Social and political sciences facing the climate crisis: Citizens, media, parties, and social movements

Abstract

As climate change is one of the most pressing global crises, in recent years we have witnessed growing visibility of environmental issues. At the public opinion level, saliency and polarisation increased. At the institutional level, local, national and supranational environmental initiatives flourished. Green parties experienced a novel success, at least in some countries, while green issues entered the political manifestos and discourse of most mainstream parties. Moreover, environmental social movements have made headlines. And the media started to cover more and more and more environmental issues. In such a context, how are social and political sciences in Europe dealing with the economic, social, and political consequences of climate change? Has the discourse on climate change become more politicized and polarised in recent years? What do citizens think about climate change? Has the elite and mass polarization on the climate change issue increased? Has media coverage of the climate change issue changed over time? What do we know about the new environmental social movements and activists’ attitudes? Is policymaking changing accordingly? The panel aims to investigate the consequences of the climate crisis on social, political and institutional actors, as well as on citizens, from an interdisciplinary point of view.

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