All people is harmed, nobody acts: The issue framing local weather change and air air pollution points

Framing an issue is an inherently political course of and vested pursuits are concerned. Politicians, governments, worldwide organisations, civil society and advocacy teams – all attempt to body a difficulty that serves their pursuits and will get extra individuals behind them. It additionally concurrently ruffles somebody’s feathers.

Framing is on the core of any profitable promoting marketing campaign. For instance, the “give up smoking if you happen to love your daughter” marketing campaign. Right here, somewhat than adopting the “smoking kills” body, the commercial adopts a “love-your-daughter” theme – an emotive angle. Whereas it’s extra more likely to seize eyeballs, whether or not it causes a sustained change in behaviour is debatable. Messages aimed toward altering behaviours might be framed to focus on both the advantages of participating in a specific behaviour (achieve body) or the results of failing to have interaction in a specific behaviour (loss body).

Three widespread frames are used extensively in public well being — safety, ethical, and technical. In a safety framing, the problem is offered as an existential menace to an individual or society (HIV/AIDS is an efficient instance). Ethical framing pitches it as an moral crucial or a bigger societal good (water is treasured). Technical framing as an evidence-based, rational funding (vaccination). Whereas the technification body appeals most to tutorial individuals, it’s maybe the least efficient.

The usage of the time period “menace” by WHO for public well being points is indicative of its software of a “safety” body. Whereas it’s typically suggested to not use “worry” in public well being communication, proof exhibits that it’s efficient, particularly when mixed with different efforts. Submerging of properties or villages in a flood is the “end-of-the-world” state of affairs typically utilised in local weather change campaigns. Many individuals might not establish with such doomsday situations as they consider that the possibilities of those occurring are low and in too distant future. Denial of the issue can be a framing. Proof to point out that such catastrophes aren’t that distant might seem to them as missing credibility. Why ought to one trouble to do one thing, whether it is unlikely to happen in his or her lifetime? Even air air pollution is seen as a short-term drawback not want sustained change.

Whereas air air pollution and local weather change have their roots exterior it, the well being sector bears the brunt of its penalties. If we body these primarily as well being issues, non-health sectors aren’t eager to be a part of the answer. We now have seen little or no actual participation from non-health sectors in addressing non-communicable ailments though now we have a well-intentioned multi-sectoral motion plan. That is due to completely different sectoral priorities, lack of coordination, unclear expectations to and from stakeholders. Why ought to the outcomes of local weather change be any completely different?

Usually, local weather change conversations get caught up within the “improvement” debate. In worldwide negotiations, India typically takes the stand that developed nations are the principle reason for the issue and until we catch up, we ought to be allowed to “pollute” – an fairness or ethical body. Whereas it might be applicable from a world perspective, it encourages the identical logic to be utilized by states and people. In a similar means, they’ll argue that no change is required at their stage. There all the time might be somebody who pollutes extra and questions on who ought to change first. This releases entities from their ethical obligation to do something.

Activists wish to body environmental issues as a “rights” subject – the suitable to scrub air and water, which in a means shifts the accountability onto the federal government. Whereas specialists and courts might name for bans on crackers throughout Diwali utilizing a technical-logical body, individuals might body it as an ethical subject, with hues of non secular discrimination, denial of fundamental rights and so forth. The promotion of neighborhood fireworks throughout Diwali goes in opposition to societies’ individualist framing of the competition. The event has grow to be synonymous with particular person shows of wealth — bursting crackers for X quantity provides one bragging rights.

If these points are framed because the neighborhood’s or everybody’s drawback, then we run the chance that everybody thinks that somebody will do it, and nobody does. Why ought to one forgo comfort with no subsequent achieve? Why change until one senses {that a} essential mass has been reached — round logic that stops the essential mass from being reached.

Folks might maintain religion in science to search out options earlier than doomsday or might use it as an excuse to not change. Finally, relying on their understanding of the world and their very own framing of the issue, individuals will present legitimacy and motivations to their actions. So long as environmental points proceed to be seen from an “us versus them” lens, we’re unlikely to make progress. We have to change this a number of contradictory framing with a predominant win-win framing to make any progress, even because the doomsday clock retains ticking.

The author is professor on the Centre for Group Medication on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Views expressed are private