From Vision to Action: Citizen Commitment to the European Green Deal

Dear Colleagues,

The European Green Deal (EGD) outlines Europe's strategic plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This endeavor presents a significant challenge, necessitating shifts in individual behaviors and societal norms, all aligned with public policy initiatives. Additionally, achieving a comprehensive vision of sustainability calls for the in-depth examination of human and non-human interactions, gender dynamics, and the inclusion of vulnerable communities to ensure a just transition. PHOENIX, an H2020 project, delves into the lessons learned from participatory budgeting, citizens' assemblies, public debates, and forums addressing public policies. It analyzes how these practices can be adapted for discussions about the energy transition, circular economy, farm-to-fork initiatives, and ecosystem restoration to support the EGD's objectives.

This Special Issue covers various topics on how participatory and deliberative practices can be tailored to discuss the EGD’s pathway. These topics include, but are not limited to, theoretical discussions and empirical evidence addressing the following: good practices of participatory and/or deliberative processes dealing with EGD-related topics; discussions on how well-known participatory and/or deliberative practices may be adapted to deal with the challenges posed by the discussion of environmental topics, such as multilevel governance, the extended timeframe for implementation, the inclusion of different stakeholders and deniers, increasing mutual trust, discussing complex topics, and favoring behavior change in everyday life; interactions between humans and nature, and people’s behavior towards nature protection as well as restoration; and readiness to change towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

For consideration in this journal, please submit your abstracts and any questions to the Special Issue Guest Editors <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, or the link https://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci/special_issues/SNTV58IZN8/abstract by 31 December 2024. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 31 January 2025. Final papers are due on 30 April 2025 for peer review.

Dr. Sheila Holz
Dr. Denise Esteves
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• European Green Deal (EGD)
• participatory and deliberative methodologies
• sustainability
• climate change
• human–nature relationship