Legitimation des Nichthandelns

Despite the scientifically evident necessity for national and international climate protection measures, there has so far been no effective, collective response from the international community to climate change. Against this backdrop, the study investigates which actors at the national and supranational levels oppose climate protection regulations and how they legitimize their stance. A comparative framing approach is used to analyze media coverage of climate change in Germany and the United Kingdom. The empirical research is based on an extensive content analysis of 885 media contributions from a two-year study period from 2011 to 2012. This investigation reveals that the spectrum of actors rejecting climate protection regulations differs significantly at the national and supranational levels. Climate skepticism is not a central driver of the regulatory debate in either Germany or the UK. However, in the British arena, skeptics are more frequently heard, particularly in the Daily Telegraph and The Sun.