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The research analyzes how Nigeria and Colombia use specific narratives and discursive strategies to justify continued oil and gas expansion while maintaining climate commitments, highlighting the role of power relations in slowing the energy transition.

The report maps 103 multistakeholder initiatives (MSIs) to demonstrate how transnational corporations and mega-philanthropies are displacing traditional state-led multilateralism. It identifies a pattern where the World Economic Forum (WEF) and large foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation drive a 'stakeholder capitalism' agenda, often using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as legitimacy. The analysis reveals a significant democratic deficit, with affected communities and Global South governments largely excluded from decision-making, while the UN system often acts as a strategic partner that legitimises these corporate-led mechanisms.

The research finds that both The New York Times and Wall Street Journal frame the Green New Deal as a "dangerous policy" by depicting its Millennial supporters as "extremist Millennial “Others.”" This discursive strategy of casting supporters as a threat is used to discredit the policy's viability and promote a market-based carbon tax as the only viable solution, thereby suppressing a diversity of political perspectives and stunting agonistic media pluralism.