Dominant counter-frames in influential climate contrarian European think tanks

Abstract

Numerous studies to date have interrogated United States (US) think tanks-and their networks-involved in climate change countermovement (CCM). Comparatively in Europe (EU), research has been lacking. This investigation therefore attends to that gap. We conducted a frame analysis on eight most prominent contrarian think tanks in six countries and four languages in Europe over 24 years . We found that there has been consistent contrarian framing through think tanks in the EU regarding climate change. Yet, we found a proliferation of contrarian outputs particularly in recent years. This uptick in quantity correlates with increases in CCM activities in the US. Our content analyses showed that well-worn climate change counter-frames spread by US CCM organizations were consistently circulated by European organizations as well. Moreover, we found that, as in the US, neoliberal ideological stances stood out as the most frequently taken up by contrarian think tanks in Europe. As such, we documented that CCM tropes and activities have flowed strongly between US and EU countries.

A toolkit for understanding and addressing climate scepticism

“…One consequence of the broad acceptance of climate science across the European mainstream is that explicit denial groups are more marginalized 63 . This marginalization has softened somewhat since the recent electoral successes of far-right parties across Europe, which has created space for the public expression of climate scepticism.…”

“…This is unlike the United States, where organizations that oppose specific climate policies are also typically rejecting and misrepresenting the science 65 . Rejection and misrepresentation of science in Europe is confined to a small but vocal set of organizations whose influence is modest 63 .…”

“…The strategies employed by EIKE are mirrored by similar organizations across Europe. An examination of eight major European think tanks in six countries found that they used counter-frames that mainly questioned the science of climate change (50% of the time) and the legitimacy of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (30%) 63 . The aggressive rhetoric of these European organizations parallels that of their American counterparts, although unlike the United States their political influence is limited 61 .…”

Climate change contrarian think tanks in Europe: A network analysis

“…While the US climate change contrarian countermovement has received ample attention (e.g. Brulle, 2021; CSSN, 2021; Farrell, 2016), empirical research on the involvement of European think tanks in climate change obstructionism is still scarce (exceptions are Almiron et al, 2020; Beder, 2001; Plehwe, 2014). In contrast, there is a body of research on the connections between climate action contrarian discourses and conservatism, right populism or the far-right in Europe (i.e.…”

Scare-quoting climate: The rapid rise of climate denial in the Swedish far-right media ecosystem

“…It is partly a function of strategic lobbyism by fossil fuel interests and conservative think tanks, which has taken advantage of, and fuelled, a growing rift during the last 30 years. In Europe, recent research shows that contrarian think tanks have been active in spreading denial since the mid-1990s, and that they have increased their output in recent years (Almiron et al, 2020;Ekberg & Pressfeldt, 2021). In the UK, which has a polarised media system, climate change denial has been prominent in opinion pieces in the rightwing media (Painter & Ashe, 2012).…”