Carbon Summer as Nuclear Winter 2.0: The 1980s Nuclear Fear That Precluded Climate Action

The recently described anti-fossil fuel norms (AFFNs) have come conspicuously late in the day, given the compelling society-wide knowledge of climate change dating back to the 1980s. In a revival-with-a-twist of Ungar’s global warming as a social problem (1992), this article analyses the 1988–1989 historical press, tracking the AFFN’s origins, here called the anti-fossil fuel sentiment (AFFS) and its temporal construction. It examines other conflicting fears under the economics of public attention and space for non-fossil future imaginaries, thus for AFFS’s emergence. The article works with Factiva, MAXQDA, and analytical lenses of temporalities. It concludes that the fear of nuclear weapons helped construct the climate change threat. In contrast, the ambiguous yet loud debate on nuclear power, together with a lack of political alternatives (future imaginaries), partly constrained the AFFS. The political representations failed to offer alternative options and instead promoted the narrative of old-ways protectionism. While this may seem unsurprising from today’s perspective, the paper reveals the climate debate before it became firmly established, mapping a crossroads that offered other possible avenues. Findings show obstacles to successful AFFNs that researchers continue to identify today.