Madsen, Toke Rueskov

Skov, Carl Asbjørn

Teilmann, Camilla

Thomsen, Laura Emilie

Wallin, Zacharias

Global warming has proven repeatedly, to be a topic that the international world cannot afford to ignore. The global society is in desperate need of solutions regarding sustainable energy sources. Yet there is a certain “crookedness” to the way the politicians of modern societies of the first world act, despite of this. The current Danish government has recently put forward a draft for a new financial bill, for 2016. The draft suggests severe cuts to the funding of green conversion, as to insure more financial support to topics deemed more urgent, are proposed. This paper processes the issue about the Danish Parliament giving climate effort a low priority despite the scientifically proven facts about the consequences of human-induced climate change and polluting the atmosphere. The purpose of this study is to provide insight in what the group has deemed as a “gap in knowledge” regarding the action or rather the lack thereof that politicians take towards solving the climate issues. This study goes about answering this through an in depth analysis, using elements from the Toulmin’s model of argumentation and the comparative method, of topical political statements made by the Danish right wing parties Dansk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance and Venstre on the recent low prioritizing of the climate issue. The study concludes that the climate debate is influenced by a wide variety of complex problems, which exceed the economic issues the politicians tend to focus on. By involving the theory of Giddens Paradox, by Anthony Giddens, the study concludes that the abstract nature of the climate problem makes it hard for politicians to prioritize it over other currently pressing issues. In addition, additionally through the perspective of Risk Society provided by Ulrich Beck, the study finds that in the modern society of risks, skepticism towards the climate problem is a natural cause of a reflexive society, due to “definition struggles” over scientific evidence.Global warming has proven repeatedly, to be a topic that the international world cannot afford to ignore. The global society is in desperate need of solutions regarding sustainable energy sources. Yet there is a certain “crookedness” to the way the politicians of modern societies of the first world act, despite of this. The current Danish government has recently put forward a draft for a new financial bill, for 2016. The draft suggests severe cuts to the funding of green conversion, as to insure more financial support to topics deemed more urgent, are proposed. This paper processes the issue about the Danish Parliament giving climate effort a low priority despite the scientifically proven facts about the consequences of human-induced climate change and polluting the atmosphere. The purpose of this study is to provide insight in what the group has deemed as a “gap in knowledge” regarding the action or rather the lack thereof that politicians take towards solving the climate issues. This study goes about answering this through an in depth analysis, using elements from the Toulmin’s model of argumentation and the comparative method, of topical political statements made by the Danish right wing parties Dansk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance and Venstre on the recent low prioritizing of the climate issue. The study concludes that the climate debate is influenced by a wide variety of complex problems, which exceed the economic issues the politicians tend to focus on. By involving the theory of Giddens Paradox, by Anthony Giddens, the study concludes that the abstract nature of the climate problem makes it hard for politicians to prioritize it over other currently pressing issues. In addition, additionally through the perspective of Risk Society provided by Ulrich Beck, the study finds that in the modern society of risks, skepticism towards the climate problem is a natural cause of a reflexive society, due to “definition struggles” over scientific evidence

Nedprioritering af klimapolitik i Danmark: Sort indstilling til grøn omstilling

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Roskilde Universitet