The Climate Conversation

We look at the 1,000 most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts (3,000 in total), that are commenting on the issues to see how the conversation has progressed through the first week of the summit, and what we can expect to see in week two.

• The COP15 summit opened to the news that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had declared that there are six greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide and methane that are a danger not only to the environment, but to the health of humans too. This was regarded as an optimistic signal from the US to COP15 delegates that despite opposition from Congress, there remains opportunity for emissions to be reduced through regulation.
• As a symbol of solidarity, COP15 opened as 56 newspapers in 45 countries printed a common editorial piece with the intention of speaking ‘through one voice’. The editorial piece urged world leaders to take decisive action in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. As well as receiving global coverage in print, it was picked up by a large number of online sites – both in the blogosphere and on Twitter.
• Coverage from the conference itself largely focused on the various legislative proposals being put forward by the large number of countries present. Though the week started with a surprising level of optimism, with countries such as China, India and Brazil discussing targets for moderating the growth of their pollution, by mid week there was friction between developing and developed countries over the leaking of the ‘Danish Text’ which proposed that money would only be given to developing countries in return for specific actions taken to curb emissions. It appears that the Climate Conversation is becoming as much about the financial commitment that wealthy countries are willing and able to give, as it is about demands from poorer countries before committing to carbon reduction targets.
• In the print and blogosphere, ‘Climategate’ continued to spark interest and debate following new data being released by the World Meteorological Organisation and the UK Met Office. Interestingly, the ‘Climategate’ scandal was barely mentioned on Twitter where focus was, thanks to increased NGO activity, on the protests that were taking place in Copenhagen and other countries across the world.
• Hedge fund manager and philanthropist George Soros shot into prominence following his call for additional funds from IMF reserves to be siphoned off to developing countries to create a ‘green fund’ to jump-start climate change mitigation.

The COP15 top-15

Brown takes bronze but Obama leads the pack

• Gordon Brown, PM for Great Britain shot into third most prominent position across all influencer groups last week following a proposal that is being brokered by the UK government which suggests developing countries will be allowed to exceed their carbon reduction targets without facing sanctions. The British PM, sits behind Danish PM Lars Loekke Rasmussen (second position) and Barack Obama who strides ahead in first position with over four times as many mentions across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts than any other figure in the Climate Conversation.
• The ‘Climategate’ scandal has pushed climatologist Phil Jones, former director of the Climate Research Centre at the University of East Anglia, into the top ten most prominent figures in the Climate Conversation. Dr Jones is the only non-political figure in these rankings.

Topics by media type

Legislation and investment become hot topics of conversation

• Though expectations of COP15 still remains the most prominent topic in the Climate Conversation, two topics have seen a dramatic increase in attention across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter. ‘Legislative implications of COP15′ rose two-fold across the most active print publications (from 8% to 18%), blogs (4% to 8%) and Twitter (8% to 19%), thanks to the attention directed to legislation options at the COP15 conference. The other topic, ‘investment in developing countries’, only saw a slight increase in the blogosphere and on Twitter, but rose two-fold across most active print publications (9% to 19%).

Influencer groups by topic

Getting down to business at COP15

• Two of the top five topics being discussed a week ago ‘contesting climate change’ and the ‘consequences of climate change’ have been replaced by the ‘role of developing nations’ and ‘investment in developing countries’ across all influencer groups.
• Corporate Representatives, once the most silent group in the Climate Conversation, are now far more vociferous, with interesting divisions appearing between those that are in favour of carbon emission regulation, and those who fiercely oppose such legislation. They now contribute to 9% of the conversation regarding ‘developed nations and emissions’ across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts, in contrast to the 3% contribution from academics. They also make up 7% of the conversation on the ‘role of developing nations’ across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts, in contrast to the academic contribution of 4%.

Influencers by media type

Academics lose limelight as legislative conversations take hold

• Whilst politicians maintain their profile across all media types in the climate conversation, accounting for over half of all mentions across the most active print publications (53%) blogs (52%) and Twitter (57%), academics have seemingly lost prominence now accounting for just 12% of the mentions in the most active print publications (previously 18%) and 10% on the most active blogs and Twitter accounts (previously 19% and 17% respectively), suggesting that the Climate Conversation is less reliant on the theory and science that supports the COP15 summit, and more focused on the legislation and the outcomes that it will enable.

Topics by influencer group

US, money and emissions – the three political stories of the week

• Since the start of COP15, politicians have primarily focused on the US, money and emissions according to the Climate Conversation. The ‘US role at COP15 and beyond’ receives the most attention with a contribution of 86% across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts. Conversations regarding ‘developing nations and their emissions’ (77%) and ‘investment in developing Countries’ (75%) take second and third positions.

Green industry investment gathers momentum

• Corporate representatives hold a clear majority on one of the climate conversations topics. ‘Investment in green industries’ is a topic clearly led by business leaders, their voice dominating 45% of the overall discussion compared to 25% a week ago. This is in contrast to a meagre 18% contribution from politicians on the same subject.

Politicians steer clear of consequences

• Politicians may dominate most topics in the Climate Conversation but it appears there is one that they are steering clear of. ‘Consequences of Climate Change’ is still dominated by academics who contribute to 46% of the conversation across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts, in contrast to the political voice of just 14% across the same data set.

Academics have wide range of focus – but lose prominence

• It appears that academics now contribute to a range of different conversations – 81% of them outside the top five topics in the Climate Conversation across the most active print publications, blogs and twitter accounts. Though this gives them a wider representation, their lack of focus has caused them to lose prominence in the Climate Conversation.

Celebrities join the protests

• Unsurprisingly, more NGOs (31%) lent their voices to the topic of ‘protests at COP15′ than any other influencer group, but were supported by the celebrity voice which contributed 10% across the most active print publications, blogs and Twitter accounts.