Given the need for rapid public awareness of social mobilization to change habits that are in line with the challenges of energy sustainability, and which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy efficiency and the development of microgeneration, based on renewable energies, and the lack of studies on the representations and practices of Portuguese consumers regarding energy, this research project proposes to know how the energy issue in the context of climate change is represented in the media space and appropriated by the citizens. The study of the process of production, diffusion and reception of information and knowledge about energy, with a view to sustainable development, will contribute to the knowledge of how the media participate in the social construction of the public perception of the risks associated with climate change, influence on behavior.

Objectives:
For the description and understanding of how the media act in the formation of public opinion on energy issues, it is necessary, first of all, to analyze the productive process of journalistic information. At this level we want to know the factors that contribute to the selection and configuration of energy as news. Secondly, to analyze the content produced and transmitted by television and the press, including not only journalistic information, but also information produced in the context of information and public awareness campaigns. It is intended to know how the risks associated with the energy issue and their implications in daily life are presented in public space. Thirdly, it is sought to find out what information and knowledge are shared between different social groups, trying to identify the cognitive effects of the information disseminated and its possible influence on the public perception of the problem, as well as on consumption patterns and patterns.