Visibilising the climate in social policies in Barcelona: Connections in the urban context

Abstract

The paper aims to identify whether the interdependencies between climate action and social policies in the urban context are visible and, if so, in what areas and through what framings. Using a content analysis approach, it compares framings of the news on social policies in Barcelona over the course of a year. The results show that climate action is constructed discursively as an isolated issue, with its own logics and complexities, and with few references to other social policy areas. It also reveals that references to climate change in other social policy areas do not operate as framings. The paper claims that discursive strategies that separate climate change policy from other social policy areas can invisibilise the connections that operate between these policies, links that are key for pursuing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the urban context.