How can citizens shape the future of energy and environment in the West Midlands?

The climate emergency and the biggest decisions of our time are upon us. Throughout the UK, we are all aiming to address this challenge, together and with speed, as an issue that impacts us and future generations. 

In June 2019, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) declared a climate emergency and the WMCA Board agreed a target for the region to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2041. Taking on the challenge, the WMCA environment and energy programme was split into broader areas to tackle net zero, such as: energy systems and domestic and commercial retrofit, natural environment, climate adaptation, air quality and the circular economy (a system based on reusing and regeneration of materials, for a sustainable future). 

Each of these areas has corresponding plans or strategies that shape the overall direction of how the WMCA will deliver on the targets. These different plans can be found on the Environment and Energy pages of the WMCA website. 

In developing a range of projects and programmes to achieve these goals the WMCA recognised that in order to best understand the approaches that will benefit people in the region, a participatory and deliberative process was needed to allow citizens to influence the decisions that will affect the region for years to come. 

Involve's role

Involve worked alongside colleagues at the WMCA and Birmingham University to deliver in person and online sessions to enable and create a participatory and deliberative process across 2023–2024.

We recruited a Citizens' Panel (which we named the Greener Together Citizens’ Panel) bringing together a representative group of 32 residents from across the West Midlands region to learn and discuss the issues and provide actions for the WMCA to take, to help create a fairer, greener and healthier West Midlands.