Local to global ecolinguistics: in the name of sustainability

We hear so much talk of crisis (e.g. climate, biodiversity) these days, and not without reason; multiple systems are breaking down at once all over the world. However, our understandings of these crises are almost completely formed by the language that is used to describe them. Our understanding of the human ‘solutions’ to these crises, namely the buzz-word sustainability, is similarly dependent on language. This PhD thesis looks at the language of sustainability and biodiversity in several different types of communication: The University of Groningen sustainability strategy, EU and Chinese agriculture policy, and world leaders’ speeches at the UN biodiversity summit. In all these different forms of communication, the language used is very similar. Despite sounding rather grand, it promotes a version of sustainability which does not really involve changing very much at all, certainly not an adequate response to crises in any case. As such, the thesis suggests a new definition of sustainability, one which focuses on the impact of our choices in all aspects of life, and one which is centred around ethics rather than profit. This definition centres on our relationships with other people, other animals, and the planet on which we live, suggesting that we not only reduce our negative impact but increase our positive impact on these different domains.

Overall, the thesis calls for a switch in how we understand and communicate sustainability, focusing more on the interconnections and relationships between everything on earth, which, hopefully, will result in a more prosperous planet.

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/6e32e9e9-727b-458a-a167-7bf17d2c17df