Climate Change Coverage in Media – Analysis of Selected European Countries

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Advanced Research in Business, Management and Economics

Year: 2026

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Climate Change Coverage in Media – Analysis of Selected European Countries

Prof. Dr. Iustina Boitan

ABSTRACT:

The European environmental policy is shaped by a series of strategic objectives, timelines and frameworks meant to trigger gradual effects on achieving carbon-neutrality by 2030 and implement the European Commission’s long-term vision till 2050. However, the active engagement of all stakeholders in a country (real economy, financial sector, households) can be amplified if the official communications arising from public authorities at national and European levels are complemented with the active dissemination of climate/environmental information in the media (in terms of adverse effects, or adaptation measures to be undertaken). The paper aims to investigate the contribution of media to increasing public awareness and knowledge on subjects related to climate change or global warming, arisen on the background of the European-level environmental management framework, in connection with various aspects of economic, financial or social life. In particular, the paper focuses on the European region to examine the frequency of newspaper coverage of climate change or global warming issues across 27 European newspapers, published in 10 North-Western European countries. The longitudinal analysis is twofold and comprises a historical, retrospective insight dating back from November 2025 to January 2004, with a monthly data frequency, as well as a more focused analytical and statistical approach on selected years that correspond to time periods of reference at the European or international level. The source of data is the database published by the Media and Climate Change Observatory, which monthly monitors the quantity of climate change subject coverage in the media. Findings indicate that media coverage of climate change/global warming issues is largely dissimilar between the developed countries in the sample, despite some synchronization is present in particular years (2006 – 2009, respectively 2015-2024, which corresponds to the warmest decade). The year 2021 witnessed the highest number of news related to climate change concerns, climate mitigation or adaptation policies. From a country-level viewpoint, the UK persistently occupies the 1st place in the ranking based on the average number of climate news published in a given year, followed by Spain and Germany.

Keywords: Environmental Policy, Climate Change, Media Coverage