People's Climate Jury

In spring 2024 the People's Climate Jury provided 30 Preston residents with a chance to have their say on how we tackle climate change across the city and to make recommendations to local leaders about how the city should act in response.

An advisory group, made up of representatives from the local community, faith, business, trade union and public sectors, ensured that the process used to select the jury members was transparent and reflected the demographic profile of Preston's residents.

The advisory group also agreed the wording of the question the jury was asked to consider. This reflected shared values of fairness and equity and aligned with the council's strategic commitments to Community Wealth Building and 'Fairness for You'.

How can we in Preston work together to address the opportunities and challenges of climate change in a way that is fair to everyone?

Read the full report and the recommendations from the People's Climate Jury.

How was the climate jury funded?

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) provided Preston City Council with the opportunity to commit £1.36m of funding to actions to address climate change.

The funding has been invested in warmer homes, in local skills for the transition to cleaner energy, and in supporting Preston businesses to decarbonise.

Given the scale of the challenge posed by climate change, Council agreed that encouraging informed debate and supporting community involvement in decision making on climate change was also a priority and approved £50,000 of UKSPF funding for a People's Climate Jury. 

The funding ensured that the selection process to recruit members of the jury produced a good match with Preston's demographic profile in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, ward area and attitude towards climate change so that the jury 'looked and talked like us'. Shared Future, a not-for-profit company based in the Northwest, was appointed to facilitate the jury process.

Jury members came together for eight sessions over a two-month period and heard from a range of commentators about climate change, discussed what they heard and agreed a set of recommendations for local action in response. Each participant was reimbursed for their involvement and supported with childcare or transport needs as required.

A summary of the jury's recommendations and an overview of each themed session, including video footage of the contributions made by commentators, can be accessed via the buttons below.

The Council's response to the Climate Jury

On August 22 2024 Council approved a response to the recommendations of the climate jury Preston People's Climate Jury - response to recommendations and approved in principle the proposed Action Plan Proposed Action Plan.

Work is ongoing to progress the Action Plan. An update report will be presented to Council in June 2025.