“Whose science matters?” : LULUCF in the Finnish media : an epistemic governance approach to public discourse

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the Finnish media discourse around LULUCF-regulation (land use, land use change and forestry) between 2017 and 2018. In Finland, the regulation is not a small matter, since it connects the Finnish forests to global climate politics closely. More specifically, this thesis concentrates on how science was referred to and utilized within this discourse. The case of the LULUCF regulation gives an excellent insight for that because environmental issues, including climate change, are vague and abstract to begin with and in the need of expert knowledge to be translated both to the decision-makers and to the public. Research done along this line is important in a wider perspective as the case presents an example of multifaceted environmental problem in the public spotlight. Finally, the main objective of this thesis is to explore the relationship between science and politics in climate action. This is done by reflecting the findings of this thesis with a wider global perspective in these times that are said to be so very crucial in climate emissions control.

The research questions were, first, to identify the narratives within the discourse and, second, to identify how scientific authority was used within these narratives. By answering these questions guiding the main aim, it was possible to give some insights in understanding the complicated relationship between science and politics in environmental problems. World society theory works as the theoretical background explaining the rise of environmental regime and the expansion of international climate agreements. The epistemic governance approach complements the theory by guiding the focus on three dimensions of social world: ontology of the environment, identifications and norms as well as ideals.

The data consisted of articles published in all five national newspapers as well as the Finnish government’s press releases that mentioned ‘LULUCF’ and were published online, all in all 232 articles. The methods included discourse analysis, which allowed to study the language more closely, concentrating on words and their usage. In addition, the discourse is divided into narratives to make sense of the complicated and multifaceted discourse. The narratives constructed each stakeholders’ values and aims, and they were treated as a way of interpreting communication and social life. Four types of narratives from the data are identified: (1) Development for Economic Prosperity, (2) Saving the Environment, (3) Protecting the Nation and (4) Fostering Cultural Heritage.

In addition to the identified narratives and the use of science within them, the main finding of this thesis lay with gaining understanding of power and knowledge. They are closely intertwined even though the people in power do not necessarily have all the necessary information at hand. Science has reached all parts of human lives and experts are needed to work as interpreters to ordinary people and to the decision-makers. Politics at play determine who and what kind of knowledge gets the attention needed for policy change. The findings are in line with previous research and they highlight the hybrid nature of climate action both on national and global level.