Incumbency, trust and the Monsanto effect: stakeholder discourses on greenhouse gas removal

Cox, Emily ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8169-3691, Spence, Elspeth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9529-6339 and Pidgeon, Nick ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8991-0398 2020. Incumbency, trust and the Monsanto effect: stakeholder discourses on greenhouse gas removal. Environmental Values 29 (2) , pp. 197-220. 10.3197/096327119X15678473650947

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Abstract

This paper explores factors shaping perceptions of Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) amongst a range of informed stakeholders, with a particular focus on their role in future social and political systems. We find considerable ambivalence regarding the role of climate targets and incumbent interests in relation to GGR. Our results suggest that GGR is symbolic of a fundamental debate - occurring not only between separate people, but sometimes within the minds of individuals themselves - over whether technological solutions represent a pragmatic or an unethical strategy. We present the idea of a 'Monsanto effect', whereby an entirely separate debate taps into deeper narratives and becomes so pervasive that it spills over into a new topic area. Our findings have significant implications for extant and emergent climate policy as they suggest that, in addition to the considerable practical challenges facing large-scale GGR deployment, there is a deeper psychological challenge in that actors are themselves conflicted about the fundamental desirability of GGR.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	White Horse Press
ISSN:	0963-2719
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 September 2019
Date of Acceptance:	26 September 2019
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2023 17:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/125739

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