Public engagement is central to communications studies of climate change and developing strategies to encourage citizens to reduce carbon emissions, as part of the low carbon transition (LCT), is a growing research topic post-COP21. However, critics argue the focus on instrumental behaviour change initiatives and promoting societal acceptance of LCT, fails to address the emotional, rational and political engagement needed to build successful transition pathways. They also highlight that transition processes are multi-faceted, involving choices between social, technical and financial solutions, and have consequences for the trajectory of future environmental sustainability and social transformation. Despite these concerns about democratic progress, few studies investigate print media coverage of LCT as a multi-dimensional issue or, given mass media’s influence on social and cultural change, assess the implications of press representations for broader public engagement. Thus, to illuminate how the social context shapes (potential) citizen mobilisation and motivations, this thesis maps press treatment of LCT through a multi-modal thematic analysis of Irish print media (2000 – 2013). Defining LCT as an adaptive challenge concerned with climate responses and drawing on an emerging literature about public engagement with climate change, the analysis found the Irish press privilege establishment interests with maintaining the status quo and illuminated how prevalent themes ‘crowd out’ socially relevant meanings, ways of talking and ideas about practices for achieving transition. In doing so, the thesis showed how press treatment of LCT circumscribed formats, fora and motivations for citizen engagement thereby amplifying instrumental goals for engaging public(s). Consequently, the study revealed a profound silencing of ‘the social’ and the thesis argues prevalent Irish press themes act as socio-cultural and -political barriers to broader public engagement which may contribute to new forms of climate scepticism. The thesis makes an original methodological contribution by developing a multi-modal framework for analysing print media texts in terms of (potential) cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions. It contributes empirical insights on the implications of press themes for (potential) public engagement with LCT based on an Irish case study, which exemplifies the challenges of balancing economic and environmental interests in media reports. Finally, it offers suggestions for democratically responsible journalism about the processes for reducing carbon emissions and moving to LCT.