Focus area 3

The constitution of knowledge and truth in environmental communication

Science as a source of knowledge is often contested, especially in the context of environmental policy and sustainability transitions. While such contestation is part of a pluralistic democracy, anti-scientific narratives and relativism impact how knowledge and expertise are referred to and used in decision-making. Although values and emotions have always been influential in governance, their importance has become more explicit in recent years, while also becoming an object of controversy and debate. In this focus area, we explore knowledge, emotions and values in the discussion of environmental issues, and how they affect governance practices.
Theme leader

Anke Fischer

  • Leader of the focus area Knowledge
  • Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  • Email
My research in this programme is driven by a curiosity for the interactions between emotions, values and knowledge-based arguments in discourses about the environment and environmental governance.

The role of scientific knowledge in decision-making about environmental issues is increasingly contested in a variety of ways and by different actors. In our research we investigate three areas of concern:  

  • The tensions that arise between post-truth relativism and a critical engagement with science and knowledge that is democratically legitimate and desirable 
  • How and with which aims emotions, values and knowledge are used and pitted against each other in public discourse on environmental decision-making – and what implications this has. 
  • How knowledge, emotions and values are brought together in the crafting of stories, i.e., narratives that are developed and told intentionally to convince or persuade.


We  examine three different case study areas: (i) governance of the low-carbon transition, (ii) new genetic technologies in agriculture and food production and (iii) nature interpretation.  

We work closely with the following societal partners: the Swedish Environment Protection Agency, the Swedish Centre for Nature Interpretation (SCNI-SLU), Biotopia (formerly the Biological museum in Uppsala), and the Swedish Hunters’ Association. 

People and organisations

Anke Fischer, Professor in Environmental Communication, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Klara Fischer, Nora Förell, Amelia Mutter, Lars Hallgren, Martin Westin, René van der Wal and Jasmine Zhang, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Per Bengtson and Katrin Hammarlund-Jones, Centre for Nature Interpretation

Maria Brandt, Biotopia

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

Actors on Gotland (storytelling)

Find contact details to the team members here.

Publications

Blogpost. Rethinking Consumer-Focused Biotechnology Research

Blog post
2025-07-07
In a recent open-access publication, Klara Fischer and colleagues investigate how the narrow focus on citizens as consumers unfolds in research on agricultural biotechnologies and discusses what it means for public engagement in questions about the role of technology in society. In a blog post at “A bigger conversation”, Klara explains more about the research.
Link

Post fellowship blog – Nora Förell

Blog post
2025-08-25
Arriving in Brussels can be a bit overwhelming. As I walked into the EU quarter for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel like I had been transported into another world with huge glass buildings and where everyone wears suits, speaks five different languages, and all have Very Important Jobs. This fast-paced and dynamic environment was quite different from my quiet desk at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. So how did I end up in this situation? Nora Förell reflects on her time in Brussels as a Mistra Fellow.
Link

From sustainability to competitive-ness: what shifting narratives means for EU agricultural policy

Policy brief| Research brief
2025-09-11
Understanding how narratives shape policy is crucial for ensuring that environmental and climate goals remain central to EU agricultural governance. This brief calls for more inclusive and balanced policy debates to avoid discursive closure and ensure long-term sustainability. Nora Förell et.al
Link

Doing Justice, Doing the Transition: Narratives of the Just Transition Fund and the Swedish Steel Industry

Scientific paper
2025-10-23
Sofie Joosse, Kornelia Johansson, Nora Förell and Anke Fischer writes in Environmental Policy and Governance
Link

Will the Transition Ever Be Just? Three Sites of Discursive Struggle Over Justice in Transition Governance

Scientific paper
2025-10-25
Anke Fischer, Josefina Marklund, Nora Förell, Sofie Joosse, Annabel Pinker, Wiebren J. Boonstra write in Environmental Policy and Governance.
Link

”Så blev den gröna omställningen ett rött skynke i debatten”

Debate article
2025-09-16
“Industriella storsatsningar och gruvprojekt kritiseras från många håll och uttrycket ”den gröna omställningen” har fått en besk bismak. Men varför heter det ens så? Är det en omställning och är den verkligen grön? Genom att blicka tillbaka på hur begreppet använts tidigare kan vi få insikter om framtiden”, skriver fyra forskare inom Mistra Environmental Communication i en debattartikel i Dagens Nyheter. Anke Fischer, professor i miljökommunikation vid Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU), Sofie Joosse, docent vid SLU och programchef för Mistra Environmental Communication och Nora Förell och Kornelia Johansson, doktorander i miljökommunikation vid SLU.
Link

Video. How can we make the climate transformation possible? How can Europe secure energy and resources for food security and a fossil-free future?

Video
2025-04-09
Anke Fischer represents Mistra Environmental Communication in a panel talk at Mistra’s Brussels seminar.
Link

Freedom as a discursive instrument in Swedish transition governance: how political actors strategically construct normative power

Scientific paper
2025-03-13
Josefina Marklund, Nora Förell and Anke Fischer in Critical Policy Studies. Find a short summary of the article here (in Swedish) https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josefina-marklund-158b5a18a_freedom-as-a-discursive-instrument-in-swedish-activity-7306225753161920512-8pqW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAHBdPMB86x9XdhpQNv66M-tcHmc25AUsuA
Link

Citizens as consumers: styles of reasoning about agricultural biotechnologies and publics

Scientific paper
2025-03-14
Klara Fischer et al. in Science as Culture. Find a short summary of the article here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/citizens-consumers-styles-reasoning-agricultural-publics-fischer-8ybgf/?trackingId=49asnujaQHqjKRtvTW50qQ%3D%3D
Link

Rättviseargument blockerar Sveriges omställning

Debate article
2024-05-23
Robert Österbergh, Martin Westin, and Anke Fischer published a debate article in Dagens Arena. May 23, 2024
Link

Sverige riskerar att bli känt som klimatkrisens gulaschbaron

Debate article
2024-08-21
Debate article in Dagens Nyheter by researchers in Mistra Environmental Communication: Anke Fischer, Eva Friman, Jutta Haider och Sara Holmgren.
Link