Government, Anti-Reflexivity, and the Construction of Public Ignorance about Climate Change: Australia and Canada Compared

摘要

This article examines how the conservative-minded administrations of John Howard's Liberal Party in Australia (1996-2007) and Stephen Harper's Conservative Party in Canada (2006-present) sought to manage public impressions of climate change and climate change policy. Australia and Canada are important nations for global climate change politics, given that both have highly developed, resource-driven economies and among the highest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the world. Both nations have also vacillated between support for and obstruction of strong international climate agreements.