Using Green PB to support community responses to the climate crisis
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 15th January 2025
2024 has been confirmed as the warmest year on record, and the ongoing climate impact is clear to see. With that, it’s easy to feel that many of the communities we live in and work with are too far from power, influence, and the ability to affect the large-scale change around climate issues we urgently need.
And yet work in Scotland has shown how participatory budgeting (PB) has been used to help communities take direct decisions on how budgets are spent addressing climate change.
'Green PB' has been taking place across the country, with a focus on entire PB processes delivering green aims, or parts of PB process that make a climate impact. It has helped to raise awareness, offer opportunities for people to take meaningful action, and generate sustainable projects that benefit people locally.
Community development is built upon collective action - people coming together to take action on the issues important to them. When it comes to addressing climate change, green PB and other participatory initiatives can help to reduce carbon emissions, lessen climate anxiety, and address the inequalities we already see across our society.
Green PB is one way for us to achieve a Just Transition to Net Zero for Scotland, and supports more people to be involved in the decisions that affect them, their communities and the environment.
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