Reframing Climate Change Narratives in Pakistan: A Critical Ecolinguistic and Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Climate change discourse, becoming progressively multimodal in character, requires critical scrutiny of the interaction between language and images in creating ecological narratives. In Pakistan, a climate-impacted country, government language influences public understanding and ecological identity. This study critically examines how the Ministry of Climate Change Pakistan employs semiotic resources to frame climate narratives on its official website. Using Stibbe’s ecolinguistic framework and Kress and Van Leeuwen’s visual grammar, six visuals (2022–2023) were analyzed through a qualitative lens. The findings reveal strategic use of urgency metaphors, national-global identity synthesis, and multimodal cohesion to promote eco-consciousness and public responsibility. The research argues that these discursive choices not only reflect Pakistan's environmental vulnerabilities but also aim to construct a persuasive, collective ecological ethos aligned with global sustainability discourses. This study extends critical ecolinguistic analysis by prioritizing how visual textual synergies function in government climate discourse and contributes practical insights to discourse analysts, policymakers, and environmental planners working to strengthen eco-advocacy through combined semiotic strategies.