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Upping the ante? The effects of “emergency” and “crisis” framing in climate change news

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  • Lauren Feldman

    (Rutgers University)

  • P. Sol Hart

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

News organizations increasingly use the terms “climate emergency” and “climate crisis” to convey the urgency of climate change; yet, little is known about how this terminology affects news audiences. This study experimentally examined how using “climate emergency,” “climate crisis,” or “climate change” in Twitter-based news stories influences public engagement with climate change and news perceptions, as well as whether the effects depend on the focus of the news (i.e., on climate impacts, actions, or both impacts and actions) and on participants’ political ideology. Results showed no effect of terminology on climate change engagement; however, “climate emergency” reduced perceived news credibility and newsworthiness compared to “climate change.” Both climate engagement and news perceptions were more consistently affected by the focus of the stories: news about climate impacts increased fear, decreased efficacy beliefs and hope, and reduced news credibility compared to news about climate actions. No interactions with political ideology were found.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauren Feldman & P. Sol Hart, 2021. "Upping the ante? The effects of “emergency” and “crisis” framing in climate change news," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:169:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-021-03219-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-03219-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wändi Bruine de Bruin & Laurel Kruke & Gale M. Sinatra & Norbert Schwarz, 2024. "Should we change the term we use for “climate change”? Evidence from a national U.S. terminology experiment," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(8), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Melissa K. Merry & Rodger A. Payne, 2024. "Climate fatalism, partisan cues, and support for the Inflation Reduction Act," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 57(2), pages 379-402, June.
    3. Dragan Burić & Miroslav Doderović, 2022. "Trend of Percentile Climate Indices in Montenegro in the Period 1961–2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.

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