Creating a climate of convenience: Australia's response to global climate change (1996-2007)

Abstract

This article discusses how issue framing and nondecision-making shaped Australia's response to global climate change between 1996 and 2007. The complex and multi-dimensional nature of global climate change enabled state and non-state actors to selectively highlight certain aspects of the issue, thereby framing it as a specific problem with corresponding solutions. The case of Australia provides an interesting example of how such conscious framing, together with underlying institutional biases, may suppress important aspects of global climate change and ensure they are kept off the political agenda. This article unravels four narratives that are evident in the former Australian Government's framing of global climate change during this period. The nondecisions which are embedded within these narratives have important normative implications which will be explored.