IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i8p4635-d791932.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Communicating about Energy Policy in a Resource-Rich Jurisdiction during the Climate Crisis: Lessons from the People of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Linda A. Selvey

    (Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia)

  • Morris Carpenter

    (Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia)

  • Mattea Lazarou

    (Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia)

  • Katherine Cullerton

    (Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia)

Abstract

There is a high degree of expert consensus that anthropogenic climate change will be catastrophic if urgent and significant measures to reduce carbon emissions are not undertaken worldwide. Australia is a world-leading exporter of coal and gas, and does not have an effective emissions reduction strategy. Though many Australians support action on climate change, this has not affected voting patterns. In this qualitative study, we aimed to explore the attitudes of Australian voters in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia towards potential environmental policies. We approached people in public spaces, and invited them to participate in interviews. Six of the thirty-five interview participants who voted for the two main political parties or were undecided voters agreed with the transition to 100% renewables and/or no new coal mines in Australia. Many thought that renewables were not reliable enough and/or the economy was too dependent on coal to make the transition. There was strong support for political leadership in order to regulate mining and pollution, and for a transition plan for fossil-fuel-dependent communities. Participants were most concerned about tangible environmental issues, such as waste and pollution, and also described needing clear solutions in order to engage with the issues. Some described feeling ‘shouted at’ by protests and messaging about climate change and environmental issues. Our findings suggest that solution-based messaging may increase levels of engagement about climate change, and that waste and pollution can be entry-points for discussions about climate change. It is important to have conversations with people about this important issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda A. Selvey & Morris Carpenter & Mattea Lazarou & Katherine Cullerton, 2022. "Communicating about Energy Policy in a Resource-Rich Jurisdiction during the Climate Crisis: Lessons from the People of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-12, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:8:p:4635-:d:791932
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/8/4635/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/8/4635/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Terry P. Hughes & James T. Kerry & Mariana Álvarez-Noriega & Jorge G. Álvarez-Romero & Kristen D. Anderson & Andrew H. Baird & Russell C. Babcock & Maria Beger & David R. Bellwood & Ray Berkelmans & T, 2017. "Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals," Nature, Nature, vol. 543(7645), pages 373-377, March.
    2. Elisabeth Gsottbauer & Jeroen Bergh, 2011. "Environmental Policy Theory Given Bounded Rationality and Other-regarding Preferences," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 49(2), pages 263-304, June.
    3. Qingchang Li & Seungkook Roh & Jin Won Lee, 2020. "Segmenting the South Korean Public According to Their Preferred Direction for Electricity Mix Reform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Goddard, George & Farrelly, Megan A., 2018. "Just transition management: Balancing just outcomes with just processes in Australian renewable energy transitions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 110-123.
    5. Matthew I. Curnock & Nadine A. Marshall & Lauric Thiault & Scott F. Heron & Jessica Hoey & Genevieve Williams & Bruce Taylor & Petina L. Pert & Jeremy Goldberg, 2019. "Shifts in tourists’ sentiments and climate risk perceptions following mass coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(7), pages 535-541, July.
    6. Hamish van der Ven & Yixian Sun, 2021. "Varieties of Crises: Comparing the Politics of COVID-19 and Climate Change," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 21(1), pages 13-22, Winter.
    7. Daniel Q. Gillion & Sarah A. Soule, 2018. "The Impact of Protest on Elections in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1649-1664, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samantha A. Sharpe & Cristina M. Martinez-Fernandez, 2021. "The Implications of Green Employment: Making a Just Transition in ASEAN," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Peter John Robinson & W. J. Wouter Botzen & Fujin Zhou, 2021. "An experimental study of charity hazard: The effect of risky and ambiguous government compensation on flood insurance demand," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 275-318, December.
    3. Upham, Dr Paul & Sovacool, Prof Benjamin & Ghosh, Dr Bipashyee, 2022. "Just transitions for industrial decarbonisation: A framework for innovation, participation, and justice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Munshi Muhammad Abdul Kader Jilani & Luo Fan & Mohammad Tazul Islam & Md. Aftab Uddin, 2020. "The Influence of Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Performance: A Moderated Mediation Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Yildiz, Özgür, 2014. "Lehren aus der Verhaltensökonomik für die Gestaltung umweltpolitischer Maßnahmen [Lessons from behavioral economics for the design of environmental policy measures]," MPRA Paper 59360, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Ortiz-Riomalo, Juan Felipe & Koessler, Ann-Kathrin & Engel, Stefanie, 2021. "Inducing perspective-taking for prosocial behaviour in natural resource management," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Hamman, Evan & Brodie, Jon & Eberhard, Rachel & Deane, Felicity & Bode, Michael, 2022. "Regulating land use in the catchment of the Great Barrier Reef," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    8. Mircea Cătălin Dîrțu & Oara Prundeanu, 2023. "Narcissism and Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Self-Monitoring, Environmental Control and Attitudes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    9. Miklós Antal & Ardjan Gazheli & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2012. "Behavioural Foundations of Sustainability Transitions. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 3," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46424, March.
    10. Kuriyama, Akihisa & Abe, Naoya, 2021. "Decarbonisation of the power sector to engender a ‘Just transition’ in Japan: Quantifying local employment impacts," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    11. Karina Bedrunka & Ireneusz Dąbrowski, 2022. "Recommendations for changes in the methodology of public EU funds allocation in the context of economic crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 53(6), pages 605-624.
    12. Janusch, Nicholas & Palm-Forster, Leah H. & Messer, Kent D. & Ferraro, Paul J., 2017. "Behavioral Insights for Agri-Environmental Program and Policy Design," 2018 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 5-7, 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 266299, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Christel W. van Eck & Bob C. Mulder & Sander van der Linden, 2020. "Climate Change Risk Perceptions of Audiences in the Climate Change Blogosphere," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-17, September.
    14. Guy Jackson, 2023. "Environmental subjectivities and experiences of climate extreme-driven loss and damage in northern Australia," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(7), pages 1-21, July.
    15. George Cunningham & Brian P. McCullough & Shelby Hohensee, 2020. "Physical activity and climate change attitudes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 61-74, March.
    16. Chaojiao Sun & Alistair J. Hobday & Scott A. Condie & Mark E. Baird & J. Paige Eveson & Jason R. Hartog & Anthony J. Richardson & Andrew D. L. Steven & Karen Wild-Allen & Russell C. Babcock & Dezhou Y, 2022. "Ecological Forecasting and Operational Information Systems Support Sustainable Ocean Management," Forecasting, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-29, December.
    17. Chi Chiu Cheang & Yue Ma & Lincoln Fok, 2018. "Occurrence and Composition of Microplastics in the Seabed Sediments of the Coral Communities in Proximity of a Metropolitan Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-12, October.
    18. Chiara Franco & Claudia Ghisetti, 2022. "What shapes the “value-action” gap? The role of time perception reconsidered," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(3), pages 1023-1053, October.
    19. Lo, Kevin, 2021. "Authoritarian environmentalism, just transition, and the tension between environmental protection and social justice in China's forestry reform," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    20. Ann-Kathrin Koessler & Stefanie Engel, 2021. "Policies as Information Carriers: How Environmental Policies May Change Beliefs and Consequent Behavior," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 15(1-2), pages 1-31, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:8:p:4635-:d:791932. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.