No Climate Justice Without Truth, Experts Warn at UN Meet

Climate misinformation experts Rayana Burgos (right) and Pierre Cannet (left) at COP30.

Concerned scientists at the UN climate conference in Belém have appealed for collective action to combat the growing spread of climate change-related misinformation and disinformation.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) raised the alarm over the widespread dissemination of false information across both social and traditional media, warning that it harms public health, undermines democracy, and weakens the effectiveness of climate policies.

“Disinformation is everywhere. It’s sophisticated. It’s evolving rapidly,” said J. Timmons Roberts, Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at Brown University. “Structural power deploys disinformation to preserve the status quo. The fossil fuel industry spends about ten times as much as the environmental and renewable energy sectors combined.”

Roberts, who also serves as Executive Director of the Climate Social Science Network, emphasized the importance of understanding the tactics, key actors, and the flow of power, money, and information to effectively address climate disinformation.

“There’s a series of tactics that offer effective solutions—for example, appealing to conservative identities, tailoring messages to specific audiences, and using debunking and pre-bunking strategies,” he said. “You have to have the right messengers.”

In an open letter, a global coalition of scientists, civil society groups, Indigenous Peoples, and faith leaders urged policymakers to act immediately to counter climate misinformation and uphold information integrity. They noted that both the United Nations and the World Economic Forum have identified climate change and disinformation as two of the greatest threats to humanity.

“Governments need to see this [climate disinformation] as a kind of public safety issue,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council. “This is not freedom of speech. This is the control of libraries and communications by very powerful people.”

He stressed the importance of democratizing media and strengthening independent journalism to challenge a media landscape dominated by a wealthy few.

During a press conference on Tuesday—designated as the official thematic day on information integrity—experts warned that climate misinformation causes real-time harm. They also noted that major online platforms, including Meta, X, and TikTok, are actively spreading misinformation, disinformation, or false content.

“Disinformation and misinformation are their business model,” said Pierre Cannet, Global Head of Public Affairs and Policy at ClientEarth. “This is why we are calling on countries to join this effort for information integrity—not just at the conference, but also back home—and to enforce laws that address misinformation and disinformation.”

Experts highlighted that collaboration across all sectors of society is crucial to overcoming coordinated misinformation campaigns, which are often driven by profit motives, particularly from the fossil fuel industry.

Rayana Burgos, a Brazilian political scientist from the Network of Terreiro Communities for the Environment, said that without truth, there can be no climate justice or meaningful action.

“The fossil fuel industry has polluted our art, and now it’s polluting our information,” she added. “So, we clearly say: stop the lies, stop the delay. We need to act together. Access to information is a human right.”