Obstrucción de la acción climática en la extrema derecha española: La enmienda de Vox a la Ley de Cambio Climático y su representación en prensa

Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox's amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Obstrucción de la acción climática en la extrema derecha española: La enmienda de Vox a la Ley de Cambio Climático y su representación en prensa Jose A. Moreno Universitat Pompeu Fabra | Roc Boronat, 138, 08018 Barcelona | Spain | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3781-5644 | joseantoni[email protected] Gina Thornton Independent researcher | Roc Boronat, 138, 08018 Barcelona | Spain | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8333-908X | [email protected] Dates | Submitted: 30/09/2021 | Accepted: 14/12/2021 Abstract While we live in a crucial time when climate science urges us to take strong action to mitigate climate change, there is a countermovement obstructing the adoption of climate policies. In Europe, there are far right parties that have aligned their positions with the climate countermovement. This research seeks to examine the climate change discourse of the Spanish far-right party Vox, as well as the press reception of the party's ideas on the subject. This paper analyses the amendment to the whole Law Project on Climate Change and Energetic Transition (121/00019) presented by Vox on June 17, 2020, at the Spanish Parliament. The study consists of an examination of the climate action contrarian framings following the typology of Almiron et al. (2020). This enquiry is followed by a critical discourse analysis of the coverage of this amendment in the Spanish press. This press analysis provides an insight into whether journalists received Vox's proposal critically and aligned themselves with the scientific Resumen Aunque vivimos un momento crucial en el que la ciencia del clima nos insta a tomar medidas contundentes para mitigar el cambio climático, existe un contramovimiento que obstaculiza la adopción de políticas climáticas. En Europa, hay partidos de extrema derecha que se han alineado con el contramovimiento climático. Esta investiga ción pretende examinar el discurso sobre el cambio climático del partido de extrema derecha español Vox, así como la recepción en la prensa de las ideas del partido sobre el tema. Este trabajo analiza la enmienda a la totalidad del Proyecto de Ley de Cambio Climático y Transición Energética (121/00019) presentada por Vox el 17 de junio de 2020 en el Parlamento español. El estudio consiste en un examen de los encuadres contrarios a la acción climática siguiendo la tipología de Almiron et al. (2020). A esta i nvestigación le sigue un análisis crítico del discurso de la cobertura de esta enmienda en la prensa española. Este análisis de prensa permite conocer si los periodistas recibieron la propuesta de Vox de forma crítica y Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 55 (2022) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 25 consensus, whether they reported it in a neutral way, or whether they supported its ideas. The results include a replication of hackneyed climate change denialist arguments as disseminated by European and North American climate action contrarian stakehol ders. This paper also identifies a critical reaction from the Spanish press to this Vox amendment, despite the existence of some texts that report neutrally on the proposal. se alinearon con el consenso científico, si informaron de forma neutral, o si apoyaron sus ideas. Los resultados incluyen una reproducción de los manidos argumentos negacionistas del cambio climático difundidos por grupos de interés contrarios a la acción climática en Europa y los Estados Un idos. Este trabajo también identifica una reacción crítica de la prensa española a la enmienda de Vox, a pesar de la existencia de algunos textos que informan de forma neutral sobre la propuesta. Keywords: climate change, climate crisis, obstructionism, denialism, climate countermovement. Palabras clave: cambio climático, crisis climática, obstruccionismo, negacionismo, contramovimiento climático. 1. INTRODUCTION We have more and more evidence that human activity has already had an impact on the climate, producing a global warming at an unprecedent rate in the last two millennia (IPCC, 2021). This anthropogenic climate change is affecting the weather and thus producing climate extreme events around the globe (IPCC, 2021). This situation will get worse if the increment of the temperatures compared to the pre-industrial era exceeds 1.5ºC, as it will happen if the current path of greenhouse emissions is not halted (IPCC, 2021). But climate change is a politicized issue, and the climate policies are not keeping up with the emergency described by the climate science. In this politicized arena, there are stakeholders trying to push towards the adoption of effective climate policies (or climate movement), and there are others obstructing those efforts (climate countermovement). In this scenario in which climate science has settled plenty of evidence on the physical basis of the human-induced climate change, humanities and social sciences must take the lead. Why humanity is not answering properly to such a threat is a complex issue that requires from all the social sciences disciplines, to examine the mechanisms that led to inaction. In the Spanish context there is not a strong climate countermovement such as the one existing in the USA or the UK. Nevertheless, there are relevant stakeholders trying to shape climate policies so they are either aren’t adopted or, if they are, in a soft and light version. One of these actors is the Spanish far-right party Vox. Despite the existence of research on the discourse and the political development of this party, there is a lack of knowledge on the specific issue of its climate change stance. The objective of this paper is to fill this gap by examining the climate contrarian frames showed by the party in the amendment to the whole Law Project on Climate Change and Energetic Transition (121/00019), presented by Vox on June 17, 2020, at the Spanish Parliament. This analysis is complemented with a critical discourse analysis of the press representation of this amendment of Vox’s in the Spanish press. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW The climate countermovement, often called “denial machine” (Piltz, 2008), is made up by corporations, opposition coalitions, PR firms, advocacy organizations, conservative foundations, think tanks, media, politicians, journalists, and bloggers (CSSN, 2021). As the Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 26 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton Climate Social Science Network (ibid. 2021) summarizes, this structure of opposition has three main goals: to influence the public agenda to assure that public opinion does not support climate action; to shape the media to cast doubt on the actions to address climate change, and to influence the policymaking process to obstruct the adoption of climate policies. The range of activities this countermovement develops is wide and range from knowledge creation and dissemination to more direct lobby. Despite the scientific evidence regarding the climate crisis, the political ground is polarized on how to address it. It is known that in the USA conservatives has tended to show more often climate contrarian stances, spreading what McCright and Dunlap (2010) called “antireflexivity”. This consists of the opposition to the environmental movement and science, promoting non-decision-making and inaction towards the climate crisis. This has produced a polarized political debate on climate issues (Fisher et al., 2013) in which the conservatives have sought to defend the status quo, promoted by corporate funding earmarked for this purpose (Farrell, 2016). In general, there is a correlation between support for right-wing populist parties and climate scepticism or opposition to climate taxes (Lockwood, 2018). In Europe, with the rise of populist far right parties there is a growing academic interest in the climate positioning of these political groups, especially from the communication field (i.e., Forchtner, 2019; Forchtner et al., 2018; Hultman et al., 2019; Jylhä & Hellmer, 2020; Vowles & Hultman, 2021). Populist right-wing parties in Europe commonly present positions opposed to climate action, as reported by the think tank Adelphi (Schaller & Carius, 2019). Out of twenty-one populist right-wing parties in Europe, seven were sceptic about the climate consensus or denied it, eleven did not produce a stance on climate change, and just two supported the climate consensus (Schaller & Carius, 2019). In Spain, the hardest opposition to the adoption of climate policies has been represented by the far-right populist party Vox, which has taken a strong position against the existence of the climate emergency and the adoption of measures to deal with it. (i.e., González, 2021; Robaina, 2019). The Spanish Congress was one of the last remaining European parliaments with no representation of radical right politics, alongside with neighbouring Portugal, until Vox, a farright, Catholic, nationalist, and populist party, became the 3rd most voted in 2019 Spanish Elections (Gould, 2019). Vox has a strong nationalist discourse that places “Spaniards first”, combined with a low level of nativism, that is substituted by an important fixation and motivation surrounding the Catalan separatist process and the defence of Spain and Spanish traditions (Turnbull-Dugarte, 2019). Vox has attracted research interest in the political sciences field regarding its origins, rise and ideology (i.e., Ferreira, 2019; Rama et al., 2021). Also, in the communication field Vox has been examined because of their rhetoric, in platforms such as social media (Aladro Vico & Requeijo Rey, 2020), or by their use of emotions like fear in the building of their discourse (Cárdenas-Rica & Lozano González, 2020). Nevertheless, despite the relevance of Vox’s climate change ideas, there is a lack of research on the climate discourse of this party or how it is received by the media. In this context in which a climate countermovement seeks to undermine climate policies, and even some political groups follow that path, journalism is a key piece in translating science and climate action effectively into the society (Boykoff, 2019; Boykoff & Farrell, 2020). But, although the climate change denialism does not have a considerable presence in the Spanish press (Martín-Sosa, 2021), it is indeed failing to give climate change the rigor and attention it Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 27 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton requires (i.e., Fernández-Reyes, 2014; Parratt Fernández et al., 2020) and is even making important greenhouse gas emitting sectors such as animal agriculture invisible (Moreno & Almiron, 2021). It is also important to note that the press coverage on climate change is subjected to structural pressure from those stakeholders involved in polluting companies or with an interest in obstructing climate action (Mancinas-Chávez, 2013). An example of this is the greenwashing that energy companies sponsoring the COP25 Chile-Madrid received in the Spanish press because of their investment in advertising and public relations strategies (Moreno & Ruiz-Alba, 2021). The multidisciplinary nature of this field of study and its relevance given the climate crisis encourages us to contribute to this line of research with empirical studies such as the one proposed here. 3. METHODS The research objectives of this papers are two. First, to check if the amendment to the whole Law Project on Climate Change and Energetic Transition (121/00019), presented by Vox on June 17, 2020, at the Spanish Parliament, presents the most common climate action contrarian arguments as spread by European and USA climate contrarian think tanks. And second, to discover how the press covered the presentation of that amendment. In order to respond to the first objective, a framing analysis has been carried out. A frame is a certain interpretation of reality, a definition, diagnosis, judgement, or solution for a problem (Entman, 1993). The list of climate change counterframes defined by Almiron et al. (2020) as showed in Table 1 has been used to identify the climate contrarian arguments used in Vox’s amendment. Table 1 Climate counterframes A. General scientific claims: A1. Contesting IPCC legitimacy (implicitly or explicitly) A2. Contesting scientific consensus & legitimacy (not IPCC) A3. Contesting scientific dissemination (by politicians, media and other) B. Specific scientific claims: B4. It is not happening (climate change or global warming) B5. It is happening, but we do not know how serious it is or it is not serious B6. It is happening, but it is good/not bad (either global warming or particular issues of it) B7. It is happening, but it is not us or it is not only us (other issues are also causes/main causes) B8. It is happening, but we have other major problems B9. It is happening, but any policy will be worse than warming C. Non-scientific claims: C10. Criticism of non-scientist defenders & messages & policies on a non-scientific basis C11. The text includes a neoliberal or a neoconservative economic position (supporting economic growth as the solution, markets self-regulation, minimum government intervention, no taxation of pollution, etc.) C12. The text includes a mention to human population as a problem C13. The text includes a mention to animal protein diets or animal agriculture as a problem Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 28 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton C14. The text trust technology as a solution to climate change or its consequences Source: Almiron et al. (2020). Vox presented an amendment to the whole to the Law Project on Climate Change and Energetic Transition (121/00019) on June 17th, 2020, when this legislative text was open to discussion by the parties. The amendment was rejected, and the law was approved on May 20th, 2021, becoming the first law on climate change approved in the Spanish parliament. Vox voted against for considering it to be “dogmatic”. To address the second objective, we collected a corpus of texts from the Spanish press. We used the Factiva platform introducing the keywords “Vox AND Ley de cambio climático” for a date range from the 1st of June 2020, until the 31st of July 2020 (the amendment was rejected on the 14th of July). This search produced 149 hits of which, after removing duplicates and invalid texts, 67 were apt for analysis. To analyse these texts, we applied a critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach. CDA can be used to analyse news texts in order to expose strategies that appear normal or neutral on the surface, but which may in fact be ideological and seek to shape the representation of events and persons for particular ends (Machin & Mayr, 2012). The CDA can be considered as a methodology committed to political and social change, since its aim is to reveal underlying ideologies and discourse through language (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997). When applying a methodology that follows CDA, “categories and tools are not fixed once and for all. They must be elaborated for each analysis according to the specific problem under investigation” (Wodak & Meyer, 2009, p. 111). In this case, we used the following categories for the analysis: - Category 1, addressing the way media discourse describe the action of Vox. - Category 2, tackling the question of representation of social actors. - Category 3, covering the equivalence and difference between the construction of the “in-group” and the “out-group”. This combination of framing for the text and critical discourse analysis for the press coverage of the amendment allow us to understand which arguments are present in the document, and how the Spanish press reacted towards these arguments. 4. RESULTS 4.1. Frame analysis Vox’s amendment to the climate change law presents 11 out of 14 of the climate action contrarian frames used by Almiron et al. (2020). Table 2 shows the extracts from the amendment that fit in each counterframe both in the original text and translated into English. This categorization makes it clear that Vox's amendment is very much aligned with the climate action obstructionist discourses spread by the climate countermovement. Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 29 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton Table 2 Frame analysis of the amendment to the whole Law Project on Climate Change and Energetic Transition (121/00019) presented by Vox on June 17, 2020, at the Spanish Parliament Frame Excerpt (own translation) Original text A1. Contesting IPCC legitimacy (implicitly or explicitly) “The alarmist forecasts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (hereafter IPCC) are contradicted time and again by reality.” (p.4) «Las previsiones alarmistas del Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (en adelante IPCC) se ven desmentidas una y otra vez por la realidad)». (p.4) A2. Contesting scientific consensus & legitimacy (not IPCC) “Climate alarmism is becoming a new religion. Logically independent propositions (that the temperature is rising; that the rise is due to manmade greenhouse gases; that the rise will accelerate in this century; that the rise will be very damaging to humanity; that it will be accompanied by all sorts of catastrophes - hurricanes, droughts, etc. - lumped together in the catch-all of ‘climate change’) are lumped into a single inseparable package.” (p.3) “VOX leaves science to the scientists, and has no position of its own on climate issues. It considers, however, that the debate is not closed, and that it is irrational to take the whole climate-catastrophist package as an article of faith. ...] scientists are not conclusive in seeing a clear correlation between the rate of thermal increase and human action.” (p.3). «El alarmismo climático está haciendo las veces de una nueva religión. Se agrupan en un solo paquete indisociable -para el cual se exige un asentimiento sin fisuras, so pena de ser anatemizado como “negacionista”- proposiciones lógicamente independientes (que la temperatura está subiendo; que la subida se debe a los gases de invernadero emitidos por el hombre; que la subida se va a acelerar en este siglo; que esa subida será muy perjudicial para la humanidad; que vendrá acompañada de todo tipo de catástrofes - huracanes, sequías, etc.- agrupadas en el cajón de sastre del “cambio climático”)». (p.3) «VOX deja la ciencia a los científicos, y carece de una posición propia sobre cuestiones climatológicas. Considera, sin embargo, que el debate no está cerrado, y que es irracional asumir como artículo de fe el paquete climático-catastrofista en su totalidad. […] los científicos no son concluyentes al apreciar una correlación clara entre el ritmo de incremento térmico y la acción humana» (p.3) A3. Contesting scientific dissemination (by politicians, media and other) “[...] 'change' can be anything: any phenomenon (the rise of temperatures, but also their stagnation, as happened during 'the Pause' of 1998-2014, or that of 1945-75.” (p.3) «[…] ‘cambio’ puede ser cualquier cosa: cualquier fenómeno (la subida de temperaturas, pero también su estancamiento, como ocurrió durante ‘la Pausa’ de 1998-2014, o la de 1945-75». (p.3) B5. It is happening, but we don’t know how serious it is or it is not serious “The imminent melting of the polar ice caps has been repeatedly predicted, but the Arctic ice sheet was thicker in September 2019 than it was in 2007 according to the US National Snow & Ice Data Center, and a NASA study published in 2015 in the Journal of Glaciology certified that the Antarctic ice mass, rather than decreasing, is increasing.” (p.4). “To claim that a temperature two or three degrees higher will lead humanity to disaster by the end of the 21st century denotes a degree of lucidity comparable to that of the futurologists who, around 1890, predicted that in thirty years London and Paris would lie under a mountain of dung, given the exponential growth in the number of horse-drawn carriages.” (p.6) «Se ha pronosticado repetidamente el inminente deshielo de los casquetes polares, pero la banquisa ártica era en septiembre de 2019 más gruesa que en 2007 según el National Snow & Ice Data Center de EE.UU., y un estudio de la NASA publicado en 2015 en el Journal of Glaciology certificaba que la masa de hielo antártico, en lugar de disminuir, está aumentando» (p.4) «Asegurar que una temperatura dos o tres grados más alta llevará a la humanidad al desastre a finales del siglo XXI, denota un grado de lucidez comparable al de los futurólogos que, hacia 1890, pronosticaban que en treinta años Londres y París yacerían bajo una montaña de estiércol, dado el crecimiento exponencial del número de coches de caballos». (p.6) Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 30 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton B6. It is happening, but it is good/not bad (either global warming or particular issues of it) “Some experts claim CO2 as a fundamental element of life on Earth, as it is necessary for photosynthesis. CO2 is only responsible for 15% of the greenhouse effect (without the greenhouse effect, the temperature of the planet would be 30 degrees lower, and life would not have been possible). The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere has generated positive effects that climate catastrophism carefully conceals.” (p.5). “Professor Richard Tol of the University of Sussex has produced a model that computes the positive and negative effects of rising temperatures: he concludes that there will be net benefits (heating savings, increased crop yields, etc.) up to an increase of 2.2 degrees above the global temperature in 2009; above that threshold, the costs would outweigh the benefits.” (p. 5) «Algunos expertos reivindican el CO2 como elemento fundamental de la vida en la Tierra, al ser necesario para la fotosíntesis. El CO2 solo es responsable de un 15% del efecto invernadero (sin efecto invernadero, la temperatura del planeta sería 30 grados más baja, y la vida no habría sido posible). El aumento de CO2 en la atmósfera ha generado efectos positivos que el catastrofismo climático oculta cuidadosamente» (p.5) «El profesor Richard Tol, de la Universidad de Sussex, ha elaborado un modelo que computa los efectos favorables y desfavorables de la subida de temperatura: concluye que habrá beneficio neto (ahorro en calefacción, aumento de cosechas, etc.) hasta un aumento de 2,2 grados respecto a la temperatura global de 2009; por encima de ese umbral, los costes superarían a las ventajas». (p. 5) B8. It is happening, but we have other major problems “The OECD already places Spain at the head of the world economic collapse; we are registering the greatest destruction of employment in Europe and the deterioration of the productive fabric is taking the number of companies back to the beginning of the century. The "climate emergency" must be compatible with the real economic and social emergency facing Spaniards. For elementary considerations of national survival, the PLCCTE must be returned to the government.” (p.12). «La OCDE sitúa ya a España a la cabeza del desplome económico mundial; registramos la mayor destrucción de empleo de Europa y el deterioro del tejido productivo retrotrae el número de empresas a principios de siglo. La “emergencia climática” tiene que ser compatible con la auténtica emergencia económica y la social que enfrentan los españoles. Por consideraciones elementales de supervivencia nacional, el PLCCTE debe ser devuelto al Gobierno». (p.12). B9. It is happening, but any policy will be worse than warming “Spain must remain committed to the environment, but not at any cost.” (p. 1). «España debe seguir comprometida con el medio ambiente, pero no a cualquier coste» (p. 1) C10. Criticism of non-scientist defenders & messages & policies on a non-scientific basis “The left, whose environmental sensitivity is very recent, needs pretexts to justify coercive state intervention in the economy and society: sometimes it is 'poverty' (which tends to multiply as a result of socialist policies); other times, 'gender oppression', or 'racial discrimination'. As all of these are phenomena that have been overcome - or are residual - in contemporary Spain, a new excuse for dirigisme has been sought in the 'climate emergency'.” (p.2). “By simultaneously rejecting fossil fuels and nuclear energy, the "energy and climate package" (PLCCTE + PNIEC) breaks with scientific rationality and economic realism, condemning Spain to energy poverty and impoverishment.” (p.11) «La izquierda, cuya sensibilidad medioambiental es muy reciente, necesita pretextos para justificar la intervención coactiva del Estado en la economía y la sociedad: unas veces es ‘la pobreza’ (que suele multiplicarse como resultado de las políticas socialistas); otras, la ‘opresión de género’, o la ‘discriminación racial’. Como todos ellos son fenómenos superados -o residuales- en la España contemporánea, se ha buscado en la ‘emergencia climática’ una nueva excusa para el dirigismo» (p.2) «Al rechazar simultáneamente los combustibles fósiles y la energía nuclear, el "paquete energía y clima" (PLCCTE + PNIEC) rompe con la racionalidad científica y el realismo económico, condenando a España a la penuria energética y el empobrecimiento». (p.11) Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 31 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton C11. The text includes a neoliberal or a neoconservative economic position (supporting economic growth as the solution, markets selfregulation, minimum government intervention, no taxation of pollution, etc.) “The pursuit of these objectives will require exhaustive state interventionism in economic life and a brutal increase in public spending.” (p.2). “On the contrary, we at Vox believe that this approach could have adverse effects on investment, consumption, employment and the competitiveness of the Spanish economy.” (p.2). “Spanish CO2 emissions represent 0.7% of the world total. If, after fleecing Spaniards with green taxes and condemning fossil fuel-dependent industries to bankruptcy or relocation, the targets set by the PLCCTE (23% reduction in emissions) were achieved, our positive impact on the global volume of emissions would be 0.17%.” (p.7). “The various energy sources must be able to compete freely with each other, and companies must be allowed to choose the most profitable ones. ...] If renewables become truly cost-effective, they will take over on their own, just as light bulbs displaced quinqués and automobiles displaced horse-drawn carriages”. (p.7) «La búsqueda de esos objetivos requerirá un intervencionismo exhaustivo del Estado en la vida económica y un incremento brutal del gasto público» (p.2). «En Vox consideramos, por el contrario, que este planteamiento puede tener efectos adversos para la inversión, el consumo, el empleo y la competitividad de la economía española» (p.2). «Las emisiones españolas de CO2 representan un 0'7% del total mundial. Si después de esquilmar a los españoles con impuestos verdes y condenar a la quiebra o la deslocalización a las industrias dependientes de combustibles fósiles, se alcanzaran los objetivos marcados por el PLCCTE (reducción del 23% en las emisiones), nuestra incidencia positiva en el volumen mundial de emisiones sería de un 0'17%». (p.7) «Las diversas fuentes de energía han de poder competir libremente entre sí, y debe permitirse a las empresas optar por las más rentables. […] Si las renovables llegan a ser realmente rentables, se impondrán por sí mismas, de la misma forma que las bombillas eléctricas desplazaron a los quinqués y los automóviles a los coches de caballos.» (p.7) C12. The text includes a mention to human population as a problem “The neo-Malthusian predictions of Paul Ehrlich (The Population Bomb, 1968) or the Club of Rome (The Limits to Growth Report, 1972), which predicted a rapid depletion of essential resources due to overpopulation, were similarly ridiculous. They all forgot that the most important resource is, as Julian Simon theorised, human intelligence, which makes it possible to do more and more with less”. (p. 6) «En ridículos similares incurrieron las predicciones neomaltusianas de Paul Ehrlich (The Population Bomb, 1968) o el Club de Roma (Informe "Los límites del crecimiento", 1972), que auguraban un rápido agotamiento de recursos esenciales debido a la superpoblación. Todos ellos olvidaron que el más importante de los recursos es, como teorizara Julian Simon, la inteligencia humana, que permite hacer cada vez más con menos». (p. 6) C14. The text trust technology as a solution to climate change or its consequences “In 2080, if the rate of economic growth of recent decades continues, we will be three times richer than we are now, and technology will be capable of feats we cannot even dream of now”. (p.6) “The PLCCTE, in its lack of balance to eradicate fossil fuels, neglects other technological horizons that would allow CO2 reduction without harming business competitiveness. For example, the new Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) techniques for capturing CO2”. (p.9) “Nuclear energy is clean energy. It does not emit CO2, and that is why it has been defended by great leaders of the environmental movement, such as James Lovelock (the father of the ‘Gaia hypothesis’); James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Tom Wigley and Kerry Emanuel, prophets of climatecatastrophism”. (p.10) «En 2080, si se mantiene el ritmo de crecimiento económico de las últimas décadas, seremos tres veces más ricos que ahora, y la tecnología será capaz de proezas que ahora no podemos ni soñar». (p.6) «El PLCCTE, en su falta de equilibrio por erradicar los combustibles fósiles, desatiende otros horizontes tecnológicos que permitirían reducir CO2 sin perjudicar la competitividad empresarial. Por ejemplo, las nuevas técnicas Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) de captación de CO2». (p.9) «[…] la energía nuclear es una energía limpia. No emite CO2, y por eso ha sido defendida por grandes referentes del movimiento ecologista, como James Lovelock (el padre de la "hipótesis Gaia"); James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Tom Wigley y Kerry Emanuel, profetas del clima-catastrofismo». (p.10) Source: own elaboration. 4.2. Critical discourse analysis Through CDA we will be looking at the three aforementioned categories, as well as the use of nationalist, ethnocentric and traditionalist discourse overall. Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 32 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton 4.2.1. Category 1. Representation of political discourse and ideology This analysis category of political discourse and ideology is inspired by the work of Fairclough (2003). We will be looking at agency (who does what to whom) and action (what gets done), paying special attention to participants (does and done-tos), process (verbal groups), and circumstances (adverbial groups, prepositional phrases). Table 3 shows this examination. Table 3 Analysis of the representation of political discourse and ideology (Category 1) Categories Example excerpt (translation) Example excerpt (original) Far-right party (participant) “‘Climate is changing and has evolved during decades’ assured far-right party minister Mireia Borràs.” (El Periódico de Catalunya, 14/7/2020) «“El clima es cambiante y ha evolucionado durante siglos”, ha asegurado la diputada del partido de ultraderecha Mireia Borrás» (El Periódico de Catalunya, 14/7/2020). Underlined (process) Far-right (participant) “The PSOE representative, Helena Caballero Gutiérrez, underlined that Vox hadn’t even bothered writing an alternative text. The farright’s approach, said Caballero, ‘goes against scientific rationality’.” (Sur Online, 14/7/2020) «La representante del PSOE, Helena Caballero Gutiérrez, subrayó que Vox ni siquiera se ha tomado la molestia de redactar un texto alternativo. Los planteamientos de la ultraderecha, dijo Caballero, “atentan contra la racionalidad científica”» (Sur Online, 14/7/2020) Ridiculed (process) “‘Lets see if we have things clear!’, ridiculed Juantxo López de Uralde, MEP of Unidas Podemos.” (La Vanguardia, 14/7/2020). «“¡A ver si nos aclaramos!”, ridiculizó esa postura Juantxo Lopez de Uralde, diputado de Unidas Podemos» (La Vanguardia, 14/7/2020) Source: own elaboration. 4.2.2. Category 2. Representing social actors It’s impossible to represent political actors, or people generally, in a neutral manner, and how we characterize someone can serve psychological, social and political purposes (Reisigl and Wodak, 2001). The aim of this category is to establish how the media represents the political actors from Vox and their surrounding circles (voters, supporters, etc.). Table 4 gathers the main social actors in these texts. Table 4 Analysis of the representing social actors (Category 2) Social actor represented Example excerpt (translation) Example excerpt (original) Vox’s Spokesperson Mireia Borràs (16 mentions) “Vox deputy Mireia Borrás Pabón, in charge of presenting this amendment to the totality, said during her speech that the bill means an ‘exhaustive interventionism of the State in economic life and a brutal increase in public spending’.” (EFE/Diario de Sevilla, 14/7/2020) «La diputada de Vox Mireia Borrás Pabón, encargada de presentar esta enmienda a la totalidad, ha asegurado durante su intervención que el proyecto supone un “intervencionismo exhaustivo del Estado en la vida económica y un incremento brutal del gasto público”.» (EFE/Diario de Sevilla,14/7/2020) Vox (as the party / the far-right party / Santiago Abascal’s party) (81 mentions) “The party led by Santiago Abascal also denounces the declared ‘hostility’ of the Executive in this law to fossil fuels.” (Europa Press, 17/6/2020) «El partido que preside Santiago Abascal, también denuncia la "hostilidad" declarada del Ejecutivo en esta ley a los combustibles fósiles.» (Europa Press, 17/6/2020) Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 33 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton Robaina, E. (2019, June 5). VOX y su argumentario contra el cambio climático: ‘No vamos a malgastar más dinero en esta estafa’ [VOX and its arguments against climate change: 'We are not going to waste any more money on this scam'.]. La Marea. https://bit.ly/3m4EP0v Schaller, S., & Carius, A. (2019). Convenient truths. Mapping climate agendas of right-wing populist parties in Europe. Adelphi. https://bit.ly/33iZXto Turnbull-Dugarte, S. J. (2019). Explaining the end of Spanish exceptionalism and electoral support for Vox. Research & Politics, 6(2), 205316801985168. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019851680 van der Linden, S., Leiserowitz, A., Rosenthal, S., & Maibach, E. (2017). Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change. Global Challenges, 1(2), 1600008. https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.201600008 Vowles, K., & Hultman, M. (2021). Scare-quoting climate: The rapid rise of climate denial in the Swedish far-right media ecosystem. Nordic Journal of Media Studies, 3(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.2478/njms-2021-0005 Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2009). Methods of critical discourse analysis (2nd ed.). Sage. About the authors Jose A. Moreno is a predoctoral fellow in the PhD program in Communication at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona within the University Teacher Training Programme (FPU) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Member of the Critical Communication Research Group (CRITICC) and the research project THINKClima (CSO2016- 78421-R) in the Department of Communication at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His line of research focuses on climate change communication and interest groups. Gina Thornton is an independent researcher, with experience as a Research Assistant for the UNICA research group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and currently works as a project technician at the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants. She was a member of the Advanced Seminar of Discourse Studies in 2020 (SAED) and her line of research focuses on political communication, far-right studies, and critical discourse analysis. Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación | N0. 53 (2021) | 25 - 40 http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2022.i55.02 ISSN: 1139-1979 | E-ISSN: 1988-5733 40 Climate action obstruction in the Spanish far right: The Vox’s amendment to the Climate Change Law and its press representation Jose A. Moreno / Gina Thornton