Since February 2025, the Forum on Information and Democracy has been leading a workstream on climate disinformation and other environmental issues. Co-chaired by Brazil and Armenia which will host the COP 17 on biodiversity in 2026, this group is releasing its first findings just days before the launch of COP30 in Belém.
As calls to combat climate disinformation grow louder, the Forum on Information and Democracy is publishing the interim report of its Workstream on information integrity regarding climate change and other environmental issues.
“Environmental and climate disinformation is not only a challenge for the future of our planet; it is also a political and democratic issue,” explains Camille Grenier, Executive Director of the Forum. “In Brazil, Spain, and France, this kind of disinformation is systematically used to discredit opponents, the media, and science.”
Launched in February 2025, in direct connection with the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change led by Brazil, the United Nations, and UNESCO, the Forum’s workstream has brought together dozens of representatives from democratic states, civil society experts, and researchers.
This interim report outlines key priorities to effectively address this widespread phenomenon:
- Ensure the safety of environmental journalists and the sustainability of public-interest media, which represent the strongest safeguard against disinformation.
- Improve platform transparency and accountability mechanisms, notably by accelerating the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in Europe.
- Promote access to reliable information by requiring platforms to deploy mechanisms that encourage the visibility and pluralism of trustworthy information.
- Curb advertising that finances climate disinformation, in particular by ensuring greater transparency in the online advertising market.
- Strengthen research on these issues and support research efforts to better understand the mechanisms, sources, and methods of climate disinformation.
For the first time, climate disinformation will feature on the agenda of the COP organized by Brazil. Camille Grenier will present these initial findings during several sessions held on November 12 and 13.
