A citizens' assembly on climate is pointless if the government won't listen | Stephen Buranyi

A similar set-up broke the political deadlock in Ireland, but the Tories don't want to hear bold recommendationsWhen MPs announced a citizens' assembly on the climate emergency last June, two crucial things hadn't yet happened: Boris Johnson's takeover of the Conservative party; and the subsequent general election campaign where the main opposition parties each offered radical plans to address the climate crisis, and then lost to Johnson, who had offered no plan at all.For everyone hoping for action on climate, the election was a particularly bruising experience. First throwing open the door to a previously unthinkable possibility - immediate, concrete plans to fight the crisis, far beyond anything proposed by the inadequate Paris Agreement - and then, just as quickly, slamming that door shut. Perhaps even more tightly than before, given Johnson's disinterest in all things climate-related. And because now the party without an apparent serious climate plan is in charge of taking the critical first steps towards Theresa May's government's goal of hitting net-zero by 2050, while the parties willing to commit to action are shut out of power by the enormous Tory majority. Continue reading...