Whilst some commentators have argued for the two degree limit as a benign symbolic representation of climate change, intended to facilitate the communication of complex science to the public and policy makers (Jaeger and Jaeger, 2010), this paper addresses discussion of the limit on the understanding that the manipulation of symbols is a means by which powerful actors seek to take control of shared understanding of risk. This manipulation of symbols is a key technique of social control; if the public accepts a particular definition of a problem then they will generally consent to the actions the powerful wish to take (Bronstein, 1984: 219). From this perspective the idea of a two degree limit serves an ideological and hegemonic function. Ideologically, rather than reflecting objective properties of the physical world, the ‘meaningless precision’ of clearly defined safety limits (Funcowitz and Ravetz, 1994: 93) constructs climate change in terms ‘continuous with the scientific perspective of quantitatively dominating the physical world’ (Ross, 1991: 208). This creates a hegemony, under which we do not seek to take control of the responses to climate change, because powerful actors have shaped viable responses as essentially technocratic (global measuring and monitoring of emission levels in parts per million, mitigation efforts dependent on large scale industrial infrastructure such as offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations) needing a governance structure that only global institutions can manage.
0 Comments
|
AuthorChris Shaw is a Senior Researcher with Climate Outreach Archives
January 2017
Categories
All
|