From Climate to Culture War: Radical Right Framing of Energy and Environment

In recent years, radical right parties in Europe have increasingly used environmental and energy policies as wedge issues to consolidate their core support and broaden their electoral appeal. These parties often portray such policies as threats to national identity, economic wellbeing, and personal freedom, while presenting themselves as defenders of ordinary citizens against perceived elitist or globalist agendas. This paper examines how radical right parties strategically employ energy and environmental debates to reshape the European political landscape and attract voters dissatisfied with mainstream approaches. We argue that the lack of controls and limitations on parliamentary speech provide a forum markedly different from a party’s manifesto. Giving us a novel way to explore how these issues are talked about across party families and countries. Drawing on a systematic analysis of parliamentary speeches and party manifestos from 28 European countries, this study investigates how these parties both: 1) differentiate their rhetoric from mainstream parties, and 2) influence broader inter- and intra-party competition. In doing so, it contributes to understanding how the radical right leverages environmental and energy issues to contest political consensus and shape policy outcomes in contemporary European democracies.