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Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land

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  • Mary Sanford

    (University of Oxford)

  • James Painter

    (University of Oxford
    University of Oxford)

  • Taha Yasseri

    (University College Dublin
    University College Dublin)

  • Jamie Lorimer

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

In August 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), which generated extensive societal debate and interest in mainstream and social media. Using computational and conceptual text analysis, we examined more than 6,000 English-language posts on Twitter to establish the relative presence of different topics. Then, we assessed their levels of toxicity and sentiment polarity as an indication of contention and controversy. We find first that meat consumption and dietary options became one of the most discussed issues on Twitter in response to the IPCC report, even though it was a relatively minor element of the report; second, this new issue of controversy (meat and diet) had similar, high levels of toxicity to strongly contentious issues in previous IPCC reports (skepticism about climate science and the credibility of the IPCC). We suggest that this is in part a reflection of increasingly polarized narratives about meat and diet found in other areas of public discussion and of a movement away from criticism of climate science towards criticism of climate solutions. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of these findings for the work of the IPCC in anticipating responses to its reports and responding to them effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Sanford & James Painter & Taha Yasseri & Jamie Lorimer, 2021. "Controversy around climate change reports: a case study of Twitter responses to the 2019 IPCC report on land," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-25, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:167:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-021-03182-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-03182-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nathan Clay & Alexandra E. Sexton & Tara Garnett & Jamie Lorimer, 2020. "Palatable disruption: the politics of plant milk," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 945-962, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Andrés Navarro & Francisco J. Tapiador, 2023. "Twitch as a privileged locus to analyze young people’s attitudes in the climate change debate: a quantitative analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Martin C. Parlasca & Matin Qaim, 2022. "Meat Consumption and Sustainability," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 17-41, October.
    4. James Painter & Suzie Marshall & Katherine Leitzell, 2024. "Communicating climate futures: a multi-country study of how the media portray the IPCC scenarios in the 2021/2 Working Group reports," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(6), pages 1-23, June.
    5. Mary Sanford & Jamie Lorimer, 2022. "Veganuary and the vegan sausage (t)rolls: conflict and commercial engagement in online climate-diet discourse," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Araceli Galiano-Coronil & Manuela Ortega-Gil & Belén Macías-Varela & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll, 2023. "An approach for analysing and segmenting messages about the SDGs on Twitter from the perspective of social marketing," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 20(3), pages 635-658, September.

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