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Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe, report says

 Rampant climate misinformation is turning the crisis into a catastrophe,
according to the authors of a new report.

It found climate action was being
obstructed and delayed by false and misleading information stemming from
fossil fuel companies, rightwing politicians and some nation states. The
report, from the International Panel on the Information Environment (Ipie),
systematically reviewed 300 studies.

The researchers found climate
denialism has evolved into campaigns focused on discrediting solutions,
such as the false claims that renewable energy caused the recent massive
blackout in Spain. Online bots and trolls hugely amplify false narratives,
the researchers say, playing a key role in promoting climate lies.

The experts also report that political leaders, civil servants and regulatory
agencies are increasingly being targeted in order to delay climate action.
The misinformation ranges from industry promoting fossil gas as a
“low-carbon fuel” to bizarre conspiracy theories such as that wildfires
in southern California this year were planned by officials in order to
destroy child-trafficking tunnels.

In the European context, rightwing
populist parties are “actively contravening climate science”, the
report says, including the AfD in Germany, Vox in Spain, and the National
Rally in France. Media outlets with conservative or rightwing political
ideologies give priority to and amplify denial, scepticism and conspiracy
theories regarding climate change, the report says.

 Guardian 19th June 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/19/climate-misinformation-turning-crisis-into-catastrophe-ipie-report

June 21, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change