The Climate Emergency: Extinction Rebellion’s influence on agenda-setting and climate change frames in parliamentary debates in the U.K. Image: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images Hannah van den Hil Student ID: s2094142 Email: [email protected] Supervisor: Dr. L.D. Cabane Master Thesis Crisis and SeCurity Management 29-10-2020 Word count: 18.546 Abstract Evidence of Climate Change has been mounting over the last deCades, but poliCy has been slow to follow. In 2019, the U.K. beCame the first Country in the world to deClare a Climate and eCologiCal emergency. The deClaration Came on the heels of 10 days of protests that disrupted London. The protests were organised by a relatively new social movement named Extinction Rebellion. They managed to mobilise thousands of people for their aCts of Civil disobedience. They stated three demands: 1) a Climate emergency deClaration, 2) legislation for net zero emissions by 2025 and 3) a Citizens’ assembly on Climate Change. This thesis examines to what extent Extinction Rebellion influenced agenda-setting and framing of Climate Change in the House of Commons in the U.K. between January 1st 2018 and May 1st 2019. Media attention and issue salience among U.K. Citizens indiCate that they were effeCtive in increasing both. Although these indiCators do not always translate to agenda-setting, Extinction Rebellion sucCeeded. Before the protests were over, MP Edward Miliband voiCed all three demands in a parliamentary debate that Carried Extinction Rebellion’s name. Several politiCians also attributed Extinction Rebellion and the SChool Strike for Climate protesters with putting Climate Change (baCk) on the agenda. The momentum was used by politiCians to introduce a net zero bill, although the target was set for 2050 rather than 2025. Extinction Rebellion was less effeCtive in influencing the frames that are used in parliamentary debates to disCuss sCience-related issues. Keywords: Extinction Rebellion, protests, agenda-setting, framing, climate change 2 Table of Contents List of figures ................................................................................................................................................. 5 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Research problem ........................................................................................................................................ 6 1.2 Research objective and research question ................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Academic and societal relevance ................................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Reading guide .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2. Theoretical framework ............................................................................................................................ 10 2.1 Literature review ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Agenda-setting ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Agenda-setting and social movements ....................................................................................................... 11 Social movements and framing .................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Theoretical framework .............................................................................................................................. 14 Agenda-setting ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Framing ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 3. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Design ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 3.2 Case selection ............................................................................................................................................ 20 3.4 Agenda-setting .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Media analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Political impact ........................................................................................................................................... 22 3.5 Framing ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Operationalisation of frames ...................................................................................................................... 25 3.6 Limitations ................................................................................................................................................. 28 4. Agenda-setting ........................................................................................................................................ 30 4.1 Extinction Rebellion agenda-setting .......................................................................................................... 30 4.2. Extinction Rebellion framework and strategy ........................................................................................... 31 4.3. Problem Indicators .................................................................................................................................... 33 4.4. Focusing events ........................................................................................................................................ 34 Extinction Rebellion protests ...................................................................................................................... 34 Protests as focusing event .......................................................................................................................... 35 4.5. Feedback ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Media response .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Issue salience .............................................................................................................................................. 40 4.6. Political impact ......................................................................................................................................... 42 Time frame ................................................................................................................................................. 42 Focusing events .......................................................................................................................................... 43 Extinction Rebellion demands .................................................................................................................... 44 Climate as a crisis ........................................................................................................................................ 45 Conservative / Labour comparison ............................................................................................................. 47 3 5. Framing ................................................................................................................................................... 50 5.1. Extinction Rebellion message framing ...................................................................................................... 50 Diagnostic framing ...................................................................................................................................... 50 Prognostic framing ...................................................................................................................................... 51 Motivational framing .................................................................................................................................. 52 5.2. Results ...................................................................................................................................................... 53 Conservative/Labour comparison ............................................................................................................... 56 5.3. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................