2021 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

The Air and Climate Plan (PAC - Piano Aria e Clima) is a framework document, a “plan of plans”, which aims at supporting and guiding the Municipality of Milan in reaching climate neutrality by 2050.

Climate change policy must include public participation, as recommended by several major policy documents on climate change. Article 6 of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change calls for parties to promote and facilitate “public participation in addressing climate change and its effects and developing adequate responses” (UNFCCC, 1992, p. 17). Indeed, the ambitious systemic approach to the challenge of climate emergency contained in the PAC requires the involvement of “challenge owners'' (public administrators, companies, universities, NGOs…) as well as the education and engagement of the wider citizens’ community. In order to promote the transition towards new, more sustainable, and less carbon-intensive lifestyles, it is key that local communities do understand and activate leverage points able to produce social innovation and promote behavioural change. 

The PAC inaugurated the digital participatory platform of the Municipality of Milan, Milano Partecipa (External link), developed from the open source project Decidim, born in 2016 thanks to the Barcelona City Council. That of the PAC was the very first participatory project to be hosted on Milano Partecipa and has made extended use of the features offered by the digital platform. All its phases, documents and meetings can be found on https://partecipazione.comune.milano.it/processes/piano-aria-clima (External link). A participatory agreement outlining the phases of the process and its rules ensures that all participants are informed about the details of the procedures and the outcome of their contributions.

Phase 1 (July-October 2020)

•   Launch of an online multiple-choice questionnaire to assess the level of awareness on climate change and sustainability issues: more than 7,500 people respond; results are presented publicly

•   Stakeholder mapping through internal selection and via a Public Call

Phase 2 (October 2020-February 2021)

•   4 Thematic Laboratories which involve 180 stakeholders organised in working groups and citizens via online streaming

•   9 District Meetings which involve ~2,500 citizens online

•   Citizens’ Table involving 50 participants, drawn by lot under supervision of the City statistical office, representing different genders, age groups, education level and work activities (originally the number was supposed to be higher, but had to be reduced due to Covid restrictions)

•   Online public consultation on Milano Partecipa: in 45 days citizens and city users submit 486 amendments and several comments to the text of the plan

Phase 3 (February-May 2021)

•   Citizens’ inputs are publicly addressed and transferred to the City Council for adoption

Phase 4 (2021-2030)

PAC is enacted, monitored, and reviewed by a permanent civic participatory body