Living with Climate Change and Transforming our Cities - Participate in one of the two Debating Europe Focus Group series and discuss with other citizens!
Global temperatures continue to rise on average by 1.1°C, risking irreversible damage to our planet. Scientists agree that it is hardly possible to stick to the 1.5°C target (under the 'Paris Agreement') unless the world changes radically. Cities, regions and countries worldwide are considering how to transform societies while adapting to the present and upcoming changes resulting from climate change. The European Union has set its ambition to become climate neutral (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050. What do you think about the changes taking place to prepare our societies? And, how can cities, which account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions, transform? Tell us what you think!

You, as a citizen, can support the efforts to a green future by sharing your views, ideas and solutions. 
Debating Europe invites you to sign up to one of two online focus group series taking place in September 2023 to discuss two separate strands of climate action:

1. Transforming our Cities: Cities play a crucial role in achieving climate neutrality (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050. Cities consume over 65% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. What is your city doing to become climate neutral? How can business, citizens and the European Union help? Tell us what you think!


(Click here to learn more about the EU's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.)

2. Living with Climate Change: Despite continuing efforts to reduce emissions we are still off-track from reaching our climate targets and as the planet continues to warm we will need to adapt our lives to  the inevitable effects of climate change. Are you ready to live with the effects of climate change? What can government, businesses and citizens do to make the necessary changes? Tell us what you think!

--- Choose one of these two topics and exchange your ideas in an online - rewarded - conversation with citizens from across Europe! No preparation/background/expertise needed!


Register if you are:
  • comfortable interacting in English;
  • 18+ years old;
  • from one of the 27 EU member states, or from Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faeroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, and Ukraine. 
As part of our focus group experience, you will join a 1-hour online group discussion with around 5-10 individuals. A facilitator will support the group exchange with a series of questions. Your opinions will be quoted within a report and attributed to you using only your first name (or a pseudonym, if you prefer) and nationality. There are no right or wrong answers to focus group questions, we want to hear the many varying viewpoints and would like for everyone to contribute with their thoughts, respectfully.

As a reward for your participation and time, you will either receive a 20€ Amazon voucher or we donate this amount in your name to a charity ('Save the Children'). Please note that the voucher will be issued after you have attended - and contributed to - the focus group discussion.

You can indicate your availability in the form below, choosing between different time slots in September (from Monday to Friday and mostly in the early morning, over the lunch break or in the evening - Brussels time/CEST). 

Your personal data will be kept absolutely confidential and will only be shared with third parties working directly on the project.

About Debating Europe focus groups:

Since 2019, Debating Europe organises focus groups to understand the opinions of Europeans, to crowd source ideas, to develop policy recommendations, and to inspire future activities. By participating in a focus group, you will have the chance to discuss the most pressing topics on EU and international affairs with participants from all over Europe. Your ideas and opinions will then be used to spark further reflection and discussion, and will be disseminated among policy- and decision-makers.

About Debating Europe:

Debating Europe is Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement and democracy unit. The qualitative and quantitative data from our multilingual focus groups and workshops, supported by our citizen-friendly video scene-setters, panels, and work generated via our cooperation with pan-European and local ‘community partners’ (i.e., CSOs across Europe and in Brussels), underpin the work of Friends of Europe as it co-creates, with all stakeholders, a Renewed Social Contract for Europe by 2030.

About the project: 

These focus groups are part of the SSH CENTRE, a 3.5 year project working to generate and share best practice for how Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) and transdisciplinary research can accelerate the EU's journey to a sustainable future. The project data protection policy can be found here. 

Contact: info@debatingeurope.eu

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Email *
The SSH CENTRE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101069529 and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant No 10038991].
First name *
Last name *
Contact email *
Age *
Please be aware that you need to be at least 18 years old to participate in the focus group.
Gender *
Nationality *
What is the highest level of education you have completed or are currently pursuing? *
Which of the following options best describes your employment situation? *
Would you prefer to use an Amazon voucher or give the amount to a charity?  *
If Amazon - what is your preferred Amazon store?
After having attended - and contributed to - a focus group, we will send you a 20€ voucher from the store you indicated. 
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This focus group series is part of an EU-funded research project where we want to support citizen engagement, and social research, to improve decisions on climate, energy, and transport. 

Would you be interested in participating in a short online evaluation with an experienced researcher to understand how well such focus group discussions allow you to express your opinions?  

Findings from the interviews will contribute to recommendations for the EU on its future research and innovation agenda that reflect citizens’ perspectives. The interviews will happen after your participation in the focus group and will last for max 45 minutes. There won’t be any reward for this but you’ll contribute to an important research project to benefit society as a whole. 

By ticking on “YES”, you’ll give us the consent to put you in touch with the interviewer.

 *
Which of the two separate focus group series would you prefer to join? [NB: you can only attend one!] *
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