Mainstreaming climate policy: the role of media coverage in Finland |
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Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Jari?Lyytim?kiEmail author |
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Institution: | (1) Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland |
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Abstract: | Integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures into other policies is considered to be a precondition for
effective climate policies. This paper explores the role of mass media coverage as a potential obstacle or enhancing factor
in relation to this mainstreaming of climate policies. The paper presents a quantitative content analysis of the national-level
press coverage of climate change from 1990 to 2010, focusing on Finland. The empirical results indicate four major phases
of Finnish media coverage of climate change: a definition phase before the Kyoto meeting in 1997, a maturation phase after
the Kyoto meeting, climate hype in 2006–2008, and a phase of levelling off that started in late 2008. The results suggest
that climate issues have widely permeated various fields of newspaper coverage. This broad-based debate may create and sustain
a public agenda potentially favourable to attempts to bring climate policies into the mainstream of other policy domains.
However, it also may open doors for unexpected initiatives by various activists and lobbyists that employ climate concern
as a tool to advance other interests. The role of mass media has received little attention in studies focusing on the mainstreaming
of climate policies. This paper highlights the importance of taking media coverage into account as a key factor in the formulation
and implementation of environmental policies aimed at broad-based actions. |
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