The Environment as Part of the E-Government Agenda

Abstract

This paper explores national governments’ prioritization of environmental matters within their e-government websites, in order to provide empirical evidence related to the way “green” issues are articulated in different countries’ policymaking agendas. Through a multi-pronged methodological approach combining frame analysis, factor analysis, inferential statistics, and qualitative interpretation, explicit and visual allusions related to environmental policies, initiatives, challenges, and agencies in the home page or main portal of the national governments for 189 UN members were coded. Results show that only 39.1% of the analyzed e-government sites included environmental references, and no strong pattern characterized the framing of environmental concerns by governments. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that GDP per capita and contribution to global CO2 emissions have more weight than other variables in a nation’s propensity to highlight environmental issues within their e-government websites. Findings are discussed in light of framing theory, as well as in light of implications for governments’ public image and for actual environmental advocacy.