What would home energy policies look like if they were designed by people who lived in those homes? Our new report presents the findings of a citizens’ panel addressing this question. We brought together a group of home owners with advisors from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to design people-friendly policies to bring down emissions and save money on energy bills.

Over several sessions, panellists built their knowledge about how home energy use impacts climate change, and what could be done to reduce emissions and bills. They then developed proposals designed to meet the scale of the challenge in ways which work for  different households across the UK. CCC analysts took part in discussions and are now using the findings to help inform its advice on policy to address home emissions.

You can read the full report here.
Please join us for the launch of a new report on decarbonising home energy. The report presents the findings of a citizens’ panel run in collaboration with the Climate Change Committee (CCC). In the panel, 24 members of the public worked with analysts from the CCC to design a package of measures to support UK homeowners in bringing home energy use down in line with the UK’s 2050 net zero commitment.

The report will be used as evidence for the CCC’s advice to government on decarbonising domestic buildings.

The event will be chaired by Professor Rebecca Willis, leader of the Climate Citizens project and co-author of the report.

Speakers include:

  • Chris Stark, Climate Change Committee

  • Jacob Ainscough, Lancaster University

  • Elizabeth Blakelock, Citizens Advice


You will also hear from panellists who took part in the projects about their experience and message for government.

Register here.
Rebecca Willis contributed to a special climate issue of Centre Write, the in-house journal of the think-tank Bright Blue. Rebecca argues that the brewing gas price crisis offers an opportunity for a proper societal conversation on the future of energy policy in the UK, if only politicians can grasp it. Rebecca urges the Government to be bold and champion deliberation as a way to overcome division and forge consensus on the pathway to achieving the UK's climate goals.

You can read the full article here.
Rebecca Willis
Rebecca Willis has a new paper with fellow deliberative theorists Nicole Curato and Graham Smith. The paper discussing the recent upsurge in deliberative mini-publics on climate and energy related issues. The authors critically evaluate the role of mini-publics and deliberative democracy more broadly can play in helping democratic societies navigate the climate crisis.

You can read the full paper here.
Shared Future
Professor Willis joined a panel hosted by The Conversation to discuss the outcomes of the COP26 climate summit and what comes next for climate politics. She was joined on the panel by:

  • Professor Corinne Le Quéré, University of East Anglia

  • Professor Michael Jacobs, University of Sheffield

  • Dr Michelle Cain, Cranfield University


The panel was hosted by The Conversation Environment and Energy Editor, Will de Freitas.

You can watch the panel discussion here.