Exploring discourses of climate delay in energy transition debates in national media

Abstract

Despite being broadly aligned with calls to phase out fossil fuels, the pledge made by the government of President Gustavo Petro in Colombia to end the granting of new hydrocarbon contracts has faced strong opposition. This article examines some of the main discourses of climate delay in Colombia’s energy transition debate in newspapers and magazines in response to the pledge. It makes one of the first applications of Lamb et al.’s (2020) discourses of climate delay typology in a Global South country to identify the main discourses of climate obstruction in Colombia’s energy transition debate in national media. It shows the widespread use of discourses of climate delay in national media outlets and argues that they are not neutral actors but rather enable, amplify and circulate these discourses from those opposing the pledge thus exposing Colombia’s media as a site of climate obstruction. It examines how opponents of the pledge combined discourses of climate delay with issues including energy security and economic stability, with various media outlets failing to challenge these claims. The article contributes to the literatures on climate obstruction in the Global South, the political economy of the media and Colombia’s climate and energy politics.