Introduction
Today, news media and social media are the key sources of information and means of communication, which allow people to discuss climate change. The public discourse is largely shaped by media, providing the key highlights and possible solutions, while also acts as a polarizing frame. The first research question to be answered is what are the challenges that encounter people who seek to promote climate change actions? It is also important to understand what are the reasons for the polarization of attitudes in the discourse of climate change? In this paper, I will argue that the emergence of climate change frames, including economic, scientific, political, public health, et cetera, led to the polarization of the views. There was a range of cases that caused the current state of the given discourse, which I will examine in the proposed essay.
Main body
I will answer the identified questions by offering a critical reading of Kyoto’s case that sheds light on the origins of polarization from the historical perspective (Bolsen, Palm, & Kingsland, 2019; Boykoff & Yulsman, 2013). The second case study will be related to Hollywood and the so-called climate “Alarmism” that began after the release of the film “The Day After Tomorrow” (Bolsen & Shapiro, 2018). The role of emotions as the tool of communication to explore its relation to decisions and actions will also be analyzed (Roeser, 2012). The climate change campaign in Kenya is the third case study, which is expected to clarify the lessons learned from past research to inform future actions (Murphy & Tinga, 2019).
Conclusion
To conclude, these case studies will provide understanding of the current polarization of views on climate change that are widely discussed in the media. The analysis of this topic is likely to help in formulating feasible recommendations to address the critical problem of climate change and associated consequences.
References
Bolsen, T., & Shapiro, M. A. (2018). The US news media, polarization on climate change, and pathways to effective communication. Environmental Communication, 12(2), 149-163.
Bolsen, T., Palm, R., & Kingsland, J. T. (2019). The impact of message source on the effectiveness of communications about climate change. Science Communication, 41(4), 464-487.
Boykoff, M. T., & Yulsman, T. (2013). Political economy, media, and climate change: Sinews of modern life. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 4(5), 359-371.
Murphy, P. D., & Tinga, T. M. (2019). Communication for development and social change and the challenge of climate change. International Journal of Communication, 13(2019), 1252-1270.
Roeser, S. (2012). Risk communication, public engagement, and climate change: A role for emotions. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 32(6), 1033-1040.