Headlining justice from coalfields to clean futures: How the Australian newsprint media frames a just energy transition

Abstract

Incorporating justice considerations into energy transitions dialogues is important. However, what constitutes what is (un)just is perceived differently by different actors and is subject to moral interpretations and influenced by broader landscape factors. The media in particular are considered salient in framing how particular issues are presented, understood and actioned upon. The current study used a framing approach to unpack the conceptualisation of just energy transitions in Australian newsprint media discourse. Australia is a useful case study because of its enduring history of socio-political struggles on climate and energy transition topics. The analysis points towards four underlying notions of justice in energy transition in the Australian context: ‘socio-political’ which places an emphasis on justice as a political responsibility; ‘socio-economic’ focuses on the unjust experiences faced by people and places both from powerplant and mine closures as a consequence of energy decarbonisation; ‘socio-spatial’ attends to social and spatial complexities as well as inequities from climate change, fossil-fuel energy production and use, plus the diverse impacts of energy transitions across different geographies; and ‘whole-of-energy-system’ considers current and future fossil-fuel as well as renewable energy system impacts. Implications include spatial and temporal injustices. The findings highlight that actors mobilized throughout these frames hold differing beliefs and considerations of what is (un)just, what needs to change and who should be involved. In conclusion, by linking theoretical considerations with empirical media analysis our research contributes to the growing just transition discourse by clarifying public debates plus actor positions, underscoring the plurality through which just energy transitions are understood.