The (In)justice League and the Battle of the Climate Narratives: An Ethnographic Study of Climate Policy Skepticism in the Norwegian Paradox

Abstract

This ethnographic study explored the justice perceptions of climate policy skeptics in Southern Norway. The data was generated through fieldwork from 2022–2024. The participants viewed themselves as marginalized truth-tellers in a moralized society, feeling excluded from the dominant climate discourse. Their climate skepticism was often driven by a sense of injustice, challenging the established narrative. This study underscores the significance of social identity and perception of exclusion in shaping climate skepticism. In this case, the injustice perception was linked to defending their privileges and themselves from change and responsibility. People’s different normative perceptions of climate justice and who we can trust determines their justice perception and feeling of injustice. To have a constructive conversation about climate policies, we need to understand what lies behind the climate skeptical claims.