‘Creating the best possible future’
In the German state of Saarland, a Citizens' Assembly has developed proposals for achieving climate protection goals. The results were presented to the state parliament on 29 September 2025. The assembly met six times between 8 March and 30 August 2025.
‘Participation instrument filled with life’
State Parliament President Heike Winzent (SPD) accepted the citizens' report and thanked the participants for their commitment: ‘The participation of citizens is particularly important in these politically turbulent times - in order to strengthen trust in democracy and the functioning of its institutions.’
The members of the first state-wide mini-public in Saarland had brought this participatory instrument to life and taken on a major challenge: ‘In a very complex and highly controversial topic, they ultimately reached common conclusions through a negotiation process, despite some strenuous debates.’ This great commitment deserves the respect and gratitude of the entire parliament, said Winzent.
State parliament debate on 7 October
The President of the State Parliament emphasised that the citizens' report was ‘the first time in the history of the State Parliament’ that the results of a citizen participation process had been directly incorporated into a parliamentary debate.
On 7 October 2025, the state parliament discussed the citizens' report. The report was then referred to the Committee on Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture and Consumer Protection for further consultation. In her speech, SPD MP Kira Braun announced that the citizens' report would be discussed there in an expert hearing with the participation of Citizens' Assembly members. In his speech on behalf of the CDU, MP Alwin Theobald stated that his parliamentary group would not shy away from a supplementary budget to finance the measures proposed by the Citizens' Assembly.
‘It was really impressive’
‘I had the opportunity to engage in dialogue with the members of this Citizens' Assembly twice, and I can tell you: it was really impressive,’ said Kira Braun, describing her experience. She met people who had familiarised themselves with the topic with great interest and genuine sincerity. ‘A very diverse group: young students, professionals, pensioners, parents, tradespeople, teachers, all highly motivated, curious and committed.’ The Citizens' Assembly is not just a tool for gathering recommendations on content. Above all, it is a contribution to strengthening democracy. ‘That's why it was right to set up this Citizens' Assembly,’ said Braun.
For Alwin Theobald, the Citizens' Assembly is ‘a sign of democracy in action. The fact that citizens are directly involved in an issue of such great importance is an important contribution to building trust in parliamentary work,’ said the CDU member of parliament. The results of the mini-public are impressive. The state parliament can already make concrete preparations for implementing some of the suggestions from the citizens' assembly's report, such as those on municipal climate adaptation and energy efficiency. ‘We want to see the citizens' report for what it is: an invitation to take joint action, a foundation for smart, socially balanced climate policy in Saarland,’ explained Theobald.
Citizens' report treated as law
The state parliament treats the assembly's report as a law: it was discussed in plenary, will be deliberated in committee and finally submitted to the state parliament a second time for a decision. By the end of 2025, parliament should have dealt with the proposals and the project should have been scientifically evaluated.
The citizens' report comprises 61 pages and a total of 23 recommendations for measures in the areas of climate adaptation, buildings, energy and transport. In addition to a brief description of the recommended measures, the economic, ecological and social impacts are also explained in each case.
Recommendations on climate adaptation
For example, the Citizens' Assembly recommends reducing sealed surfaces in the state and municipalities as part of climate adaptation. This could be achieved through deconstruction. In addition, no new areas should be sealed in the future. The state should support cities and municipalities in adapting to the consequences of climate change.
In order to raise awareness of the consequences of climate change and the possibilities for adaptation, awareness campaigns should be launched and made more widely known, for example through posters and social media. The campaigns are to take place in kindergartens, schools, clubs and other institutions.
Buildings: offering advice, simplifying funding
In the field of action ‘Buildings’, the mini-public proposes, among other things, to provide free advice on building renovation for the general public. The bureaucratic effort involved in applying for subsidies in the area of buildings should be simplified so that everyone has the opportunity to apply for subsidies. Subsidy applications should therefore be easy to understand and concise so that all population groups can benefit. Social aspects such as low income should be taken into account when determining the amount of subsidies.
The Citizens' Assembly also wants to see an expansion of the infrastructure for heat supply. The state, cities and municipalities should start by renovating their own buildings to set an example for citizens. In order to modernise older buildings in a climate-friendly way, tax incentives through degressive depreciation should also be extended to existing buildings that have been renovated to be more energy efficient.
Incentives to save energy
In the area of energy, the Citizens' Assembly calls for incentives for replacing white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines and dryers, as well as light bulbs, for example with a £100 bonus and free replacement of lighting. The state should carry out pilot projects and publicise success stories in the use of renewable energies, such as the use of renewable energies in the Rhein-Hunsrück district.
The income generated by renewable energies in a municipality, for example through the leasing of municipal land for wind power or through large wind power and photovoltaic installations owned by the municipalities, should be reinvested in the municipality for the construction of solar installations and wind power, for storage facilities, etc. In addition, an annual profit distribution should be paid directly to the citizens. Wind farms and solar power plants are to be expanded and society is to be involved in the process. There are also to be more subsidies for renewable energies.
Solar power plants are to be installed on public buildings and storage facilities are to be built. The members of the Citizens' Assembly also want a legal basis for the distribution of electricity from solar power plants (‘electricity sharing’).
More cycle paths and free local transport
In the area of transport, the randomly selected residents of Saarland recommend the expansion of cycle paths. In cities, the aim should be to reduce car traffic. There should be affordable parking facilities at railway stations. At city limits and transport hubs such as motorways, there should be free Park & Ride car parks or mobility hubs where people can transfer to free shuttles. An app should link the various modes of transport (train, bus, shared taxi, etc.) so that people can find out about all modes of transport. Bus connections should be more widely available and the intervals between journeys should be shortened.
Public transport in Saarland should generally be free for everyone. In the opinion of the Citizens' Assembly, Luxembourg can serve as a model here. In addition, there should be sufficient charging stations and fast charging stations for electric cars. All charging stations from different providers should be accessible via an app and the prices for the e-charging stations should be uniform. The purchase costs of zero-emission vehicles should be subsidised for end consumers.
‘Creating the best possible future for my generation’
Participants in the mini-public were very impressed with the process. ‘I was very happy and, above all, felt very honoured to receive the invitation. I definitely wanted to be there (...) to create the best possible future for my generation,’ explained one young participant.
‘The atmosphere and cooperation within the groups was great,’ said assembly spokesperson Jessica Rech. She found it ‘fascinating that there are so many different generations, in terms of age, gender and where they all come from’.
‘I would like to see more citizens' assemblies on different topics,’ said participant Susanne Mohns.
Making democracy more inclusive
The Saarland state parliament decided to establish the Citizens' Assembly on 15 November 2023. The SPD and CDU voted in favour, while the AfD abstained.
State Parliament President Winzent had suggested the format in her inaugural speech in April 2022 as a way of making democracy more ‘inclusive’ for citizens and counteracting low voter turnout.
"With the Citizens' Assembly, we are breaking new ground, so to speak. We are starting an experiment,‘ said the President of the State Parliament in the debate on the Climate Citizens' Assembly. ’With the Citizens' Assembly, we are testing an instrument for greater participation and involvement that goes beyond the rituals and possibilities of everyday parliamentary life.‘ According to the State Parliament's resolution, a narrow majority of people are dissatisfied with ’the way democracy works in this country."
A reflection of the population
At the end of January 2025, 3,500 randomly selected residents of the state were invited to participate in the mini-public. 379 invitees (10.8 per cent) expressed interest in participating. From these, 51 participants were selected by stratified random sampling. The aim was to reflect the composition of the population of Saarland in terms of gender, place of residence in the districts, age and educational background.
The Citizens' Assembly thus consisted of 26 women and 25 men. Twenty-three members of the assembly came from small towns and eleven from large cities. Their educational backgrounds varied: 17 had a secondary school leaving certificate, twelve had a secondary school diploma, nine had a university degree, five had a high school diploma as their highest qualification and eight had no school leaving certificate or were still in education. From a regional perspective, most came from the Saarbrücken regional association (15), and the fewest from the district of St. Wendel (4). Seventeen assembly members were 60 years of age or older. The youngest participant was 14 years old.
Knowledge transfer by experts
The Citizens' Assembly met for six hours on each of six days. The deliberations of the randomly selected assembly were guided by a neutral moderator who ensured balanced participation among the participants. Experts from academia and practice supported the mini-public in imparting the necessary knowledge and providing expert guidance.
The participants' deliberations and considerations took place in a protected space. The deliberations of the small groups, which are customary in citizens' assemblies, were therefore not open to the public. Content-related reporting from non-public parts only took place after the final votes on the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly.
Publicity and transparency
Representatives of the press were given access to the public meetings of the Citizens' Assembly. Members of parliament were able to attend the public meetings of the mini-public as observers. Where possible, all interested parties were able to follow the meetings via live webcasts. Information, documents, presentations, statements and other material were also made available to the public online.
The 51 participants in the Citizens' Assembly received a flat-rate expense allowance of €100 per session day.
Citizens' Assembly project office
The Citizens' Assembly was supported by a ‘Citizens' Assembly project office’ set up by the state parliament administration, which assisted the external service provider commissioned to carry out the project. Within the scope of the assembly's mandate, the participants were able to exert sufficient influence on the focus of the content. The project office agreed on the concept and other fundamental issues that arose during implementation with the steering group appointed by the state parliament's presidium.
The work of the Citizens' Assembly was accompanied by scientific monitoring. The purpose of this monitoring is to evaluate the deliberations and recommendations for action with a view to further developing the mini-public as a participatory instrument.
The service provider translake GmbH, commissioned by the state government, had, among other things, developed a concept for the Citizens' Assembly and for the random selection of members. In addition, it organised all working formats such as plenary sessions, working groups, workshops and small groups, carried out public relations work and ensured scientific support and evaluation of the project.
State government climate protection concept
The state government presented Saarland's first climate protection concept back in July 2025. It sets out the state government's guidelines for action to enable Saarland to achieve its climate protection targets. It was completed with the participation of the state parliament, the public and experts, as well as all departments, with scientific support from the Institute for Future Energy and Material Flow Systems.
In total, this plan contains 47 profiles with almost 130 individual measures in all seven climate protection sectors. This also includes 12 profiles relating to the exemplary role of the public sector. In addition, 16 profiles on climate adaptation have been added. However, according to the state government, it is already clear that these measures from the climate protection concept will not be sufficient to achieve Saarland's climate protection targets.
Climate assemblies worldwide
The Climate Citizens' Assembly in Saarland was the second in a German federal state after Schleswig-Holstein. Previously, there were already local climate assemblies in the Freiburg region, in Arnsberg, Backnang, Bayreuth, Bergisch Gladbach, Berlin, Bonn, Duisburg, Edermünde, Erlangen, Frankfurt/Main, Constance, Mannheim, Neumünster, Offenburg, Osterburg, Schorndorf, Stuttgart and Sulz am Neckar. More than 200 climate assemblies have taken place worldwide, from the local to the global level.