Climate disinformation is not only employed to delay climate action, but is interconnected with other goals, such as foreign interference, as the conversations of the workstream highlight. This requires that governments think of comprehensive approaches to tackle the problem.  Parliamentary inquiries and recommendations as well as  new communications campaigns can play a role to protect the information space and ensure democratic debates.

On 3rd June 2026, the Forum on Information and Democracy held the seventh overall and the second annual meeting of the Workstream on Information Integrity on Climate Change & Other Environmental Issues, co-chaired by Brazil and Armenia. 

This meeting offered evidence about the nexus between climate disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), a topic currently underresearched. It also provided insights into specific initiatives to promote information integrity such as parliamentary inquiries and communication approaches. In the run-up to the COP17 to be held in October 2026, the Forum will also release its interim report of the workstream, whose structure was presented. 

How parliaments can aid the fight against disinformation

The Australian Senate Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy presented their report of an inquiry conducted into the national climate disinformation landscape. This report looked at where disinformation campaigns are most powerful, who funds and exacerbates them, and new strategies employed by nefarious actors. The report provides concrete recommendations to the national government, such as employing robust digital regulation frameworks, supporting investigative journalism and monitoring efforts, and calling for the federal government to sign the Declaration on Information Integrity.
 
This is an example of parliamentary inquiries being important tools in understanding the latest challenges emerging from climate disinformation, understanding how citizens respond to these challenges, and instrumental in developing roadmaps for information integrity on climate. 

How do FIMI and Climate Disinformation intersect?

According to the latest findings of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), climate disinformation is usually analysed as a domestic issue. Their research looking at disinformation emanating from the US and Russia however, reveals that climate disinformation is also part of FIMI strategies, taking three forms: misrepresentation of climate and energy policies (especially those of the EU), attacks on climate science and scientists, and disinformation around extreme weather events. 

Ukraine is an example where climate-related disinformation serves the larger purpose of foreign information manipulation, such as hiding war crimes and eroding trust in public institutions. In response, the Ministry of Culture relies on active Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and rapid response investigative journalism communities alongside international cooperation to neutralise foreign climate disinformation. This is an example of how governments can collaborate with actors and influencers outside of traditional state bodies to establish a culture of vigilant and informed citizens.

Strategic communication approaches

Several stakeholders discussed novel awareness approaches in response to growing climate disinformation, and a necessity to ensure public access to reliable information and the ability to discern disinformation. In this context, the Brazilian government shared its efforts regarding a draft bill on fighting climate disinformation.

The EU presented the Commission’s #ClimateFactsMatter campaign – aimed at reaching ‘climate bystanders’ – targets sections of populations deemed to be most vulnerable to influence campaigns. It showed that short-form content with simple messages aimed at capturing audiences’ attention are an effective way to communicate a conceptual topic such as climate disinformation to non-specialist audiences, subsequently empowering them to detect false and inflammatory climate mis- and disinformation.  

Next Steps

As COP17 is approaching, the government of Armenia expressed its commitment to use that platform not only for advancing biodiversity efforts, but also for ensuring that the conditions for these efforts’ success – including public trust and information integrity – are met. To support these efforts, the Forum will publish the findings of its mapping ahead of COP17 providing a roadmap for States to adopt a whole-of-society approach and have access to best practices and country examples. 

As extreme climate events increase in their scale and number, and as mis- and disinformation online reach unprecedented levels, it is imperative that citizens globally have access to reliable information, and engage critically with information they encounter. The latest meeting of the workstream served to highlight States’ policies to build resilience. 

On 15th April 2026, the Forum on Information and Democracy held the sixth overall and the first annual meeting of the Workstream on Information Integrity on Climate Change & Other Environmental Issues, co-chaired by Brazil and Armenia. It gathered representatives of signatory States of the Partnership as well as civil society experts and researchers. 

This meeting focused on first insights from States’ practices, policies and legislations to promote information integrity on climate change based on a questionnaire that was addressed to PID Signatory States. The meeting also allowed discussions on novel policy interventions to build societal resilience and promote climate and media literacy.  

Introducing the meeting, Camille Grenier, Executive Director of the Forum on Information and Democracy, stressed the Forum’s determination to push for information integrity to be integrated into climate governance, notably through the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) framework, and reiterated the Forum’s commitment to facilitating bilateral discussions with governments to gather insights for the workstream’s second year of work. 

Current Policy Responses

The first insights of a questionnaire shared by the Forum with States of the Partnership were presented. This questionnaire investigated national strategies, institutions, legal and regulatory measures, media literacy campaigns, protections for climate journalists and emergent challenges regarding information integrity on climate change and the environment. The questionnaire is aligned with the Bélem Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change and will provide concrete insights into where countries stand in terms of its implementation.

The first insights show that most governments do not have standalone national strategies regarding information integrity on climate and environmental issues. Information integrity on the subject is primarily addressed through a combination of broad digital regulation frameworks, media literacy strategies, national climate laws and plans, and legislation to protect journalists. 

As Renata Negrelly, Advisor at Brazil’s Secretariat for Digital Policies noted, “the absence of universally accepted definitions related to environmental harms poses a structural obstacle to adopting regulations which are specifically focused on information integrity on climate.”

Case Studies from across the world

Several governments  shared their experience in addressing the issue within existing frameworks, such as media laws and climate. 

• Portugal is embedding environmental education at different levels of society, and building societal resilience to disinformation via the National Strategy for Environmental Education (2017). This takes place via environmental literacy campaigns across sectors and educational levels and embedding evidence-based information within state bodies and processes. It also uses multistakeholder strategies involving the private sector, local communities, CSOs and academia, expanding dialogue and promoting participatory processes. 
• Brazil’s Climate Plan promotes access to information, education and participatory processes in building societal resilience. It is cross-cutting, with several pillars, and designed through a consultation process involving government bodies, consultancies, and civil society. It involves capacity building for digital influencers and communicators, training for civil servants, specific courses for teachers in different levels of education, and fostering research. 
• France’s regulatory authority, ARCOM uses two approaches. Firstly, broadcasters’ agreements with Arcom now include a specific article ensuring that they contribute to efforts to combat climate change and to favor ecological transition. Secondly, ARCOM analyses disinformation about environmental issues, and holds broadcasters accountable for inaccuracies and climate denial, including via fines. 

By adopting strategies to increase climate and environmental literacy, make evidence-based information more accessible, and increase public participation in climate action and decision-making, governments are now focusing on societal resilience to climate related mis and disinformation.

Next steps

As part of this workstream and in line with the COP30 Action Agenda, the Forum will continue the mapping exercise of  states’ current legal and policy frameworks to combat climate disinformation and promote information integrity on the environment. This exercise aims to provide a ready-reckoner of the current state-of-the art, as well as in-depth insights on what states can implement. 

In its latest report, the Forum on Information and Democracy releases the results of its Workstream on Information Integrity on Climate Change and the Environment. Led by the governments of Brazil and Armenia over the last 12 months, the report notably calls for a reform of digital advertising, the protection of environmental journalists and embedding information integrity within climate and environmental governance.

While latest data shows that the world is off track for the 1.5°C pathway, climate disinformation has become yet another challenge to overcome in the fight against climate change and the preservation of the environment. The new report by the Forum on Information and Democracy proposes concrete steps governments can take to tackle this issue. 

“Climate disinformation has increasingly been weaponised for political gain and action from States and relevant stakeholders is urgent. The report of our Workstream on Information Integrity on Climate Change and the Environment outlines clear reforms governments can undertake, in line with the principles outlined in the Partnership for Information and Democracy, notably the right to freedom of opinion and expression.” Camille Grenier, Executive Director, Forum on Information and Democracy

The culmination of a year-long process

In their foreword, the governments of Armenia and Brazil which have co-chaired the workstream since February 2025 highlight the urgency of their mission: “protecting information integrity is not merely a technical challenge but a foundational requirement for democratic governance and effective climate action in the 21st century. This urgency is particularly evident in contexts where environmental stress, societal resilience, and trust in public information are closely intertwined.”

By co-chairing this work facilitated by the Forum on Information and Democracy, both governments have supported an international process which has brought together almost 100 policy makers, researchers and civil society experts from 30 countries to define concrete measures capable of tackling what both the UN and the World Economic Forum have defined as a top threat to humanity.

The workstream held four meetings between February and December 2025. An in-person meeting was held in Yerevan, Armenia in May and first results were presented on the margins of COP30 in Belém where most countries participating in the workstream endorsed the Belém Declaration for Information Integrity on Climate Change.

A Comprehensive approach to tackle climate disinformation

The report highlights that information ecosystems are characterised by climate and environmental disinformation, repression, and restricted access to environmental data. Citizens report that it is more and more difficult to distinguish between accurate and false information on climate change on social media while environmental journalists  who investigate and report on these issues face increasing threats and harassment. 

It presents a comprehensive roadmap for governments to support the production of reliable information which include the effective protection of environmental journalists and defenders, reforming the digital advertising market and economic incentives driving disinformation and strengthening platform’s accountability. 

The report also recommends strengthening and empowering the different networks of actors working on information integrity, notably by expanding research and building institutional capacity and multilateral coordination. 

Towards COP17 on Biodiversity and COP31 on Climate Change

Focusing on concrete policies governments can undertake, the workstream is complementary to other efforts led in the field, including the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change led by Brazil, UNESCO and the UN. 

After the success of COP30 in Belém, the workstream will feed into other international high-level conferences such as COP17 on Biodiversity to be hosted by Armenia in October 2026 and COP31 in Turkey. 

Translating these recommendations into concrete measures at the national level is a joint objective of both the workstream and the Global Initiative and first results are already being observed in countries such as Armenia, Brazil, Belgium, France. FID is currently mapping policy measures governments are taking and will publish a second report in 2026. 

Main recommendations

• Embed information integrity directly within climate and environmental governance frameworks, recognising that climate action cannot be achieved without access to reliable information.
• Reform digital advertising and economic incentives to disrupt the monetization of environmental disinformation.
• Enhance transparency and corporate accountability to expose vested interests, counter greenwashing, and regulate environmental claims.
• Protect environmental journalists and defenders as the basis for an informed public debate and accountability.

• Strengthening regulatory and platform accountability ensuring that such spaces contribute to access to reliable information and are held responsible for their systems.

• Reinforcing media freedom, sustainability, and high-quality environmental journalism as a public good.

• Improving science communication, data integrity, and digital inclusion to ensure universal access to reliable environmental information.
• Advancing environmental and media literacy to build societal resilience to disinformation.
• Expanding research, monitoring, and shared methodologies on environmental disinformation and to influence operations.
• Building institutional capacity and multilateral coordination,aligning national efforts with international initiatives such as the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change.