SVENSKA AKTÖRER, RISKER OCH EU:S UTSLÄPPSHANDELSSYSTEM En diskursanalys om svenska aktörers framställning av risker i debatten om EU-ETS

Abstract

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to earth and mankind today. Due to mankind’s large emissions of greenhouse gas the temperature has risen in the atmosphere. One significant international action to reduce emissions in Europe is the EU Emission Trading System (EUETS). In Sweden, around 37 percent of emissions are related to the EU-ETS and it’s an important tool for Sweden to achieve their climate goals. The system has not been without criticism since it started in 2005 and has gone through several reforms. Previous research shows that risks like climate change are difficult to manage and that framing climate risks impact how we decide to do so. The purpose of this study is thereof to examine how four Swedish climate actors frame risks in media discussions about the EU-ETS. A qualitative content analysis was conducted based on debate articles from the actors. The result shows that the two government organizations and the trade association had a more economic and market based framing of risks than the nonprofit organization. The actor’s different interests have a lot to do with how they frame climate risks and furthermore it influences which management of risks that they look for and promote.