Social Constructions of Climate Futures: Reframing Science’s Harmful Impact Frame Across News Media, Social Movements, and Local Communities

Abstract

Climate research has established a cultural authority in modelling our future with climate change, and often uses a harmful impacts frame to communicate about climate change and climate futures. This paper investigates the social constructions of climate futures by analyzing how the harmful impacts frame resonates and is reframed in three social arenas–news media, climate movements, and local communities. Data for this study stems from a larger interdisciplinary project, drawing from content analyses, participant observations, interviews, and a survey. The findings highlight that news media and climate movements reframed the harmful impacts frame only slightly, mostly to generate attention. Members of local communities reframed to a greater extent, making stronger applications to their lifeworlds. The study also points to a lack of connections across the social arenas. Implications for climate change communication will be discussed.