Sailing to save the planet? Media-produced narratives of Greta Thunberg's trip to the UN Climate Summit in German print newspapers

The study examines how German print media narrated Greta Thunberg’s 2019 transatlantic sailing trip to the UN Climate Summit and how space and place shape those narratives. Motivated by the prominence of Fridays for Future in Germany and Thunberg’s symbolic rejection of air travel, the paper asks how spatial determinants—especially the unique spatiality of the boat, ocean, and destination—affect narrative elements (characters, plot, moral) and, in turn, public engagement with climate action. It argues that while evidence of climate change is widely accepted, engagement remains limited; therefore, action-based, spatially situated stories may reduce psychological distance and foster agency. The study connects communication studies’ narrative focus with geographical concepts of space and place using the Narrative Policy Framework to analyze German media’s retellings and their implications for climate communication.

The paper reviews shifts in climate communication from abstract, fact-based messaging toward action-oriented storytelling capable of motivating behavior change. It synthesizes work showing that narratives can reduce psychological distance, enable identification with characters, and guide collective sense-making, while cautioning that celebrity-led narratives can both mobilize and oversimplify complex politics. Geographical scholarship underscores the importance of space and place—visibility and localization of impacts, contextualized knowledge, place attachment, and identity—in shaping climate risk perception and engagement. The authors distinguish ‘space’ (abstract physical extent) from ‘place’ (meaningful locale with social attachments) and argue that localized, personally relevant messages can convert concern into action. They critique universalized, global framings for neglecting diverse, place-based knowledges. The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) is presented as a complementary approach to discourse analysis, focusing on four elements—characters, setting, plot, moral—to operationalize how stories influence beliefs and agency. Emphasis is placed on setting as a vehicle for identification, local relevance, and actionable messages, thereby integrating geographical sensibilities into narrative analysis.

The study follows a qualitative Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) design (Gray and Jones, 2016). Policy issue: Thunberg’s 2019 Atlantic crossing to attend the UN Climate Summit, intended to draw attention to the climate emergency and to the possibilities and limits of climate-friendly travel. Data collection: 49 relevant articles mentioning “Greta Thunberg” were gathered from six German print outlets—Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z., conservative-liberal, national daily), taz (left-alternative, national daily), Die Zeit (liberal weekly), Stern (weekly general-interest), Hamburger Abendblatt (regional, Hamburg), Nordwest-Zeitung (regional, Oldenburg)—via WISO, LexisNexis, and the F.A.Z. archive. The time window spans June 17, 2019 (Thunberg’s tweet accepting the UN invite and seeking emission-free travel) to August 30, 2019 (two days after arrival in New York). Analysis: A qualitative content analysis (Atlas.ti) applied deductive NPF categories refined inductively. Codes: characters (hero, mentor, victim, villain), plot (beginning, middle, end), moral (positive, neutral, negative coverage), and setting (spatial references creating proximity, distance, symbolic meaning). Coding rules were piloted and adjusted; intracoder analysis was conducted for reliability. The presentation of results centers on setting and its entanglement with plot, characters, and moral.

- Setting shapes plot: Spatial distance (ocean crossing) is framed as the primary obstacle to Thunberg’s goal of attending the summit without flying. The racing yacht Malizia is depicted as austere and risky, emphasizing dependency on nature (rough seas, strong winds, seasickness) and foregrounding proximity to nature while highlighting distance from land. New York functions symbolically as both a place of freedom/opportunity and a politically contentious terrain (Trump-era climate politics), illustrating the setting’s role in narrative symbolism. - Space becomes place: The boat’s confined, mobile environment becomes a special kind of place, generating an alternative social order marked by proximity (among crew) and isolation (from society). Onboard, roles shift: Herrmann is cast as mentor and technical lead; Thunberg, despite celebrity, appears as novice/guest dependent on the skipper. Some coverage (e.g., F.A.Z.) positions Thunberg as potential victim given Asperger’s in an unsuitable environment, while other coverage highlights her agency and even relief in isolation. Upon landfall, social roles revert: Thunberg resumes central public attention; Herrmann exits the spotlight. - Moral messaging and spatiality: Positive narratives underscore the journey’s symbolic value in raising awareness and modeling low-emission travel, with hypothetical aggregate benefits if many act (e.g., F.A.Z. scenario). Critical narratives—especially in taz—challenge practicality and net emissions (crew return flights), arguing that such travel is not a feasible model for ordinary people or policymakers and proposing digital participation (video conferencing) as a more scalable alternative. Thus, moral conclusions vary from inspiration to skepticism, influenced by setting and feasibility. - Local references enhance identification: Regional papers (Hamburger Abendblatt, Nordwest-Zeitung) invoke Herrmann’s ties to Hamburg/Oldenburg (e.g., learning to sail on Lake Zwischenahn), fostering place-based identification and belonging. National outlets use broader identifiers (“German professional sailor,” “Hamburger,” “Native of Oldenburg”) to create multiple spatial anchors for readers. - Media spectrum: Among the six outlets, taz was notably most critical of the trip’s climate efficacy despite its left-green orientation, emphasizing realistic, everyday actionability over symbolic acts. Data points: 6 newspapers; 49 articles; analysis period June 17–Aug 30, 2019; the voyage spanned ~3700 nautical miles over 14 days (as part of the narrated storyline).

The findings demonstrate that spatial determinants are not mere backdrops but active forces shaping how climate action stories are constructed and received. By foregrounding setting, the analysis shows how the ocean’s distance and the boat’s spatial constraints structure the plot (obstacles, risks), reconfigure character relations (mentor/novice, guest/host, celebrity/crew), and condition moral takeaways (symbolic inspiration versus critiques of feasibility and net impact). Local place references cultivate identification and belonging, potentially reducing psychological distance and enhancing engagement. Conversely, the extraordinary nature of a racing yacht crossing may create distance for ordinary audiences, suggesting that spatial feasibility and everyday relevance are key for action-based narratives. Celebrity involvement enhances attention and role-modeling potential but can also shift focus to individual action at the expense of systemic or scalable solutions. Integrating geographical concepts of space/place into NPF helps clarify how settings influence perceived agency and policy-relevant meanings in climate communication.

The study advances a geographically informed Narrative Policy Framework by evidencing how settings—boat, sea, New York, and localities tied to protagonists—shape characters, plot, and morals in climate action narratives. In the Thunberg voyage coverage, spatial distance and mobility constraints become central narrative drivers; the boat operates as a unique place that reorganizes social relations; and destination symbolism and local attachments influence moral messaging and identification. The paper calls for greater integration of spatial determinants into action-oriented climate storytelling to foster efficacy and engagement. Future research should extend this approach across diverse media, cultural contexts, and action scenarios, testing how different settings and local attachments affect audience identification, perceived feasibility, and subsequent actions.