Skip to main content

Framing the Problem: How the Climate Change Message is Constructed

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Political Economy of the Low-Carbon Transition

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

  • 567 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter begins by identifying the dominant frames though which the ‘climate change’ challenge is communicated to the public. It then examines the construction of the scientific message itself through the dominance of certain methodological approaches in researching it. The following section shows how the scenario modelling of the transition to a low-carbon society gives priority to scientific and technological issues to the neglect of social and power issues. The third section looks at the wider context of the global system and how this is understood in framing the challenges of climate change. The penultimate section returns to technology, highlighting its centrality in the dominant framings of the issue of climate change, and identifying the limitations that this imposes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ackerman, F., and E.A. Stanton. 2012. Climate Risks and Climate Prices: Revisiting the Social Cost of Carbon. Economics 6 (2012-10): 1–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, Kevin. 2015. On the Duality of Climate Scientists. Nature Geoscience, October 2015. Accessed 21 April 2016. http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2559.html

  • Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann. 1991. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunyard, Peter, and Fern Morgan-Grenville. 1987. The Green Alternative: Guide to Good Living. London: Methuen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, L., K. Jiang, K. Akimoto, M. Babiker, G. Blanford, K. Fisher-Vanden, J.-C. Hourcade, et al. 2014. Assessing ‘Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III’. Climate Change and Sustainable Development 3 (S1): S19–S40.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jouvenel, H. 2000. A Brief Methodological Guide to Scenario Building. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 65: 37–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deakin, S., S. Stern, R. Kaplinsky, F. Muniesa, M. Nabli, M. O’Neill, H. Ortiz, K. Sahlin, A. Schwittay, and L. Talbot. 2016. Chapter 6: Markets, Finance and Corporations: Does Capitalism Have a Future? In Draft report for comment of the International Panel on Social Progress. Accessed 23 February 2017. https://comment.ipsp.org/chapter/chapter-6-markets-finance-and-corporations-does-capitalism-have-future

  • Deane, Paul, John Curtis, Alessandro Chiodi, Maurizio Gargiulo, Fionn Rogan, Denis Dineen, James Glynn, John FitzGerald, and Brian Ó Gallachóir. 2013. Technical Support on Developing Low Carbon Sector Roadmaps for Ireland. Cork: ERI and Dublin: ESRI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghersi, Frédéric. 2014. Low-Carbon Policy Making vs. Low-Carbon Policy Modelling: State-of-the-Art and Challenges. Environmental Modeling and Assessment 19: 345–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gore, Al. 2006. An Inconvenient Truth. London: Bloombury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herring, Horace, ed. 2012. Living in a Low-Carbon Society in 2050. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, Michael D. 2016. Speech by President Michael D. Higgins at the Independence and Interdependence Summit “The Role of Cities in Relation to Climate Change”, Croke Park, Dublin, 22 April 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holtz, Georg, Floortje Alkemade, Fjalar de Haan, Jonathan Köhler, Evelina Trutnevyte, Tobias Luthe, Johannes Halbe, et al. 2015. Prospects of Modeling Societal Transitions: Position Paper of an Emerging Community. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. doi:10.1016/j.eist.2015.05.006.

  • Hughes, N., and N. Strachan. 2010. Methodological Review of UK and International Low Carbon Scenarios. Energy Policy 38: 6056–6065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds)]. Geneva: IPCC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kainuma, Mikiko, Priyadarshi R. Shukla, and Kejun Jiang. 2012. Framing and Modeling of a Low Carbon Society: An Overview. Energy Economics 34: S316–S324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lomborg, Bjørn. 2001. The Skeptical Environmentalist. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Markandya, A., and K. Halsnaes. 2001. Costing Methodologies. In Climate Change 2001: Mitigation, ed. B. Metz et al., 451–495. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markard, Jochen, Rob Raven, and Bernhard Truffer. 2012. Sustainability Transitions: An Emerging Field of Research and Its Prospects. Research Policy 41: 955–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marx, Leo. 2010. Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept. Technology and Culture 51 (3): 561–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGrew, Anthony. 2011. The Logics of Economic Globalization. In Global Political Economy, ed. John Ravenhill, 275–311. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, Catherine. 2010. The Political Economy of Sustainable Energy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Morita, T., J. Robinson, A. Adegbulugbe, J. Alcamo, D. Herbert, E.L. La Rovere, N. Nakicenovic, et al. 2001. Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation Scenarios and Implications. In Climate Change 2001: Mitigation, Contribution of Working Group III to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ed. B. Metz, O. Davidson, R. Swart, and J. Pan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakicenovic, N., J. Alcamo, G. Davis, B. de Vries, J. Fenham, S. Gaffin, K. Gregory, et al. 2000. Special Report on Emissions Scenarios. Working Group III, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • NEF. 2008. A Green New Deal. London: New Economics Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, S.K., and K. Karlsson. 2007. Energy Scenarios: A Review of Methods, Uses and Suggestions for Improvement. International Journal of Global Energy 27 (3): 302–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nisbet, Matthew C. 2009. Communicating Climate Changer: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, March–April 2009. Accessed 31 March 2016. http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/March-April%202009/Nisbet-full.html

  • O’Brien, Robert, and Marc Williams. 2013. Global Political Economy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • O’Mahony, T. 2014. Integrated Scenarios for Energy: A Methodology for the Short Term. Futures 55: 41–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. 2015. Aligning Policies for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oreskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway. 2012. Merchants of Doubt. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pachauri, R.K., and A. Reisinger. 2007. Climate Change 2007—Synthesis Report. Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, F. 1995. Global Row over Value of Human Life. New Scientist, August 19, 7. Accessed 13 March 2017. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14719910-900-global-row-over-value-of-human-life/

  • Pettenger, Mary E., ed. 2007. The Social Construction of Climate Change: Power, Knowledge, Norms, Discourses, 275–311. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pope Francis. 2015. Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. Vatican City: Vatican Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rau, Henrike, Anna R. Davies, and Frances Fahy. 2014. Conclusion: Moving On—Promising Pathways to More Sustainable Futures. In Challenging Consumption: Pathways to a More Sustainable Future, ed. Anna R. Davies, Frances Fahy, and Henrike Rau, 187–205. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravindranath, N.H. 2010. IPCC: Accomplishments, Controversies and Challenges. Current Science 99: 26–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romm, Joe. 2016. How Can Global CO2 Levels Soar When Emissions Are Flat? Climate Progress, March 21. Accessed 24 March 2016. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/03/21/3761903/co2-levels-soar-emissions-flat/?platform=hootsuite

  • Rotmans, J., and D. Loorbach. 2009. Complexity and Transition Management. Journal of Industrial Ecology 13 (2): 184–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Select Committee on Economic Affairs. 2005. The Economics of Climate Change: 2nd Report of Session 2005–06, Volume II: Evidence. In Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on Economic Affairs. London: The Stationery Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. 1988. The Concept of Development. In Handbook of Development Economics, ed. H.B. Chenery and T.N. Srinivasan, vol. 1, 9–26. Amsterdam: North Holland.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kirby, P., O’Mahony, T. (2018). Framing the Problem: How the Climate Change Message is Constructed. In: The Political Economy of the Low-Carbon Transition. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62554-6_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics