| Title |
Fossil fuel phaseout, renewable energy, and just transition discourse at COP26 and COP28: A discourse network analysis of Instagram posts |
| Authors |
Shakespear, Mark ; Koop-Monteiro, Yasmin ; Stoddart, Mark C.J ; Tindall, David B ; Jorgenson, Andrew K |
| DOI |
10.1016/j.erss.2026.104724 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Energy research and social science.. Amsterdam : Elsevier Ltd.. 2026, vol. 136, art. no. 104724, p. 1-12.. ISSN 2214-6296. eISSN 2214-6326 |
| Keywords [eng] |
climate change ; discourse network analysis ; energy transition ; fossil fuels ; just transition ; renewable energy ; UNFCCC |
| Abstract [eng] |
The authors conduct a comparative discourse network analysis of Instagram posts discussing the 2021 (COP26) and 2023 (COP28) UN climate change conferences. COP26 produced the first UNFCCC agreement to explicitly acknowledge the central role of fossil fuels in climate change, calling for the phasedown of unabated coal power and phaseout of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The COP28 agreement further acknowledged the need to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner. Given that just transitions, involving the phaseout of fossil fuels, and their replacement by renewable energy sources, are critical to mitigating climate change, the authors draw from a sample of 5820 Instagram posts to examine whether discussion around these topics has intensified and diffused online between COP26 and COP28. The findings show that discussion of all three topics increased, and diffused among a wider range of organisation types, during this period. However, just transition discourse remained relatively marginal, and absent among business organisations, during COP28. These findings appear promising for effective climate change mitigation, as fossil fuel phaseout and renewable energy expansion topics are being mainstreamed. However, the relative marginalisation of just transition discourse, and its continued exclusion by business organisations, may undermine the potential to achieve substantial phaseouts of fossil fuels and replacement by renewables, owing to a lack of consideration of justice concerns and factors that lead to resistance or acceptance of such projects. |
| Published |
Amsterdam : Elsevier Ltd |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2026 |
| CC license |
|
