Lessons to be learned

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the contribution made to climate change issues by the élite French accounting journals of La Revue Francophone de Comptabilité and Comptabilité, Contrôle, Audit , for the period 2000‐2005. Design/methodology/approach – The climate change contributions made by top French to top Anglo‐Saxon journals are compared. Findings – While Anglo Saxon élite journals place the natural environment outside the fold of the élite accounting academia, French élite accounting organs infuse climate change issues with subtle motives and meanings, providing symbolic power to a plethora of communicators who want to show that accounting can respond to the global environmental risks caused by human problems. Originality/value – Stress is placed on the fact that Anglo‐Saxon accounting academics approve and endorse the present system of accounting journal ranking. It does not rank France's top journals very highly and makes no room for discourses outside the mainstream.