Responding to the climate crisis: Green consumerism or the Green New Deal?

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the climate crisis debate in Ireland by exploring tendencies in media coverage towards two quite different ‘solutions.’ These might be seen as representing two poles of the current debate—either remaining securely within or departing significantly from the certainties of neoliberalism. The focus in this piece is on critically weighing up the respective strengths of these two responses in the face of climate disruption. I hope to encourage further research on this basis into quantifying media coverage of these and other potential solutions. In 2020, ‘green’ has become a mobile and versatile qualifier, employed by various social groups for a range of ends. I will briefly explore what Kahn has termed ‘green consumerism’ before considering various forms of the Green New Deal (GND).