We held an energy-themed citizens’ assembly in early 2025 in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and Sitra. The citizens’ assembly was part of the Flaire research project.
The assembly supported the ministries’ ongoing energy policy preparations, such as drafting the Energy and Climate Strategy and the Medium-term Climate Change Plan (KAISU).
Finland’s energy system is undergoing a transition, and changes in energy production and consumption also affect households. In particular, the shift to renewable energy sources and fluctuations in electricity prices have sparked debate. The Citizens’ assembly took a position on what acceptable means there are for steering households’ energy use. It was organised to support national-level policy preparation underway in the ministries as well as the implementation in Finland of policy measures decided at EU level.
Based on a sample from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, 8,000 randomly selected Finns across the country were invited to take part in the assembly. Of those invited, almost 200 volunteered; from this pool, a participant group representing Finland’s population as well as possible—by place of residence, age, gender, education, and housing type—was selected using quotas and random sampling. About 70 volunteers were selected as participants, and ultimately 54 people took part in the assembly.
During the assembly, participants heard from experts, deliberated questions related to household energy use, and drafted a statement on the topic. The statement addressed demand response (electricity consumption flexibility), policy instruments for guiding emissions reductions in energy use, and energy poverty and energy advice. After the assembly, it was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to support the preparation of energy and climate policy.
Read more on the assembly’s own website
Project researcher Toni Wessman, toni.m.wessman(at)utu.fi
Demokratian uudistamisen tutkimusryhmä, Turun yliopisto
Filosofian, poliittisen historian ja valtio-opin laitos
Yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta
20014 Turun yliopisto
Vastuullinen tutkija professori Maija Setälä maija.setala@utu.fi
