Diving into the power of the narrative: A Critical Discourse Analysis of corporate discourse on deep sea mining
(2021) HEKM51 20211Human Ecology
- Abstract
- Deep sea mining (DSM) is by its proponents heralded as a sustainable way to supply the renewable energy transition with the massive amount of minerals and metals it requires, while its critics fear it will be the final drop making the oceanic cup flow over into ecological disaster. While commercial DSM remains unprecedented and its consequences largely unknown, private companies are using its “green” potential to regain legitimisation long-lost by extractive industries. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of one the DSM industry’s vanguards, this paper scrutinises corporate discourses around DSM and their implications. It reveals that DSM companies can stabilise an extractive hegemony, firstly by co-opting the language of their critics... (More)
- Deep sea mining (DSM) is by its proponents heralded as a sustainable way to supply the renewable energy transition with the massive amount of minerals and metals it requires, while its critics fear it will be the final drop making the oceanic cup flow over into ecological disaster. While commercial DSM remains unprecedented and its consequences largely unknown, private companies are using its “green” potential to regain legitimisation long-lost by extractive industries. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of one the DSM industry’s vanguards, this paper scrutinises corporate discourses around DSM and their implications. It reveals that DSM companies can stabilise an extractive hegemony, firstly by co-opting the language of their critics which disarms resistance, secondly by making concessions which portray companies as responsible stewards of our common resources, and lastly by positioning DSM as a prerequisite for climate change mitigation. With the potential of these discourses to influence regulation, mobilise capital and persuade local communities, this thesis shows how corporate DSM discourse can contribute to the construction of a resource frontier in the deep sea. It further emphasises the importance of investigating corporate discourses in questions of environmental governance, and examining the nature and extent of their power in the debate of climate mitigation policies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9044286
- author
- Grunnet, Clara LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- HEKM51 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Political ecology, deep sea mining, corporate discourse, renewable energy, legitimisation, extractive hegemony, Critical Discourse Analysis
- language
- English
- id
- 9044286
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-28 12:33:30
- date last changed
- 2021-06-28 12:33:30
@misc{9044286, abstract = {{Deep sea mining (DSM) is by its proponents heralded as a sustainable way to supply the renewable energy transition with the massive amount of minerals and metals it requires, while its critics fear it will be the final drop making the oceanic cup flow over into ecological disaster. While commercial DSM remains unprecedented and its consequences largely unknown, private companies are using its “green” potential to regain legitimisation long-lost by extractive industries. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of one the DSM industry’s vanguards, this paper scrutinises corporate discourses around DSM and their implications. It reveals that DSM companies can stabilise an extractive hegemony, firstly by co-opting the language of their critics which disarms resistance, secondly by making concessions which portray companies as responsible stewards of our common resources, and lastly by positioning DSM as a prerequisite for climate change mitigation. With the potential of these discourses to influence regulation, mobilise capital and persuade local communities, this thesis shows how corporate DSM discourse can contribute to the construction of a resource frontier in the deep sea. It further emphasises the importance of investigating corporate discourses in questions of environmental governance, and examining the nature and extent of their power in the debate of climate mitigation policies.}}, author = {{Grunnet, Clara}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Diving into the power of the narrative: A Critical Discourse Analysis of corporate discourse on deep sea mining}}, year = {{2021}}, }