Abstract
Climate change is a collective action problem as much as it is a physical one. However, in spite of high levels of awareness and a broad acceptance of the science, there has been no public consensus on the need to prioritise action. This chapter explores the role of current communications processes in inhibiting the development of such public sentiment. It draws on a circuits of communications framework which addresses production processes, and the structures which underpin them, patterns in media content and how audiences receive media messages, including online interactions. It will argue that these have operated to shift political priorities and foster feelings of powerlessness whilst in fact, collectively, publics can play a crucial role in shifting the parameters of the debate.
All of the research referred to has been conducted with Professor Greg Philo and supported by other members of the Glasgow University Media Group. Thanks also to Anthony Froggatt and the team at Chatham House, and Professor David Miller of Bath University. We have received funding from the UKERC, Glasgow City Council, Chatham House and Avatar Alliance Foundation.
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Happer, C. (2017). Belief in Change: The Role of Media and Communications in Driving Action on Climate Change. In: Elliott, A., Cullis, J., Damodaran, V. (eds) Climate Change and the Humanities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55124-5_9
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