“Governments Have the Power”? Interpretations of Climate Change Responsibility and Solutions Among Canadian Environmentalists

Abstract

The authors examine environmentalists’ attribution of responsibility for addressing climate change and their beliefs about solutions to this problem. Their analysis is based on responses to open-ended questions completed by 1,227 members of nine different environmental organizations. For these environmental movement participants, the federal government is seen as most responsible for addressing climate change. Government leadership is necessary because it has the power to set regulations and lead corporations and citizens toward pro-environmental behavior. However, a substantial number of participants also assert that “individuals are the driving force” in dealing with climate change. In this framework, individuals can take responsibility either through making lifestyle changes, or through applying pressure to government and businesses as citizens and consumers. Corporations are interpreted as unwilling to change on their own but must be coerced into becoming more environmentally sustainable by a strong state.

The influence of institutional pressures on climate mitigation and adaptation strategies

“…Several studies have shown how different factors can influence business choices with regard to climate change strategies (Stoddart et al, 2012;Backman et al, 2017). Regulatory policies, market dynamics, product and process innovation and climate-induced physical change contribute shaping companies' strategies, by creating risks and opportunities (Gasbarro et al, 2017).…”

Canadian news media and the cultural dynamics of multilevel climate governance

“…This treatment of issue scale parallels results from a separate study of how Canadian environmentalists interpret climate-change responsibility and solutions. Our results from that project indicate that environmentalists tend to view climate change through the dual lens of government responsibility and individual responsibility (Stoddart et al 2012). The bipolar interpretive frameworks articulated by the media and adopted by environmentalists both work to reduce the complexities of multilevel climate governance.…”

Household Barriers to Climate Change Action: Perspectives from Nuevo Leon, Mexico

“…A key aspect of climate change relates to the question of who is responsible for it. Many people deny their own responsibility in contributing to the problem, and may even place blame on other people [38,39]. People are often of the opinion that governments should be held accountable for climate change and should take leadership regarding the issue to set regulations to encourage corporations and citizens to modify their behavior [38].…”