sam Lux, Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability at Nottingham City Council, is a case in point. She called the manifesto ‘nothing less than critical’ and spoke passionately at the launch about NCA's manifesto: "I'm so elated this assembly has come into fruition." She was clear-eyed about the scale of the crisis too: "Now is our last chance to act. If we don't do so in accordance with the will of Nottingham people, we aren't going to succeed."

This is a sentiment the manifesto itself reflects. The NCA states they "want a city that places both nature and residents at the heart of its decision-making process." With councillors like Sam genuinely backing that vision, it is encouraging to see these policies actually evolving.

So what’s next for the NCA? Well, they’re supporting delegates in taking the manifesto to decision makers and tracking progress against their proposals. They also aim to hold further mini assemblies, a youth assembly across the East midlands to inform people about the manifesto.

And if you're wondering how you can get involved, Nottingham Climate Assembly are always welcoming new volunteers. Head to the ‘get involved’ tab and you can find information there. 

nottinghamclimateassembly.co.uk/get-involved