Climate Change Communication in Israel

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hillel Nossek
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Nongovernmental Organizations ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Channels

Given its location between the Mediterranean Sea and the desert, it seems Israel would be aware of the potential risks of climate change, especially given its lack of natural fossil resources, among other factors. Its location might have led to a greater emphasis on adaptation than mitigation and for climate change communication to flow from all relevant agents, utilized by the ingenuity of this hi-tech nation toward adaptation solutions. However, tracking the development of climate change policy and action leads to the conclusion that climate change is not at the top of Israel’s agenda, due to factors ranging from defense to the neoliberal economy. This article presents some background history of climate change activism and policy development in Israel. It considers the relevant Israeli context that was the bedrock of climate change policy and activity. It also reviews the communicative activity of the relevant agents, including the government, parliament, scientists, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the media, and the public at large, and examines climate change on the public’s agenda as it was presented by the media and reflected in public opinion polls, especially around global climate change events initiated by the United Nations (UN) from Bali (2007) to Paris (2015). Climate change communication in Israel is primarily practiced within the environmental communication field and less so in the science communication field. Communication about climate change is fairly benign compared to the war and terror that are part of everyday life in Israel. Only in the 1970s did environmental communication emerge in various media channels and was placed on the public’s agenda, while climate change communication specifically began to gain salience slowly only in the first decade of the 21st century. Mass media coverage of climate change in Israel is generally quite low compared to other developed countries in the West, with new media channels partially used by interested nongovernmental organizations and individual activists. From time to time, media events organized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and world summits on climate change that involve mainly local political interests serve to increase coverage and raise public interest. As in other countries, coverage is usually local rather than global, even though climate change is a global problem. How effective is climate change communication in Israel? Research has only partially answered this question. It seems that the legacy of low media coverage contributes to the low salience of climate change on the governmental and public agendas. Moreover, the atmosphere of uncertain risks and outcomes for Israel has not created a climate of urgency for policymakers.

Climate Change Communication in Argentina

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Teresa Mercado-Sáez ◽  
César Galarza
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Climate Change Research ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
Civil Sphere ◽  
The Media ◽  
Almost All

Climate change research in Argentina focuses on its physical aspects (natural sciences) and not so much on the social aspects, beyond the various surveys measuring perceptions and concerns of Argentinians about climate change. There are few studies that address the problem of communicating the issue from a social sciences standpoint, and these refer to analysis of its coverage in the leading newspapers. And almost all have been published in Spanish. The links between media coverage, policy, and public perceptions in Argentina have not been the subject of academic research thus far. Given the lack of specific bibliography examining the climate change communication from a transversal outlook, in-depth interviews were used to find this out. This study presents an overview of the communication of climate change in Argentina considering not only the journalistic point of view but also that of other social actors. Five areas of interest were defined: the political, the scientific, the media, NGO environmentalists, and what this article refers to as “other sectors.” This fifth area incorporated other voices from the business sector or the non-specialized civil sphere in order to complement the panorama of representative actors that have something to say about the communication of the climate change in Argentina.

Role of the Media in Climate Change Communication in the Northwest Region of Cameroon

2017 ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suiven John Paul Tume ◽  
Mbilam Samson Jumbam ◽  
Ndze Albert Nsoseka ◽  
Ngoran Divine Nyarka ◽  
Lawong Judith Yenla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
The Media ◽  
Northwest Region

Climate Change Communication: Examining the Social and Cognitive Barriers to Productive Environmental Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 2085-2100
Author(s):  
Sonia Hélène Merkel ◽  
Angela M. Person ◽  
Randy A. Peppler ◽  
Sarah M. Melcher
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
The Social

Content Analysis in Climate Change Communication

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Metag
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
Content Analyses

Content analysis is one of the most frequently used methods in climate change communication research. Studies implementing content analysis investigate how climate change is presented in mass media or other communication content. Quantitative content analysis develops a standardized codebook to code content systematically, which then allows for statistical analysis. Qualitative analysis relies on interpretative methods and a closer reading of the material, often using hermeneutic approaches and taking linguistic features of the text more into account than quantitative analysis. While quantitative analysis—particularly if conducted automatically—can comprise larger samples, qualitative analysis usually entails smaller samples, as it is more detailed. Different types of material—whether online content, campaign material, or climate change imagery—bring about different challenges when studied through content analysis that need to be considered when drawing samples of the material for content analysis. To evaluate the quality of a content analysis measures for reliability and validity are used. Key themes in content analyses of climate change communication are the media’s attention to climate change and the different points of view on global warming as an issue being present in the media coverage. Challenges for content analysis as a method for assessing climate change communication arise from the lack of comparability of the various studies that exist. Multimodal approaches are developed to better adhere to both textual and visual content simultaneously in content analyses of climate change communication.

Climate Change Communication in Japan

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Midori Aoyagi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emission ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
Early Arrival ◽  
International Events

Climate change communication in Japan is characterized by governmental campaigns for carbon dioxide emission reduction and mass media coverage of international events on climate change issues. A series of governmental campaigns included “Cool Biz,” “Warm Biz,” and “Team Minus 6%” for the Kyoto protocol; “Challenge 25” for the Hatoyama initiative; “Fun to Share” and “Cool Choice” for the new mid-term Greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 26%. Those campaigns are popular among public. As for media coverage of international events on climate change issues, one of the biggest events was the COP3 in Kyoto, in 1997; another is the release of AR5 from 2006 to early 2007, and following events of the G8 summits of Heiligendamm, Germany in 2007, and of Toyako, Japan in 2008. Until now, not much attention has been paid to climate change communication research, as social scientists seldom join research projects concerning climate change science. But recent severe weather, such as stronger or early-season typhoons, heavier rainfalls, early arrival of spring (e.g., earlier bloom of cherry blossoms), and the bleaching of coral reefs bring awareness not only to the general public but also to social scientists. Lack of participation by social scientists in climate change communication research has meant a very narrow range of communication with the public. Experts try to “teach” the science of climate change, and actions such as “50 easy things for tackling global warming,” but it seems those are not what ordinary people want to know. Furthermore, there seems to be no debate on what climate change will bring us, what kinds of energy we should choose, who might be more vulnerable. Debate on ethical issues, justice issues, and sharing of responsibility will be need to be part of future climate change communication.

scholarly journals Media Coverage and Perceived Policy Influence of Environmental Actors: Good Strategy or Pyrrhic Victory?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-310
Author(s):  
Adam C. Howe ◽  
Mark C. J. Stoddart ◽  
David B. Tindall
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Environmental Movement ◽  
Policy Networks ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Policy Influence ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Movement Organizations

In this article we analyze how media coverage for environmental actors (individual environmental activists and environmental movement organizations) is associated with their perceived policy influence in Canadian climate change policy networks. We conceptualize media coverage as the total number of media mentions an actor received in Canada’s two main national newspapers—the <em>Globe and Mail</em> and <em>National Post</em>. We conceptualize perceived policy influence as the total number of times an actor was nominated by other actors in a policy network as being perceived to be influential in domestic climate change policy making in Canada. Literature from the field of social movements, agenda setting, and policy networks suggests that environmental actors who garner more media coverage should be perceived as more influential in policy networks than actors who garner less coverage. We assess support for this main hypothesis in two ways. First, we analyze how actor attributes (such as the type of actor) are associated with the amount of media coverage an actor receives. Second, we evaluate whether being an environmental actor shapes the association between media coverage and perceived policy influence. We find a negative association between media coverage and perceived policy influence for individual activists, but not for environmental movement organizations. This case raises fundamental theoretical questions about the nature of relations between media and policy spheres, and the efficacy of media for signaling and mobilizing policy influence.

Climate Change Communication in Russia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Yagodin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
Communication Links ◽  
Critical Issues

In the Russian case, climate change communication links to critical issues of domestic and foreign policy. Russia is one of the leaders in the global carbon market, but its outdated industrial sector needs modernization based on energy efficient technologies. Russia is an ambitious international player seeking high moral positions in addressing global problems such as climate change, but its growing isolation and authoritarianism strangle free public discussions about climate change on a national scale. This article reviews the development of climate change communication as practice and as a field of academic research in Russia. By outlining the relevant scholarly field, the article splits the discussion into two parts—the realities of communication in climate politics and environmental communication. The section on climate politics touches upon Russia’s climate policy, the development of environmental movement since the 1960s, and the question of indigenous peoples. The environmental communication section highlights historical and more recent roles of environmental journalism, points to a generally low volume of climate change coverage, and raises questions about the potential of alternative media. The article concludes that the Russian field of communication research focusing on climate change is growing, but needs a more systematic approach, international comparisons, and research designs that would include more types of empirical materials.

Climate Change Communication in Spain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Carmen Erviti ◽  
Bienvenido León
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Population ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
The Media

It is not easy to determine the precise moment when climate change became a public communication issue in Spain. Among early references, the national newspaper El País published a story titled “World climate is going to change,” on November 17, 1976, and the term “global warming,” imported from the United States, appeared frequently in the media, from 1988 onward. However, academic research about communication of this important issue is relatively recent. A seminar held in 2005 warned that there were “no specific studies on the way the Spanish citizenry is facing the climate change threat” (II Seminario de Comunicación, Educación y Participación frente al Cambio Climático, Lekaroz, Navarra). This seminar precipitated the first study on public perception of climate change in Spain. According to more recent research, 90.1% of Spanish citizens are aware that climate change is happening, whereas only 4.6% are not. Historical records indicate that awareness has grown consistently in the early 21st century, with awareness levels that are similar to those of other countries. However, although there exists a strong consensus within the scientific community on the existence and the anthropogenic origin of climate change, polls indicate that only a small part of the Spanish population (39.0%) is aware of this agreement; a figure that is similar to that of other countries, such as the United States. In addition, two thirds of the Spanish population (64.4%) believe that climate change is mainly a consequence of human activities; a higher percentage than in other countries, like the United States. This ambivalent picture is not surprising, considering climate change is a marginal topic for mainstream Spanish media. According to a study conducted in 2005 and 2011, only 0.2% of all stories in the main national newspapers and 0.19% of national TV news focused on climate change, a lower percentage than in other countries. Media coverage of this issue has fluctuated since the 1990s, depending on several factors, like the existence of links to current affairs (such as international climate summits), notable report publications (from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and public engagement efforts (such as the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth). As far as the quality of the coverage is concerned, research shows similar trends to those detected internationally, including politicization, superficiality, and catastrophism. However, compared to other countries, there is a lower representation of skeptic viewpoints in the Spanish media that may be related to a weaker public visibility of skeptic think tanks and personalities. Academic interest in climate change communication has risen since 2010. Only four publications (books or articles) were released from 2001 to 2005, whereas more than 30 appeared in the period 2011–2015. Research has primarily focused on public perception and media coverage of climate change and has been conducted mainly by four universities (Universidad Complutense, Universidad de Málaga, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, and Universidad de Navarra). Communication actions related to climate change have been carried out by several nongovernmental organizations, often as part of international events and campaigns. In the early 21st century, national and regional public institutions have conducted several campaigns to communicate and raise climate change awareness, producing several exhibitions and publications, mainly on climate change mitigation. Several forums have suggested that the current weaknesses could benefit from a closer relationship among the media and scientific institutions. This could contribute to provide more credible information on the reality of climate change, as well as the options for mitigation and adaptation. Future research could also address climate change coverage in online media and social networks, as well as reception studies, currently underrepresented in academic studies conducted in the country.

Climate Change Communication in Germany

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike S. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political History ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Policy Agendas

Climate change communication has a long history in Germany, where the so-called “climate catastrophe” has received widespread public attention from the 1980s onwards. The article reviews climate change communication and the respective research in the country over the last decades. First, it provides a socio-political history of climate change communication in Germany. It shows how scientists were successful in setting the issue on the public and policy agendas early on, how politicians and the media emphasized the climate change threat, how corporations abstained from interventions into the debate and how skeptical voices, as a result, remained marginalized. Second, the article reviews scholarship on climate change communication in Germany. It shows how research on the issue has expanded since the mid-2000s, highlights major strands and results, as well as open questions and ongoing debates.

Livestock and Climate Change

2016 ◽  
pp. 75-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Mayes
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Newspaper Articles

A global shift away from diets dominated by meat, dairy and eggs to mainly plant-based diets is as necessary in mitigating anthropogenic climate change as the shift away from fossil fuels. Yet a large awareness gap exists about animal agriculture's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Recent studies in Australia and the United States show this issue is represented in less than 1 percent of all newspaper articles about climate change. This chapter examines the opportunities and barriers in addressing the livestock sector's impact on climate change. Policy recommendations in the literature are compared with the responses of governments, industry and the NGO sector. Australia's unique socioeconomic and cultural ties to livestock production and the consumption of animal products represent a significant barrier to demand-side mitigation. An analysis of newspaper articles mentioning animal agriculture's link to climate change in The Sydney Morning Herald between 2006 and 2014 provides insights into the facilitation and shaping of public awareness on the issue to date. The findings can inform strategies to increase future media coverage and encourage a more engaged discourse on demand-side mitigation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document