By now we’re all aware that democracy has some pretty big flaws. But that doesn’t mean it’s absolutely hopeless. Just look at Ireland’s bottom-up approach to policymaking, which is helping to spur real change on the country’s most contentious issues. Ireland has what’s called The Citizens’ Assembly, in which 99 randomly selected citizens are tasked with weighing in on a particular issue and creating recommendations for how to deal with it. The Citizens’ Assembly spearheaded Ireland’s vote to overturn an abortion ban in 2018, as well as a vote to allow same-sex marriage in 2015. Now a new assembly, which was given the latest and greatest in climate change research, has put together 13 recommendations for how the government should deal with climate change. How closely the government sticks to these recommendations will have to be seen, but the structure of Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly could become a model for other nations to create a more participatory democracy—one in which the people have a greater say when it comes to climate action.
Ireland has a brilliant approach for creating a more participatory democracy
More of Today's Solutions
Your allergies aren’t getting worse with age. The pollen season is.
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If your spring allergies feel worse than they did five years ago, there is a reason for that, ...
Read MoreWhat governments and households are being asked to do in the oil crisis
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The International Energy Agency has already done something it has never done before: ordered the largest release of ...
Read MoreCooking tip: How to remove toxins from rice but keep the nutrients
Rice is nice, but the problem with this widely-consumed food is that it’s very high in arsenic compared to most other foods. In fact, ...
Read MoreFormerly homeless guides offer unique experiences of iconic cities
In cities across the world, the streets tell stories—stories of triumph over adversity, resilience, and transformation. Invisible Cities, a breakthrough organization, transforms these stories ...
Read More
