Fighting for Coal: Public Relations and the Campaigns Against Lower Carbon Pollution Policies in Australia

Abstract

This chapter explores the public relations strategies used by the mining and energy lobby to defeat climate change policy agendas with which they disagree, and discusses three Australian case studies where these strategies were implemented to maximum effect. The first concerns the Labor government’s attempt to implement a carbon emissions trading scheme, while the second case study explores the ‘charm offensive’ run by the mining and energy sector to cultivate strategic alliances and allies to prevent future legislative challenges. The third case study concerns a second Labor government’s efforts to implement a carbon tax and the mining industry’s powerful backlash against it. Together, these case studies demonstrate that the mining and energy sector uses a ‘reward and punishment’ strategy that can make it difficult for governments to enact legislation to reduce carbon emissions.