Green Deservingness in the Climate Crisis? Moral Repertoires in Media Debates in Belgium, Germany and Slovenia

ABSTRACT

Both climate change and its political mitigation and adaptation will exacerbate and expand existing social risks, adding extra stress on welfare systems. This could lead to distributional struggles and a public reassessment of social justice and deservingness principles. Drawing on a cultural perspective on welfare legitimacy, this article examines how media debates in Belgium, Germany and Slovenia articulate questions of social justice and deservingness in the context of climate change. Investigating green deservingness, the paper describes how claims to social support and social protection of specific target groups are morally evaluated in relation to climate change‐related risks. Through qualitative content analysis of media coverage, the study traces how principles of need, merit and equality are mobilised to legitimise vulnerability and entitlement. Cross‐country comparisons reveal how deservingness and social justice are intertwined, mediating not only vulnerability but also culpability and legitimacy in climate transitions.