Lessons from the Framing Contest over UK Shale Development

Impotence and Austerity in Environmental Politics

in Nature and Culture
Author:
Laurence WilliamsScience Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex Business School, Laurence.Williams@sussex.ac.uk

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/nc.2023.180103
Keywords:
discourse; environmental politics; fracking; frames; framing; hydraulic fracturing; shale gas; storylines
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Abstract

The framing of shale gas development has received widespread attention, especially in the UK, United States, and throughout Europe. However, little has been said about what lessons can be learned from the shale development case about the role of language in use in the construction, contestation and closure of environmental problems. This article teases out and clarifies the subtle variations in the way the concept of the “frame” has been interpreted and operationalized; puts forward an analysis of the difficulty of achieving discursive closure in the UK shale development policy debate; and identifies possible implications of the failure of the “bridging fuel” argument for environmental discourse more broadly, asking in particular if this failure represents a challenge to ecological modernization or its continuation.

Contributor Notes

Laurence Williams is a Research Fellow in Environmental Politics at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex Business School in the United Kingdom. His main research interests lie in sociotechnical controversies and public engagement with and participation in issues relating to science, technology, and innovation. He has studied the case of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas in the UK since 2012, including work on public perceptions, public participation, and policy discourse. ORCID: 0000-0002-5023-9584 Email: Laurence.Williams@sussex.ac.uk

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Nature and Culture

Cover Nature and Culture
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
23
Keywords:
discourse; environmental politics; fracking; frames; framing; hydraulic fracturing; shale gas; storylines
Print Publication Date:
01 Mar 2023
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2023
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023

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