The way in which climate change is framed can give rise to expectations and creates awareness or support for certain policies. This study looks into similarities and differences in the framing of...Show moreThe way in which climate change is framed can give rise to expectations and creates awareness or support for certain policies. This study looks into similarities and differences in the framing of climate change in articles in China’s state-owned newspaper People’s Daily, government speeches and statements at international conferences. The research attempts to demonstrate whether or not the framing of climate change differs when the target audience, i.e. international organizations or other nation states and domestic populations, is different. This study uses frame analysis as theoretical basis and it applies a comparative approach. The study looks into the framing of climate change through examining three case studies: China’s target to peak carbon emissions by 2030, China’s target to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 and the country’s promise to stop building overseas coal-fired power plants. 39 articles in People’s Daily and 6 international speeches that contained these three topics are analyzed in order to detect the prevailing climate change frames. The results show that the international speeches place policy goals in the context of climate change, but that a reference to climate change is often absent in articles in People’s Daily. Both ways of communication mainly make use of the domestic politics frame and emphasize international collaboration. Furthermore, the speeches and articles frequently regard China as vanguard in dealing with climate change. The insights gathered by this study contribute to the field of research on framing and climate change communication by the Chinese government.Show less
