The Language of Inaction : A framing analysis to understand the development of climate inaction

It is to be expected that governments, and in particular democratic ones, take action in light of increasing existential socio-environmental threats. However, when it comes to climate change such action is not taken, instead it has stagnated in the last years. While conventional theories suggest that this is a collective action problem, a closer look reveals that climate inaction is more complex. This essay instead highlights the ideational drivers of climate action using framing theory, and investigates how framings justify climate inaction. Sweden is used as an instrumental case, given that its leading role in the climate transition has recently been questioned in part due to recent policy shifts. Using a qualitative, single-case design and a thematic analytical method, two speeches were analysed and compared in 2018/2019 and 2022/2023. The essay finds that the framings have shifted from an emergency and humanitarian frame, towards a stronger green-growth framing focusing on energy politics. This, together with an out-sourcing of responsibility to non-state actors and other countries have resulted in less varying and complex climate action in 2022/2023. The findings of this essay contribute to the existing literature on climate change frames, thereby providing insights into climate transition policies in developed countries and the justifications of climate inaction.