The Role of the Nonprofit Sector within the Climate Change Discourse: The View Through Russian News Media

Abstract

Abstract This study attempts to understand the role of the nonprofit sector within the climate change discourse in Russian news media. It explores the news media coverage of climate change and nonprofit sector through the quantitative review of Russian news articles published within the five-year period of 2016–2021. We find that the nonprofit sector generally gains positive media coverage, and the climate change is presented as mostly a national and political issue, while the scientific discussions are very rare. Government and nongovernment news media sources diverge in their coverage on the topic. The state-owned media views the climate change as a national issue relying predominantly on Russian official sources, and praising assistance that the Russian government provides to the nonprofit sector. On the other hand, the nongovernment media highlights the political aspects of the climate change, includes government critique, and often draw on business and foreign sources.