Ecolinguistic and Critical Discourse Analysis of Environmental Narratives in Sustainable Development Goal Communications

This study employs an interdisciplinary approach, integrating Ecolinguistic Discourse Analysis (EDA) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), to investigate the ecological and ideological implications embedded within environmental discourses related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Analyzing a purposively sampled corpus of official reports, media articles, educational materials, and corporate sustainability reports, the research quantitatively categorizes discourse into three orientations: consonant (60%), neutral (25%), and contravention (15%). Findings reveal that while a majority of texts exhibit consonant discourse, actively promoting ecological sustainability and aligning with the SDGs’ holistic vision, a significant proportion displays neutral discourse characterized by semantic vagueness and mixed messages. Critically, contravention discourse downplays ecological concerns, often privileging economic interests and hindering transformative action. Qualitative analysis, informed by insights from stylistics, pragmatics, and semantics, further elucidates how linguistic choices such as metaphor, framing, and hedging contribute to these discursive positions, shaping perceptions and actions towards environmental sustainability. This study underscores language's powerful role in constructing and contesting ecological realities, arguing for more precise, transparent, and ecologically aligned communication strategies to effectively advance global sustainability goals.