Climate Change Communication: An Analysis of Scientific Frames in Mainstream Dailies of India and USA

Abstract

The communication of climate change from scientists, policy-makers and stakeholders to the public through the mass media has been a subject of interest in the research field. It is so because of its implications for creating public understanding of climate change and related issues. India is one of the major emerging economies, and so being one of the major greenhouse gas emitters, India is a key factor in the climate change story. On the other hand, USA one of the world's most developed and technologically advanced countries, has high energy consumption needs and therefore it is also one of the world's leading greenhouse gas emitters. Being politically strong at the world forum it holds an upper hand in global policy making about climate change issues. Hence it will be important to note how these two countries perceive climate change and subsequently sensitize, inform and interpret it through their mass media. In this study we analyse how climate change has been communicated through scientific frames in four major English dailies of India and USA.