The new lies spreading about climate change

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Verge or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A major new report by the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) reveals how climate misinformation has evolved, shifting from outright denial to more subtle strategies aimed at delaying action
• Tactics include spreading misleading claims about renewable energy and downplaying the urgency of climate solutions
• This approach, dubbed “strategic disruption,” is increasingly deployed by powerful actors to obstruct policy and public consensus on climate action

🔭 The context: While outright climate denial has waned, misinformation has adapted
• Influential figures, including U.S. President Donald Trump, are cited as amplifying disinformation, often rooted in misleading narratives about the viability or impacts of clean energy
• The IPIE’s findings are based on a decade of research across 300 studies, highlighting how corporate and political interests exploit public confusion to maintain fossil fuel dominance

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Strategic misinformation undermines the global transition to renewable energy at a critical moment for climate action
• It delays necessary infrastructure investments, misguides public perception, and erodes trust in scientific consensus
• With the clean energy shift central to meeting net-zero targets, combating this “new denial” is essential to avoid policy paralysis and climate inaction

⏭️ What's next: The IPIE calls for stronger safeguards to protect climate information integrity, including independent research funding, improved transparency in political donations, and content accountability by digital platforms
• Efforts must also expand to non-English contexts, where misinformation risks are understudied
• The report underscores the urgent need for coordinated action from policymakers, academia, and media to counteract false narratives

💬 One quote: “When corporations, governments, and media platforms obscure climate realities, the result is paralysis.” – Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Chair, IPIE Scientific Panel on Information Integrity

📈 One stat: President Trump’s 2024 campaign accepted $74 million in contributions from oil and gas interests, highlighting the financial ties influencing misinformation

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