'Your voice has been heard'
Less food waste, longer product warranties and more incentives for travelling by train. These are three of the 13 recommendations formulated by the Netherlands' first national Climate Citizens' Assembly. On 1 December 2025, the assembly submitted its proposals to the government and parliament.
The climate action proposals were presented to outgoing Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Minister for Climate and Green Growth Sophie Hermans, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Frank Rijkaart, and Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives Wieke Paulusma.
Recommendations presented
Also present were various members of the House of Representatives and more than 150 representatives from business, society, science and administration, as well as more than 120 participants from the Citizens' Assembly itself.
During the presentation, the 13 recommendations that were supported by at least three-quarters of the assembly were explained. The members of the Citizens' Assembly provided insight into the unique process they had gone through together.
Proposals for agriculture
The Citizens' Assembly's report contains various proposals for agriculture. For example, the members of the mini-public recommend that a quarter of agricultural land should be farmed organically by 2030. Currently, the figure is just over four per cent. They also advocate taxing CO2 and nitrogen emissions. Denmark is the first country to introduce such a ‘cow tax’. More than nine out of ten participants supported this plan, which the government had not dared to implement until now.
The revenue from such a tax would be used in part to fund a conversion fund to help farmers operate more sustainably and in part to cushion price increases in supermarkets.
Doggy bags in restaurants
The Citizens' Assembly also proposes adopting a Spanish law against food waste in its entirety. This law requires supermarkets to reduce the price of food and donate it to food banks instead of throwing it away. Restaurants must offer doggy bags. Support for this was almost unanimous: 97 per cent of Citizens' Assembly members think this is a good idea.
In order to make consumer behaviour more sustainable, the Citizens' Assembly believes there should be a six-year legal guarantee on electronic devices and a repair fund that makes repairs cheaper than buying new. A European ‘digital product passport’ should be used to tax environmentally harmful products more heavily. In addition, it should be worthwhile for manufacturers to produce sustainably. Furthermore, incentives should be created to use recycled raw materials.
Making train travel more attractive
The Citizens' Assembly members believe that the government should make train travel more attractive by exempting tickets from VAT and simplifying the booking process. The assembly also advocates a rush hour surcharge for the Dutch railway company NS and cheaper tickets outside rush hour. This is an idea that the government has so far been unwilling to implement.
According to calculations by the consulting firm CE Delft, the plans would lead to a reduction in Dutch greenhouse gas emissions of 5 to 17 million tonnes. In 2024, greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands amounted to 145 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent.
‘Your voice has been heard’
Now it is up to the government and the House of Representatives. ‘Many issues have been raised that could lead to action,’ said Prime Minister Schoof. However, he also emphasised that these must be ‘feasible and affordable’ for the Dutch people. The Citizens' Assembly members want the House of Representatives to take their plans seriously.
Home Affairs Minister Rijkaart said he was pleased that so many different people had come together. Especially those who are critical of climate policy and concerned about how it will work in practice. ‘Your voice has been heard,’ said Rijkaart.
Government to respond within six months
The government will respond to the citizens' proposals within six months. It will then indicate which recommendations it will adopt, which it will not, and why. The House of Representatives will then debate the Citizens' Assembly's recommendations and the government's response. At the final meeting, which will take place no later than December 2026, the government will discuss with the House of Representatives and the Citizens' Assembly how the recommendations have been implemented.
The Citizens' Assembly will remain together for another year to observe how the government and the House of Commons implement the recommendations. During this time, the participants will discuss the recommendations with the business community, social organisations and society at large.
'I felt a connection between us'
On 13 September 2025, the first national Climate Assembly in the Netherlands concluded its work. 175 participants had addressed the topics of sustainable consumption, the circular economy and travel. The citizens' report containing the recommendations for action made by the mini-public will be handed over to the government on 1 December.
The last day of the Citizens' Assembly began with a discussion about the most important insights and experiences. What were the best moments? What are we proud of, and what was more difficult than expected? One participant summed up the feelings of many others: ‘Despite our differences, I felt a connection between us.’
Then there was a special surprise: Graham Smith, a British scientist known worldwide as an expert on citizens' assemblies, gave a speech to the mini-public. 'You are special for three reasons. Firstly, there has never been such a large Citizens' Assembly with 175 participants. But the turbulent political dynamics you are dealing with, including the fall of the government, are also unprecedented. And finally, there has never been a Citizens' Assembly that had so much control over and responsibility for the process it went through. So you can really be proud of yourselves!'
175 participants
In mid-November 2024, 70,000 randomly selected residents of the Netherlands received an invitation to take part in this Climate Assembly. Those drawn had until 1 December 2024 to apply to take part. 4,070 invitees expressed their interest in participating
The Citizens' Assembly consisted of 175 people aged 16 and over, who were a reflection of society in terms of age, gender, education, place of residence and attitude towards climate policy. The participants were tasked with finding an answer to the question of how eating and travelling can be made more climate-friendly and how people can live in a more environmentally friendly way. This included the question of whether non-sustainable products should be more expensive. And how far the state should go to promote sustainable behaviour among people.
Experts and stakeholders
The first Citizens' Assembly meeting took place on 18 January 2025. In the first half of the year, the citizens' assembly met on six weekends in Amersfoort. All participants received an expense allowance of 120 euros per meeting month. Childcare was also provided. Travel and accommodation costs were reimbursed.
The assembly participants learned about climate change and climate protection from experts and stakeholders from associations, business and civil society, as well as through excursions. As far as possible, the assembly members decided for themselves what knowledge and information they wanted to receive and use and which experts and stakeholders they wanted to talk to. An independent advisory board ensured that the information provided was balanced.
Online participation
From 16 April to 7 May 2025, everyone in the Netherlands had the opportunity to contribute to the Climate Citizens' Assembly via an online consultation. The assembly members wanted to know what they should take into account in their recommendations. What are the most important issues for the Dutch? What do they think is fair? And what responsibilities do the government, businesses and citizens themselves have? 32,532 people took part in the process.
The same procedure was also carried out with a representative group of Dutch citizens. This sample consisted of 3,022 people, which was a reflection of the Dutch population in terms of age, gender, education level and opinion on climate policy.
Children's climate summit
There was a special version of the online consultation for children and young people. A children's climate summit was also organised. At this summit, 60 children and young people discussed what they wanted to contribute to the Citizens' Assembly.
The Children's Climate Summit took place over two days. The first session on 18 April 2025, which was organised together with the Children's relief organisation UNICEF, was attended by around 30 young people aged 13 to 18. The second session took place on 9 May 2025 and was aimed at children aged 9 to 12. It was organised by the organisation ‘De kleine Ambassade’, which specialises in child and youth participation.
During the fifth meeting of the Climate Assembly on 17 and 18 May 2025, participants in the Children's Climate Summit presented their findings to the members of the mini-public.
‘Getting out of the green bubble’
The coming years will show whether the Citizens' Assembly will find imitators. Some of those selected were initially sceptical about the initiative. One participant, who had previously spoken of a waste of money, is now satisfied with the ‘wonderful plans’, even though the mini-public did not agree on all points. A small minority remained critical of the government's climate protection plans.
Other Citizens' Assembly members were enthusiastic. ‘It's very beneficial to step out of your green bubble,’ said a young woman from Utrecht. And the oldest participant, Kees from Eelde in Groningen, said: ‘I would like to see more citizens' assemblies of this kind in the Netherlands.’
15th National Climate Citizens' Assembly
The mini-public was organised by the Overlegorgaan Fysieke Leefomgeving (Advisory Board for the Physical Living Environment - OFL). The OFL is an independent platform for consultation and cooperation between government, citizens, businesses and civil society organisations. It deals with the environment in which people live, work, travel and recreate.
The Climate Citizens‘ Assembly in the Netherlands was the 15th national citizens’ assembly on climate protection. Similar citizens' assemblies have previously been held in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.