A Transitivity Analysis of Imran Khan's UN General Assembly Address Environmental on Justice and Climate Responsibility

Abstract

This study examines how environmental values and climate responsibility are expressed in Imran Khan’s speech on climate change at the 74th United Nations General Assembly. Drawing on Halliday’s transitivity framework within Systemic Functional Linguistics, it analyses how the speech represents actions, perceptions, and responsibilities through particular linguistic choices. The analysis shows that material and mental processes are used most frequently, allowing the speaker to combine descriptions of tangible environmental threats with expressions of concern, urgency, and awareness. By highlighting Pakistan’s severe vulnerability to climate change despite its minimal contribution to global emissions, the discourse presents Pakistan as both deeply affected and ethically engaged. The speech consistently stresses fairness, shared responsibility, and the need for collective global action, especially from countries with higher carbon footprints. Overall, these linguistic patterns construct an environmental narrative grounded in justice, interdependence, and collective responsibility. The study illustrates how transitivity analysis can reveal the ecological values embedded in political discourse and enhance understanding of how environmental crises are framed and legitimised in international political communication.

Keywords: Climate change, Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG), Transitivity Analysis, Imran Khan’s speech, ecosophy, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).