What the panel recommended
Across four full days of learning and discussion, the panel considered two key questions:
- What do you imagine Dorset would look like if it was ready for climate change?
- How can we make that happen in a way that is fair to people and nature?
They produced:
- a vision for a Dorset that is ready for climate change
- guidelines for navigating difficult trade-offs that Dorset may face in preparing for climate change
- a set of ambitions for how Dorset should prepare for climate change in the four areas that panel members identified as being of greatest concern to them
You can explore these in full in the final panel report.
What happens next
The panel’s recommendations will be an important part of the evidence Dorset Council uses as it develops, alongside partners, a new Climate Adaptation Strategy for the county.
This strategy will be shaped over the next 12 months. It will set out how Dorset can prepare for future climate impacts, including heavier rainfall and flooding and hotter, drier summers.
It will identify what action is needed to keep people safe, protect local services and support Dorset’s economy and natural environment.
Who was involved
The panel was delivered by public participation charity
Involve as part of Innovate UK’s
Net Zero Living programme.
Recruitment was managed by the
Sortition Foundation, specialists in fair and representative selection.
The advisory group supported the work, made up of representatives from:
How panel members were selected
A letter was sent to 6,600 randomly selected households from the Royal Mail database, inviting residents to express interest in joining the panel.
From those who responded, 22 individuals were selected by democratic lottery to reflect Dorset’s diversity in terms of:
- demographics
- geography
- attitudes toward climate change
Of the 22 panel members invited, 2 withdrew due to illness.
Contact us
To find out more about Dorset’s Citizens' Climate Panel, email our climate team at
[email protected].
