Citizenwashing: when public participation goes wrong
As people become increasingly interested in climate issues – as well as impacted by the effects of climate change – it is becoming more and more important for public authorities and politicians to appear to be including peoples’ concerns in environmental decision-making. But, as we know, appearances can be deceiving. When the public is involved too late in the process, a public consultation garners little response, or corporate lobby interests outweigh the voice of concerned individuals, then legitimizing a decision by throwing the word “citizen” around in a speech or press release is dishonest; it becomes “citizenwashing”.
Learn more about this concept, as developed by the EEB: https://meta.eeb.org/2022/07/13/citiz...
