‘Melting Worlds’ and ‘Climate Myths’: Stories of Climate Change in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Climate change is a powerful story in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. While the natural sciences agree that the archipelago is profoundly impacted by accelerating climate change, locally there are multiple and diverging stories about climate change and adaptation.

The aim of this research is to explore multiple stories about climate change and adaptation in the climate change ‘frontline community’ of Longyearbyen. Climate change requires urgent action, and most adaptation takes place at the local scale. It is thus crucial to understand peoples’ perceptions of discourses about the phenomenon. In our study, we explore how the dominant climate change discourse is received/rejected/reproduced locally, and compare it to other, more minor stories, with the goal of bringing them into critical conversation.

Longyearbyen, Svalbard (A. Meyer)

Climate change has material and cultural dimensions: it is both a physical phenomenon and a (scientific) narrative, a discourse, or an idea, that is constructed, imagined, and applied. This latter framing directs attention to how the powerful climate change discourse is received locally, an approach that has been termed „reception studies“ (Rudiak-Gould 2011) in anthropology. Case studies from around the globe show that people locally evaluate and make sense of the idea of climate change and the related discourses in different ways, ranging from acceptance and belief to incredulity, ignorance, and rejection. Svalbard is often depicted as a climate change hotspot. The dominant climate discourse, which is both locally produced and projected onto the place, depicts it either a climate change victim or a showcase of technological solutions and a transition from a coal mining society to a green future. Our ethnography shows, however, that the story is not black-and-white.

We explored stories about two main ‘characters’ of climate change in Longyearbyen—avalanches and glaciers, comparing dominant narratives with other, minor stories. The dominant climate change and adaptation discourse as exemplified by narratives surrounding snow avalanches, evolves around risks and the need to restore safety through physical adaptations. While the counterstories we found do not dispute the avalanche risk and the need for safety measures, they point to how these measures lead to increased state control over housing in Longyearbyen and can be interpreted as part of a larger effort to reduce the international presence in Longyearbyen. The example shows how adaptation measures are related to the exercise of state power, such as regaining state control over housing and who lives where, a policy that renders the non-Norwegian segment of the population vulnerable. The dominant discourse surrounding Svalbard glaciers is a story of climate change exemplified by glacial retreat, identifying the archipelago as a climate change hotspot. The counterstories we found in Longyearbyen do not deny glacial retreat or climate change, but convey irritation regarding the sensationalist and often simplifying tone of this dominant climate victim story. They express the widely shared sentiment that the climate change ‘hype’ surrounding Svalbard tends to create an image of the archipelago that is far removed from peoples’ lived experiences which are shaped by other changes and processes in addition to climate change.

Longyearbyen, Svalbard (A. Meyer)

Our ethnography reveals the complexity and multidimensionality of climate change narratives in Longyearbyen. By pointing to over-simplification, sensationalism, and the (mis)use of the climate discourse for other purposes, the counterstories we found comprise a contestation and critique of the dominant climate change discourse, which may ultimately lead to skepticism and a rejection of the discourse altogether. When not given the chance to express their opinion on the matter, communities impacted by climate change are often portrayed as victims in a simplified way. We believe that listening carefully to local voices and local stories and presenting a more complex picture of climate change impacts and perceptions is crucial for understanding and ultimately moving in the direction of fair and transparent climate change politics in the Arctic and beyond.