Climate assembly for Lower Saxony
On April 17, 2026, a Climate Council has begun its work in the German state of Lower Saxony. Its members, drawn from academia and associations representing the business, environmental, municipal, social, and agricultural sectors, will advise the state government on its climate protection policies. A randomly selected Citizens’ Panel will monitor the work of the Climate Council.
On May 6, 2025, the Lower Saxony State Cabinet approved the updated Lower Saxony Climate Protection Strategy, as well as the concept for a Lower Saxony Climate Council and an accompanying Citizens’ Panel.
Goal: Climate neutrality by 2040
The need for this update stems from the new targets enshrined in the Climate Act at the end of 2023. According to these, Lower Saxony aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030 and by 90 percent by 2035, and intends to achieve climate neutrality in its overall balance by 2040.
The climate protection strategy includes 120 individual measures spanning nearly all departments, which the state government intends to further advance in the coming years. Examples include the continued expansion of renewable energy, the Climate Protection in the Social Economy project, the financing of municipal heat planning, and the gradual transition of state buildings and mobility toward climate neutrality.
Record growth in renewable energy
Since 2022, energy-related greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 10.9 percent. Additional measures include the switch to climate-neutral steel at Salzgitter AG, heat pumps in the building sector, and an increase in electric mobility in the transportation sector.
In 2024, Lower Saxony achieved record growth in renewable energy on land and at sea - and the state’s strengthened peatland protection also plays a special role in the climate strategy. Lower Saxony has allocated an additional one billion euros to implement the state’s climate strategy. Starting with the 2025 fiscal year, 37 million euros will be available annually for climate protection through 2048 in the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment alone.
Climate Council advises state government
The new Climate Council is a body created to advise the state government on the planning and implementation of measures to achieve climate protection goals. The Climate Council consists of six representatives from the scientific community and nine delegates from associations representing business, the environment, local governments, social affairs, and agriculture.
On February 24, 2026, the state government appointed the members of the new Climate Council. The body consists of a total of 15 members. Prof. Dr Anne Schierenbeck of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences was elected chair on 17 April 2026.
Citizen Panel selected by lottery
In addition to technical expertise, the state government also aims to incorporate the perspectives of citizens into the deliberations. Sixty people randomly selected from Lower Saxony are to participate in a separate Citizens’ Panel.
In doing so, demographic data such as gender and age, residential environment, and income are to be taken into account in a way that reflects the regional and social diversity of the state. The minimum age is 16.
Five Meetings
Once the Citizens’ Panel is formed, its members will convene for a total of five meetings. In-person meetings will take place in Hanover on selected weekends, while digital sessions are planned for Monday through Friday in the afternoons and evenings.
In a first step, the randomly selected assembly will evaluate existing measures of the climate protection strategy, address initial ideas or questions from the new Climate Council, and finally propose new measures. In a second step, the Citizens’ Panel will evaluate additional measure proposals from the Climate Council, which the Council has yet to develop.
"We want to implement climate protection together with the people"
Christian Meyer, Minister for the Environment and Climate Protection, commented: "I believe it is more than helpful to involve randomly selected members of the public in the implementation of proposals on climate protection and to seek their views. We want to implement climate protection together with the people – not over their heads. Politicians would be well advised to take seriously and implement proposals from the Climate Council and Citizens’ Assembly that enjoy broad support. This could pave the way for a new, cross-party consensus on climate protection."
The recommendations from scientists and associations will be published once a year alongside the recommendations from citizens and submitted to the state parliament and the state government.
State-level climate assemblies
Prior to the Climate Citizens’ Assembly in Lower Saxony, similar mini-publics had already taken place at the state level in Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein.