Climate Change Narratives Research Articles

Responsibility to future generations: A strategy for combatting climate change across political divides.

Individuals and governments often fail to take action to address climate change owing largely to widespread politicization of the issue and related discourse. In response to recent appeals for non-partisan approaches to pro-environmentalism, we propose that highlighting one's responsibility to future generations (RFG) could offer promise across the political spectrum. We argue that RFG may be effective because it is widely endorsed, uncorrelated with demographic indicators and less tied to political ideology compared to other forms of responsibility, such as personal responsibility for climate change mitigation. Across six main and seven supplementary studies (N = 161,633), we provide evidence for these claims. RFG is not only widely endorsed across countries and demographic groups but it also significantly predicts various measures of pro-environmental behaviour, both in correlational and pre-registered experimental contexts. These findings confirm established effects, reconcile inconsistencies and suggest prioritizing intergenerational responsibility may effectively reshape climate change narratives for the most resistant parties.

“Human Activities” and Climate Justice: Reframing Media Narratives on Climate Change Mitigation Efforts Towards Africa

Abstract The study delved into media framing of climate change narratives and mitigation efforts towards Africa. The study selected 30 newspaper articles published between June 2021 to December 2021. Content analysis was used to analyze the framing of climate change narratives against a framework of decolonizing media narratives on climate change. It further discussed climate justice and detailed how communities most impacted by climate change are the least contributors to climate change. The study was guided by the following questions: (a) Who are the humans in the “human activities” in the climate change media narratives? (b) What harms are caused by climate change, and how can those who have created the most harm be called to bear the cost of fixing or making significant amendments? (c) How can the media frame climate change mitigation efforts in a fair, just, and equitable approach?

Rains, Tragedies and Media Coverage: Analysis of Floods In Rio Grande do Sul

Objective: The objective of this study is to present how the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul is handled by the media, in order to observe whether it is being related to climate change. Theoretical Framework: Environmental disasters have been intensifying with the great advances of human actions, which cause climate change and journalistic structures play a crucial role in shaping the public perception of natural disasters, framing them in the context of climate change. Method: From the use of text mining techniques in reports published in Brazilian news portals about the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, a corpus of 100 texts from Google News was selected, being processed through the Voyant Tools software for extraction and analysis of textual data. Results and Discussion: Media coverage of the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul highlighted the social consequences and the impact on urban centers. The news simplifies the understanding of the causes of the tragedy, focusing mainly on heavy rains and neglecting factors such as global warming and El Niño. In addition, socioeconomic influences that amplify flood risks, such as poor infrastructure and housing conditions, were neglected in the discussions. The media also emphasized the importance of understanding the interaction between climate and geography to formulate strategies that minimize the effects of flooding and promote the sustainable development of the affected regions. Research Implications: By revealing how climate change narratives are being integrated into coverage of natural disasters, this study helps to understand the role of the media in educating the public and influencing public perception of the need for climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Originality/Value: This study examines how the Brazilian media approaches flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, highlighting the social consequences and the importance of understanding the interaction between climate and geography. Using text mining techniques to analyze a corpus of news stories, the research offers a succinct and objective analysis of media coverage, contributing to an understanding of communication about extreme weather events.

Colonial erasures in gender and climate change solutions

AbstractDespite deliberate moves to integrate gender with climate change solutions, efforts do not go far enough to account for coloniality, thus falling short of achieving feminist, just and transformative ends. Coloniality is a political blind spot and a systematic amnesia in climate policies and actions, despite being a key driver of climate change manifested through various forms of extractivism, economic growth, and hegemonic Eurocentric knowledge production. As a corrective and a pathway toward realizing a post/decolonial feminist climate praxis, I will disclose the colonial underpinnings in (i) a persistent gender binary and women‐centered approaches; (ii) white feminist epistemic privileging; and (iii) acquiescing to masculine Enlightenment‐inspired techno‐managerialism. Furthermore, disclosures of colonial erasures entail a foundational re‐evaluation of the climate change narrative from an isolated form of natural crisis to a phenomenon embedded in complex histories of colonialism, extractivism, and capitalist exploitation that threatens the intrinsic interdependence of nature and society and planetary survival. As a result, a post/decolonial feminist climate praxis then asks that we foster and restore this interdependence by institutionalizing an ethics of socioecological care, acknowledging epistemic diversity through embodied knowledge, and carrying out intersectional justice.This article is categorized under: Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Climate Change and Global Justice Climate and Development > Sustainability and Human Well‐Being Climate and Development > Social Justice and the Politics of Development

Beyond the Hype: Rethinking Climate Change Narratives and Exploring Innovative Paths Toward a Sustainable Future

Various narratives can be relevant in explaining and creating awareness on global warming because they can help harmonize information from different actors. Different players present varying perspectives on efforts required to alleviate the impact of climate change. The publication and review of 64 papers aimed at critically examining and reassessing the discourse surrounding climate change to move beyond sensational and exaggerated claims, and explore innovative and forward-thinking approaches that contribute to achieving a sustainable future. The paper first highlights the question of how current climate change discourse contributes to public understanding by addressing traditional narratives surrounding climate change. It also addresses the potential drawbacks of sensationalism and traditional narrative. The paper also highlights ways that can explore a balanced narrative to positively impact public perception and engagement with climate-related issues. Still, the work explores whether there are examples of successful policy reforms or economic initiatives that have effectively contributed to a more environmental future in the light of climate change. The results indicate that traditional narratives are still dominating, and transformative narratives are far from being mainstream. Ideas and concepts revolve around mitigation, which the majority of literature works in advanced nations countries focus on. However, the paper also observes some transformative narratives and innovative pathways challenging traditional narratives. These innovative approaches can open the way for additional social creativity and a sustainable future. Most studies propose additional studies to further comprehend and evaluate these innovative pathways since various obstacles require unpacking to shed more light on the effects of these pathways and the general public.

Innovative systems for the detection of air particles in the quarries of the Western Rif, Morocco

<p>In a world where climate change looms large the spotlight often shines on greenhouse gases, but the shadow of man-made aerosols should not be underestimated. These tiny particles play a pivotal role in disrupting Earth's radiative equilibrium, yet many mysteries surround their influence on various physical aspects of our planet. The root of these mysteries lies in the limited data we have on aerosol sources, formation processes, conversion dynamics, and collection methods. Aerosols, composed of particulate matter (PM), sulfates, and nitrates, hold significant sway across the hemisphere. Accurate measurement demands the refinement of in-situ, satellite, and ground-based techniques. As aerosols interact intricately with the environment, their full impact remains an enigma. Enter a groundbreaking study in Morocco that dared to compare an internet of thing (IoT) system with satellite-based atmospheric models, with a focus on fine particles below 10 and 2.5 micrometers in diameter. The initial results, particularly in regions abundant with extraction pits, shed light on the IoT system's potential to decode aerosols' role in the grand narrative of climate change. These findings inspire hope as we confront the formidable global challenge of climate change.</p>

Production of the Narratives of Climate Change and Climate Justice through Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The present research investigates the role of mass media in producing the narratives of climate change and climate justice in Nepal. For this purpose, sample of the date were extracted from the online edition of The Kathmandu Post daily, the largest circulating English newspaper of Nepal. The study has used Critical Discourse Analysis as the methodological tool to analyze socio-cognitive as well as linguistic elements prevalent in the texts of the newspaper. Particularly, through the philosophical impetuses of Norman Fairclough and Teun A. Van Dijik we have tried to unveil the power dynamics imbedded into the text. Our findings reveal that, the mass media play important role in shaping the meaning of climate justice and this is executed through linguistic as well as pictorial representation of climate change. When the mass media intend to serve the interest of the state that further exacerbates the climate change induced sufferings of the marginalized community.

The nightless nights of the ‘Nazi camp’: The Finnish far-right’s anti-climate politics in urban space

The globally growing climate justice movement has drawn attention to the accelerating climate change and the structural changes that climate mitigation would require. At the same time, there has been a surge and normalization of radical and extreme right-wing groups and parties. Their central element is not only ethno-nationalism and authoritarianism but also anti-climate politics, as they seek to obstruct climate politics, mobilize anti-scientific fictions and discredit scientists and activists. The far right’s intimidation of climate justice activists has been studied by examining its textual and visual discourses in online spaces, but less attention has been paid to far-right anti-climate practices in urban spaces. Drawing on social movement geographies, I aim to contribute to the discussions on far-right anti-climate politics by analysing the spatial strategies of the Finnish far-right’s counterprotests (the so-called ‘Nazi camp’) during Extinction Rebellion Finland’s ‘Summer Rebellion’ in June 2021 in Helsinki. By doing so, I show that far-right anti-climate politics (in the form of climate scepticism and intimidation of climate activists) are not limited to online spaces but emerge through different strategies in urban spaces by which the far-right competes for control over space and visibility and shapes public narratives of climate change and politics.

Identifying the Active Ingredients of Climate Change Narratives: A Model of Temporal Perspective, Narrator Perspective, and Psychological Distance

Psychological distance has long been regarded as a primary obstacle to driving pro-environmental changes. This study seeks to explore narrative attributes that can be strategically harnessed to solve the distal nature of climate change. By adopting a 2 (retrospective vs. prospective temporal perspective) × 2 (first-person vs. third-person narrator perspective) factorial experimental design, the findings suggested that climate change narratives in retrospective and first-person perspectives manifest superiority in reducing psychological distance, with narrative involvement as the explanatory mechanism. In addition, the two forms of narrative involvement, namely transportation and identification, play distinct roles in addressing various types of psychological distance.

Climate's Imprint on America's Food Lifeline: A Critical Analysis of Supply Chain Adaptations in the Face of Environmental Shifts

In the unfolding narrative of climate change, its impact on the stability and resilience of food supply chains is becoming increasingly critical. "Climate's Imprint on America's Food Lifeline" delves into a comprehensive analysis of how the U.S. food supply chain is adapting to the challenges posed by environmental shifts. This research navigates through the intricate interplay between climate change and supply chain management, spotlighting innovative resilience strategies against emerging threats.
 Employing a mixed-method approach, the study integrates quantitative data with business case insights from industry experts. It begins by dissecting the multifaceted impacts of climate change on agricultural production and logistics, including extreme weather events and their cascading effects like price volatility and supply shortages. This exploration extends to evaluating the socioeconomic repercussions that these supply chain disruptions entail.
 At its core, the research investigates adaptive measures ranging from diversification of sourcing to the adoption of sustainable practices and cutting-edge technologies. The efficacy of these strategies is critically assessed, focusing on their capacity to fortify supply chain resilience and promote sustainability.
 Further, the paper delves into the policy landscape, examining how governmental actions and regulations are shaping supply chain responses. It underscores the significance of public-private partnerships and policy support in steering the industry toward resilience.
 The findings reveal a paradigm shift towards more integrated and proactive risk management in the face of climate change. Despite formidable challenges, the paper identifies substantial opportunities for innovation and industry transformation.
 Concluding with actionable recommendations, this study serves as a vital resource for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers. It underscores the imperative for collaborative efforts in tackling the multifaceted challenges climate change poses to the food supply chain, highlighting the need for robust, adaptive strategies to safeguard the future of America's food lifeline.

Seeing the haunting past and an uncertain future in 21 eyes: exploring the post-apocalyptic climate change narrative in Youth v Gov. (2020)

Seeing the haunting past and an uncertain future in 21 eyes: exploring the post-apocalyptic climate change narrative in Youth v Gov. (2020)

Framing vulnerability: An ecolinguistic analysis of gender and climate change discourse

This study examines how climate change organizations employ discourse strategies to highlight the vulnerability of women to climate change. It also explores how these strategies disrupt the conventional climate change narrative by integrating gender issues and emphasizing women's social and cultural experiences. The study utilizes the framework of ecolinguistics to examine narratives woven into the textual discourse. The research, based on 40 tweets from organizations such as the UN Environment Program and UN Women, offers insights into how these organizations utilize ecolinguistic techniques in communicating climate issues. The findings of the study revealed that gender intersections with other social identities determine vulnerabilities to environmental changes, as the research highlights the disproportionate impacts on women, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. This study contributes to the existing literature in terms of exploring the depiction of this issue in the Twitter discourse of international organizations.

Representations of Extreme Weather and Climate Change in Ingrid Tørresvold’s "Hilsen Ruth"

This article is devoted to the representation of extreme weather as a result of global warming in Ingrid Tørresvold’s Hilsen Ruth [Regards, Ruth]. Published in 2020, the novel imagines the effects of a severe heatwave over Norway, focusing on 39-year-old Ruth, who perceives the crisis as an opportunity to deal with personal problems. Considering the book as a realistic narrative of climate change, I examine the fictional representation of extreme weather as an impending risk and discuss the air conditioner as a symbol of anthropogenic global warming. I also discuss the affective dimension of the novel, drawing attention to the main character’s experience of the crisis caused by the unusual heat. Finally, my analysis seeks to show how Hilsen Ruth addresses climate change as a phenomenon intertwined with individual and cultural perceptions.

Shaping climate change discourse: the nexus between political media landscape and recommendation systems in social networks

Recommendation systems have become ubiquitous, and they actively participate in creating our individual and collective identity. In this paper, the diffusion of climate change information has been studied based on YouTube’s recommendation system and the political media landscape. The YouTube channels of CNN, BBC News and Fox News, as the most popular channels, respectively, for Left, Center and Right parties, were explored using web scraping and social network analysis to check what kind of recommended content will pop up if a user looks for climate change videos. Using an agent-based modeling approach, the competition between Left, Center and Right media in pushing their own narrative of climate change in society was simulated. The results suggest YouTube’s recommendation algorithm is highly biased since most of the recommended content was from the same channel fitting their own political agenda. The agent-based modeling indicates the size of a network is a decisive factor in further spread of a message as Left media always dominated Center and Right media in pushing their own perspective on climate change regardless of higher weights assigned to Right media. This study shed light on how public perception on climate change can be shaped by recommendation systems and digital companies.

‘The Australian way’: the gendered and racial logics of Scott Morrison’s climate change narratives

ABSTRACT Scott Morrison’s government was consistently accused of taking inadequate climate change action, despite facing sustained domestic and international criticism. However, there has not yet been sustained scholarly attention paid to the relationship between Morrison’s championship of the coal industry, the specific masculinity of Morrison’s leadership style, and the ways in which climate change was narratively constructed by Scott Morrison as Prime Minister. This research argues that gendered and racialised logics underpinned the climate change policy and rhetoric of the Morrison Government. This is demonstrated through an analysis of three narratives that were consistently articulated by Morrison, demonstrating Morrison’s unwavering defence of fossil fuel industries and the specific Australian exceptionalism of his climate inaction. This paper further recognises that specific expressions of political masculinity may continue to hinder meaningful climate change action in the future.

Caught between path-dependence and green opportunities – Assessing the impetus for green banking in South Africa

As investors and financial intermediaries, private banks are increasingly confronted with climate change concerns. But to what extent do banks identify as the changemakers driving climate alignment forward? To advance this question, this paper analyzes the South African banking sector with a specific focus on Standard Bank and Nedbank as exemplary case studies. Relying on the concept of ‘climate mainstreaming’, we critically assess the banks' annual reports and compare their self-portrayal with publicly available sources on the bank's business practices, chiefly provided by non-governmental organizations and media. We find that Nedbank pushes a holistic narrative of climate change as an inevitable business opportunity. Standard Bank, in turn, relies on a ‘narrative of balance’ between climate change and other profit-oriented investments to safeguard its stakes in the fossil industry. In so doing, this paper sheds light on greenwashing practices within disclosure specifically and the lack of binding corporate regulation more generally.

Do I have time to build the ark calmly? Characterizing attitudes towards climate change via sentiment analysis of social media

ABSTRACT Public discourse about climate change is characterized by a wide variety of frames. Understanding how people integrate climate change narratives into their lives is essential for designing socially accepted climate policies. Our study focuses on people’s positions and reactions concerning the effects of sea level rise on the Catalan coast (Spain) and references tweets related to a 2021 publication by Climate Central, Picturing Our Future, on sea level rise. The novelty of the approach is the focus on a gradual form of climate change, such as sea level rise, in contrast with extreme events, such as storms or heat waves. We collected and analysed the content of 287 tweets that reacted to the Climate Central’s publication mentioned above, classifying them in terms of the sentiment they expressed. The results show three main types of reactions: realist, joking, and denier. Our conclusions underscores the significance of attending to how climate change narratives are portrayed and communicated through social media, and how societal beliefs and perspectives shape these narratives and dispositions. These aspects, crucial for fostering awareness and concern about pressing environmental issues, accentuate the necessity of integrating them into climate policy design.

Social inequalities in the making sense of climate change narratives

In this viewpoint we intend to argue two things. First, that any attempt at effective communication must consider not only the causes and effects of climate change, but also the political measures proposed to address those causes and effects, since both influence public perceptions and behaviours. Second, that it is necessary to better understand the processes by which citizens make sense of climate change, as well as the role that their position in the social structure plays in shaping such perceptions. According to our recent research, the most sceptical or denialist people ignore the problem due to their (perceived) difficulties to change ways of life, and this implies that any attempt to modify this perception should go beyond climate change policies in the strict sense, considering other political measures to compensate these (perceived) deficits and help people to be able to consider a change of ways of life.

Energy Citizens “Just Like You”? Public Relations Campaigning by the Climate Change Counter-movement

ABSTRACT The climate change counter-movement (CCCM) was created in 1989 immediately following the formation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Brulle 2014) and has only deepened its public influence efforts since the Paris Agreement (Besley & Peters 2020). Striving to spread alternative climate change narratives, the CCCM deploys what we characterize as Information and Influence Campaigns (IICs), multimedia campaigns executed by public relations (PR) contractors designed to influence public discourse toward specific conclusions – often by using certain value-laden rhetorical frames. In this paper, we identify the dominant objectives, activities, and rhetorical messaging frames constituting four major IICS surrounding the Waxman-Markey bill debates: one representing each of the three major fossil fuel industries along with the one significant “green” campaign of the era. By tracing the implementation of rhetorical frames across a diverse array of campaign activities to achieve discrete objectives, we demonstrate these fossil actors' clear intentions to steer public opinion toward anti-environmental viewpoints through the use of strategic PR. When considered together with the significant resource advantage held by those that propagate these discourses, the stakes are enormous for both climate policy outcomes and the integrity of the public sphere.

The Role of Special Collections in Climate Change Movements

This presentation examines the role that special collections can play in documenting climate change literature over the course of history. We chose to focus on artist books in particular due to their unique trait as a format found almost exclusively within special collections libraries. We connect artist books to other collections within Bruce Peel Special Collections to create a narrative of climate change across cultures, time, and social movements. This narrative focuses on the past, present, and future of climate change, showcasing how special collections libraries provide new perspectives on how we should view the role we have to play in climate change. We believe the creation of this narrative shows how collecting literature and archives is an active form of combatting climate misinformation. In particular, we believe connecting this narrative through artist books is a way to challenge dominant narratives due to the role of artist books in counterculture and alternate ways of viewing knowledge.