Framing the path to net zero: a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of sustainability disclosures by major corporate emitters, 2011-2020

Big corporations are a leading contributor to global carbon emissions and their investment decisions have a significant impact on the world’s ability to tackle climate change. This study combines corpus and discourse approaches to examine how major corporate emitters have responded to the Paris Agreement, how they legitimize their practices amid mounting public pressure, and how companies operating in high- and middle-income countries differ in their framing of climate change. The results show that carbon majors place increasing focus on climate issues, widely support the goals of the Paris Agreement and are increasingly making net-zero pledges. However, close inspection of linguistic patterns reveals a troubling disconnect between proclaimed goals, the solutions advocated for, and the radical steps needed to address the escalating climate crisis. Companies from middle-income countries devote comparatively less attention to climate change, which points to the need for better coordinated global efforts to address this problem.