Journalism or greenwashing? Sponsors of COP25 Chile-Madrid in the Spanish press

Abstract

On 2 December 2019, the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference, chaired by Chile, began in Madrid. Among the main sponsors of this summit were companies from different sectors such as banking, insurance and energy. This research analyses the media coverage received by two of the main sponsors of COP25, the energy companies Endesa and Iberdrola, before, during and after the summit. The methodology, based on content analysis and framing, sought to search references to these two companies in six Spanish newspapers between November 2019 and January 2020. The results of this research show that the Spanish press did not critically examine the activity of these two energy companies, an approach that is only predominant in one of the six newspapers analysed. In addition, the presence of greenwashing elements in texts on COP25, where these companies appear, is noteworthy. This work offers an invitation to reflect on journalistic business models; the relationship between advertising, interest groups and freedom of information and the responsibility of the media in the context of the current climate emergency.