Chapter 2 The issue-attention cycle and the rise of
environmental concern
2.1 The history of environmental problems
From the earliest civilizations on, there have been problems and calamities with pollution of
air, water and soil, and with degradation of nature. In earlier times, however, the worries and
concerns about pollution and degradation did not institutionalize into a permanent public
concern and a structural societal response to these types of problems. In most European
countries, this kind of permanent concerns and structural measures only started to develop
from the second half of the nineteenth century onward.
2.2 The issue-attention cycle
Issue Attention Cycle model The model sketches the way in which the attention for a
problem in society develops. Usually there are five phases distinguished in the cycle:
1. In the pre-problem phase, there is knowledge about the problem among specific
groups (e.g. experts) but hardly public interest.
2. In the second phase, the problem becomes a public issue. Different sorts of events
can bring this about: for instance an influential scientific report (the IPCC-reports), an
appealing book (Silent Spring), an influential documentary (Al Gore's An inconvenient
truth) or a major calamity (the melt-down of the Chernobyl nuclear plant and more
recently of the Fukushima reactors, or the oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon). In this
second phase media pay attention to what has happened, the public is aware of the
problems, and people turn to the responsible authorities for solutions.
3. In phase 3, this leads to an institutional response, for example new legislation, new
priorities in research and monitoring, installation of coastal protection technologies,
changes in the organizations of responsible authorities, or new corporate
environmental programmes. In this phase, also the costs of such measures for
society become apparent.
4. In the fourth phase, the attention of the people declines.
5. In the last post-problem phase, the public attention has waned, but the policies,
organisations, and programmes remain in place
environmental concern
2.1 The history of environmental problems
From the earliest civilizations on, there have been problems and calamities with pollution of
air, water and soil, and with degradation of nature. In earlier times, however, the worries and
concerns about pollution and degradation did not institutionalize into a permanent public
concern and a structural societal response to these types of problems. In most European
countries, this kind of permanent concerns and structural measures only started to develop
from the second half of the nineteenth century onward.
2.2 The issue-attention cycle
Issue Attention Cycle model The model sketches the way in which the attention for a
problem in society develops. Usually there are five phases distinguished in the cycle:
1. In the pre-problem phase, there is knowledge about the problem among specific
groups (e.g. experts) but hardly public interest.
2. In the second phase, the problem becomes a public issue. Different sorts of events
can bring this about: for instance an influential scientific report (the IPCC-reports), an
appealing book (Silent Spring), an influential documentary (Al Gore's An inconvenient
truth) or a major calamity (the melt-down of the Chernobyl nuclear plant and more
recently of the Fukushima reactors, or the oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon). In this
second phase media pay attention to what has happened, the public is aware of the
problems, and people turn to the responsible authorities for solutions.
3. In phase 3, this leads to an institutional response, for example new legislation, new
priorities in research and monitoring, installation of coastal protection technologies,
changes in the organizations of responsible authorities, or new corporate
environmental programmes. In this phase, also the costs of such measures for
society become apparent.
4. In the fourth phase, the attention of the people declines.
5. In the last post-problem phase, the public attention has waned, but the policies,
organisations, and programmes remain in place
