Should green advertisers shun climate sceptic tabloids?

Report finds tabloids are guilty of "contrarian" approach to climate change, raising questions over their suitability as advertising channel for green products

UK tabloid newspapers have consistently misreported human contributions to climate change and are guilty of undermining pressure on governments and businesses to take action on climate change, according to a new report from Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute.

The study assessed the tone, framing techniques, terminology and labelling in nearly 1,000 articles on climate change from the Daily Mail, The Sun, the Express and the Mirror between 2000 and 2006 and found that around a quarter "misrepresented wide scientific agreement that man-made GHG emissions have 'very likely' had a role to play in global warming" .

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, report author Dr Max Boykoff said that the "deliberate contrarian" tone adopted by much tabloid reporting on climate change was hampering action on the issue. "It is one factor among many, but the high circulation of these papers means they have to have an effect in lessening public pressure [on political and business leaders] for action," he said.

He added that businesses seeking to promote green products should be aware of the scepticism on climate change being pushed by some tabloids when developing marketing campaigns and advised that firms running green print adverts would be wise to consider how they will be framed in some tabloid papers.

"Firms need to think carefully about green messaging and which sources they use to run green adverts," he said.