Climate change in Canada's North. An analysis of narratives and the representation of Inuit within the Canadian climate change discourse
Author
Rickmann, Leonie
Term
4. term
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-05-30
Pages
88
Abstract
Klimaforandringer er et globalt problem, men konsekvenserne rammer skævt, især oprindelige folk i sårbare områder som Arktis. Alligevel er deres perspektiver ofte fraværende i klimakommunikationen. Dette studie undersøger, hvordan NGO’en Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) taler om klimaforandringer og om inuit i sine taler og pressemeddelelser, og sammenligner det med, hvordan det canadiske medie CBC fremstiller emnet i artikler om COP1‑topmødet. Med en strategisk indholdsanalyse, inspireret af narrativ teori (Fløttum) og repræsentationsteori (Hall), ser studiet på, hvilke historier, roller og billeder der bruges til at indramme klimaforandringer og inuit. Analysen viser, at ICC anvender to forskellige kommunikationsstrategier: Afhængigt af kontekst og mål fremstilles inuit enten som ofre for at understrege skade og hastværk, eller som bærere af værdifuld viden for at fremhæve handlekraft og ekspertise. CBC fokuserer derimod primært på klimaspørgsmål i en canadisk ramme og inkluderer i den undersøgte dækning ikke oprindelige folk i Arktis på en meningsfuld måde, men skildrer dem i stedet ensidigt som ofre for klimaforandringer. Begge parter bidrager til den canadiske klimadiskurs, men der er kun få overlap mellem deres fortællinger. ICC søger at få regeringer og beslutningstagere i tale og tilpasser derfor sin kommunikation efter målet, mens CBC henvender sig til offentligheden og er forpligtet til at give et bredt udbud af information, der afspejler Canada som helhed.
Climate change is a global problem, but its effects are uneven, especially for Indigenous peoples in vulnerable regions like the Arctic. Yet their perspectives are often missing from climate communication. This study examines how the non‑governmental organization Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) talks about climate change and about Inuit in its speeches and press releases, and compares this with how the Canadian outlet CBC represents the topic in articles about the COP1 summit. Using a strategic content analysis informed by narrative theory (Fløttum) and representation theory (Hall), the study looks at the stories, roles, and images used to frame climate change and Inuit. The analysis finds that the ICC uses two distinct communication strategies: depending on context and goals, it either presents Inuit as victims to highlight harm and urgency, or as holders of valuable knowledge to emphasize agency and expertise. In contrast, in the coverage analyzed, CBC focuses mainly on climate issues within a Canadian frame and does not meaningfully include Indigenous Arctic peoples, instead tending to portray them one‑sidedly as victims of climate change. Both the ICC and CBC contribute to Canada’s climate change discourse, but there are few overlaps between their narratives. The ICC aims to get governments and policy‑makers to listen and adapts its messaging accordingly, while CBC addresses the public and is obliged to provide a wide range of information that reflects Canada as a whole.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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