![Sample our Environment & Sustainability journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5935/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Environment-Sustainability.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
In Australia, policies to mitigate climate change seem to disappear as quickly as they come. After a number of hurdles, the centre-oriented Labor government eventually succeeded in implementing a price on carbon in 2012, only to be voted out and have it repealed 2 years later. This article outlines the views of business leaders’ attitudes to climate change in the lead up to implementation, offering a unique perspective of where they converge and vary. Situated in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia, participants were interviewed about their views on climate change and climate mitigation policies. As a major coal-producing hub and home to the world’s largest coal port, the Hunter Valley is a fitting case study for a nation which has long seen its economic success as inextricably linked to the coal industry. The article makes use Bourdieu’s framework of the field of power to understand the relational aspects of how business leaders are responding to climate change, finding that while many participants show a growing awareness of – and sometimes concern for – the issue, their ability to respond is severely limited by a doxic view of the economy and coal.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. Here, Richard is referring to South Australian Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who was originally elected on an anti-poker machine platform and has since become a key ‘deal maker’ for successive governments when they’ve not had control of the Australian Senate.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Vanessa Bowden
Vanessa Bowden is an associate lecturer in social enquiry at the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre, University of Newcastle, Australia.