Metaphor and Argumentation in Climate Crisis Discourse

Anaïs Augé is a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Louvain (Belgium), Institute of Political Sciences Louvain-Europe. Her research is notably published in Environmental Communication (doi: 10.1080/17524032.2021.1890174) and Metaphor & Symbol (doi: 10.1080/10926488.2019.1683949). She is the co-editor of the International Journal of Language and Culture.

• Table of ContentsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Chapter 1: Conceptualisations of the environment1.1. Introduction1.2. The complexity of the climate crisis and its metaphors1.3. Metaphorical arguments in discourse: Narratives and Scenarios1.4. Overview of the contentChapter 2: Cognitive bias and argumentation: the personification of the environment2.1. Introduction2.2. The ORGANS and BODY COMPONENTS of the environment2.3. The HEALTH of the planet2.4. NATURE AS A PERSON2.5. SummaryChapter 3: The role of metaphors in the climate change debate: the political relevance of the topic3.1. Introduction3.2. The metaphor of the Cathedral3.3. The conceptualisation of ANTAGONISTIC RELATIONSHIPS3.4. ACTIVISM AS A (FAKE) RELIGION3.5. SummaryChapter 4: Metaphors in argumentative texts: a corpus study4.1. Introduction4.2. Metaphors and literary genres: from science to (social) media4.3. Metaphors in corpus: a case study 4.4. Argumentation through metaphorical exploitation: the selection of data4.5. SummaryChapter 5: Metaphors of environmental optimism: climate change mitigation5.1. Introduction5.2. Green politics: COP26, a journey to a cleaner, greener future5,3, Green solutions? Nuclear power and the "Rainforest Chernobyl"5.5. Green solutions or greenwashing? The misuse of optimistic metaphors5.6. SummaryChapter 6: Metaphors of environmental pessimism: uncontrollable climate crisis6.1. Introduction6.2. Activism through metaphor: "There is no Planet B"6.3. Activism or alarmism? Misrepresentation of activists and "deniers" 6.4. Scientific uncertainties: "Incriminating fingerprint"6.5. SummaryChapter 7: Global climate (in)justice: metaphorical emphasis on responsibilities7.1. Introduction7.2. Debates over (inter-)national responsibilities: the greenhouse world7.3. Climate justice: definition(s) 7.4. Legal implications: ecocide and eco-terrorism7.5. SummaryChapter 8: "Earth to COP": international dialogue with the Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA) 8.1. Introduction8.2. The need to change international discourse about the climate crisis: "words can reframe worlds"8.3. Promotion of cultures and traditions: the survival of the lands and the survival of the communities8.4. The "North-South" Divide8.5. SummaryChapter 9: Climate justice: overlapping crises in metaphorical discourse9.1. Introduction9.2. "The climate crisis is not gender neutral": metaphors of ecofeminism9.3. "Climate change is racist": metaphorical views on environmental racism9.4. "Let’s talk about climate migrants, not climate refugees": overlapping discourses and metaphors 9.5. SummaryChapter 10: Conclusion10.1. Introduction10.2. Arguments through metaphors in climate crisis discourse10.3. Local climate crises: promotion of global solidarity10.4. Further perspectives: activism, artivism, and the role of controversiesIndex