New UN initiative aims to counter climate disinformation

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🗞️ Driving the news: The UN, UNESCO, and Brazil have launched the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change to combat climate disinformation and promote reliable climate journalism
• Announced at the G20 Summit in Brazil, the initiative seeks to counter the growing threat of misinformation campaigns that hinder global climate progress, including denialism, greenwashing, and harassment of climate scientists

🔭 The context: Climate disinformation spreads rapidly through social media, messaging platforms, and AI-generated content, undermining scientific consensus and delaying urgent climate actions
• The initiative aligns with the Global Digital Compact adopted in September, emphasizing the need for reliable information to meet the Sustainable Development Goals
• Countries like Chile, France, and the UK have already joined, contributing to a $15 million fund to support NGOs tackling disinformation

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Disinformation campaigns erode public trust, obstruct policy-making, and compromise climate action at a time when urgent, collective efforts are critical to limiting global warming
• Addressing these campaigns is essential to maintaining scientific integrity, empowering journalists, and safeguarding environmental defenders working to mitigate climate impacts

⏭️ What's next: The initiative will expand research into climate misinformation, develop strategic communication campaigns, and support investigative journalism
• The program aims to gather global evidence and strengthen action ahead of COP30 in Brazil, highlighting international collaboration as key to countering this challenge

💬 One quote: “We must fight the coordinated disinformation campaigns impeding global progress on climate change” – UN Secretary-General António Guterres

📈 One stat: UNESCO aims to raise $10–15 million over 36 months to fund NGOs researching and countering climate disinformation

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