IMRAN KHAN’S CLIMATE LEADERSHIP DISCOURSE: BALANCING LOCAL INITIATIVES WITH GLOBAL CLIMATE JUSTICE

Abstract

This work critically analyzed Imran Khan’s leadership discourse on environmental issues using Van Dijk’s Socio-Cognitive Model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The aim of the research was to examine how the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami and Smart Forest projects, which are local programmes, are linguistically positioned and integrated into global sustainability goals that put equity, innovation, and partnerships at their core. The research used qualitative research design and examined eight monumental speeches made by Imran Khan in national and international platforms. The data was based on the transcripts collected from public sources, and the data was analyzed by employing thematic and comparative approaches in order to find the linguistic framing, ideology and socio-political perspectives present within the political discourse. Research also demonstrates that Khan’s speeches perform discursive crafting story of work and urgency where local actions are connected to the climate governance through metaphor, intergenerational appeal and a call for action. Khan explained how the discourse places the country in front on combating environmental issues while posing as a global spokesperson for equity in the fight against climate change. Highlighting connections between local action and global goals, the speeches reveal how nature-based solutions complement advanced technologies to become part of a shared global vision for change. The study advances the knowledge on the use of communication in leadership to bridge cultural gap between local and global leadership and governance plus transform structural inequalities in design for collective action for environmental restoration.