The elephant in the protest march: socially organised denial within climate movements at the UNFCCC

Abstract: In 2011, Kari Norgaard detailed how socially organised denial facilitates inaction on climate change, even among individuals who express concern. Here, I expand on Norgaard’s theory by exploring how a form of this denial could exist even among those who centre climate activism in their personal or professional lives. I posit that certain streams of activism can allow one to counteract negative emotions such as hopelessness or powerlessness, while remaining in implicatory denial about the severity of the crisis and the efficacy of their activism. I employ an ‘extreme’ case study of Youth and Environmental NGOs at the UNFCCC in the years since 2015. I use semi-structured interviews, supported by retrospective participant observation at several UNFCCC events, to explore the cultural norms of three civil society networks. I draw on Norgaard’s work, supported by compatible concepts such as cultural hegemony and NGOization. I conclude that there are certain restrictive norms in civil society groups, mediated by their funding mechanisms and social psychological processes, that limit more radical stances. Civil society can thereby partially reinforce the same hegemony that blocks meaningful climate action, even while they can simultaneously employ counter-hegemonic strategy in other areas.